High Rates of Return to Play with No Deterioration in Performance Following Acute Achilles Tendon Ruptures in Athletes Participating in the National Hockey League

Category: Sports; Other Introduction/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess outcomes following acute Achilles tendon ruptures (AATR) sustained by athletes participating in the National Hockey League (NHL). Methods: Athletes participating in the NHL who sustained an AATR were identified using a publicly available database, match reports and injury reports. The years of inclusion was from 2008-2022. Data collected and analysed: player demographics, player position, if surgical intervention was warranted, rates of return to play, time to return to play, games missed. Pre-injury and post-injury performance outcomes collected and analysed: games played, plus/minus rating, assists, goals, game-winning goals, penalty minutes, power play assists, power play goals, production, points, short-handed assists, short-handed goals, shootout goals, shooting percentage and time on ice per game. Results: Eighteen athletes sustained an AATR in the NHL (0.000481 per 10,000 athlete-exposures). The mean age was 27.9±3.6 years and the mean BMI was 26.3±1.6kg/m 2 . There were 7 (38.9%) AATRs sustained by defenseman, 7 (38.9%) AATRs sustained by centers, 1 (5.6%) AATR sustained by right wings, 1 (5.6%) AATR sustained by left wings, 1(5.6%) AATR sustained by goaltenders and 1 (5.6%) AATR sustained by forwards. Seventeen athletes (94.4%) underwent surgical intervention. The mean number of games played prior to injury was 480.2±240.6. The RTP rate to the NHL was 88.8% at mean time of 4.8 ± 2.5 months. The mean number of games missed due to injury was with 45.1±19.4 games. There was no statistically significant difference in pre-injury performance outcomes compared to post-injury performance outcomes (p>0.05). Conclusion: This current study found that AATRs were an uncommon injury in the NHL with an incidence of 0.000481 per 10,000 athlete-exposures over a 14 year period. Sustaining an AATR was associated with a 88.8% return to play rate to the NHL together at a mean time of 4.8 ± 2.5 months with no deterioration in athletic performance. Although sustaining an AATR in the NHL poses a temporary setback, the findings of this study demonstrate that sustaining an AATR does not have a catastrophic effect on the NHL athlete's career.