Dr. Allan Horowitz, published newspaper article, The Liberal, Copyright February 24, 1988

Question: I have been reading in all the papers about Justine Blaney wanting to play boy’s hockey. I know you play hockey and I know you treat a lot of injured hockey players. My first question is what your opinion is of girls playing boys hockey.

I then want to know if there are any particular injuries girls should be concerned about if they wish to take up ice hockey as a sport on the same competitive level as boys.

ANSWER: I do have an opinion on girls playing boys hockey but because it is just my own personal opinion I don’t want to share it with my readers.

This is a very hot topic right now and I am not in the mood for angry phone calls from irate coaches saying that girls should learn to cook and sew and stay off the rinks, or from angry mothers who say that their daughters should have as much right to play hockey as their sons. So let’s just leave that one for now.

In the second part of your question you bring up a valid point. Girls are more prone to certain injuries if they play a rugged style of ice hockey. Females in their teens are usually slightly more mature than their male teammates.

STRESS ON SPINE

Their spinal development is therefore more advanced and that actually means that females can withstand slightly greater stresses on the spine than can males at the same age.

However, in case you haven’t noticed, girls’ pelvises are broader and sway more than boys, and this means that they aren’t as smooth on their skates as most boys. Before all you female figure skaters start feeling offended, I am only talking about skating in a linear fashion, back and forth, down the ice and back, as is necessary in most hockey games.

Girls may be great skaters but they must use a broader base, swing their hips more and this in turn sometimes leads to knee and hip problems.

Also, males at puberty usually are stronger than their female counterparts because their muscle development is greater at that age. This means that females must exercise a tremendous amount if they want to be near equal in strength to the boys they must fight for the puck.

Females have fewer sweat glands than do males and their body temperature can rise a few more degrees than males when doing the same amount of work. All hockey players, but especially girls, should not get overheated during games or practices and should occasionally remover their facemasks and helmets to cool their face and head.

There’s really not that many breast injuries among girls playing ice hockey. Breasts are made of fat and very little can be damaged except for some bruises. However, all girls should wear bras under their equipment, and those girls with large breasts should wear sturdy, supportive bras, or think about taking up another sport, because chest-to-chest contact is sure to occur in a hockey game.

Female shoulder pads do have a protective piece which covers the breast and these are highly recommended, although they are not totally protective.

TAILBONE INJURIES

I find that girls tend to break or bruise their ‘tailbones’ more than boys do. The most common sport where this occurs is skating and therefore also hockey. If girls are active in hockey, they must have a special protective pad over the coccyx region, at the lower part of the spine. Even a bruise in this area might last for many years and sometimes pain will be felt indefinitely.

In summary, girls do have to take special precautions when playing hockey, especially with boys. They should learn to talk dirty, throw things in the dressing room, spit on the ice and they should never, ever wear ribbons in their hair just in case their helmet falls off.