Did the Implementation of a Bye Week Decrease Injury Rates in the National Hockey League?

In the 2016-2017 National Hockey League (NHL) season, a bye week was introduced to give players rest in the middle of the season. Bye weeks and midseason breaks are a common practice in other sports such as football and soccer.

To compare the rates of different types of injuries, games missed due to injury, and number of multiple injuries by players between previous uninterrupted seasons and the succeeding seasons with bye weeks scheduled.

Descriptive epidemiology study.

This study retrospectively looked at NHL injuries from 2000 to 2023. Injured players were identified from publicly available online databases: tsn.ca, cbssports.com, and sportsforecaster.com. Detailed information regarding the number and characteristics of the injuries was categorized according to different types of injuries for each season. Injury rates were compared before and after bye weeks were introduced. To evaluate the effect of bye weeks on injuries, multivariate regression models were used adjusting for position.

There was a significant difference in overall injury rates per season before and after the implementation of a bye week, from 763.7 to 646.7 injuries (P = .005). Among all players, defensemen saw a significant decrease in proportion of injuries after a bye week was introduced (P < .001). After adjusting for position, there were significantly decreased odds of muscle injuries (OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.22-0.29; P < .001), knee injuries (OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.35-0.48; P < .001), and arm and shoulder injuries (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.33-0.46; P < .001) sustained by players after the implementation of a bye week. These injuries resulted in a mean of 9.02 games missed before bye week implementation and 10.53 after (P < .001).

This study showed that the introduction of a bye week in the NHL was associated with lower overall injury rates and reductions in several injury types, indicating a potential relationship between scheduled breaks and observed injury patterns.