The puck stops here: Keeping hockey injuries in check. Hockey has been on display at the Winter Olympics since the moment Wayne Gretzky lit the Olympic cauldron in Vancouver. That attention is sure to ignite interest in youngsters to head to the local rink and lace up. But the rough culture of the sport has some sports physicians concerned. A recent study of U.S. youth hockey players 9 to 15 years old found that head and neck injuries accounted for 23 percent of the total number of injuries and that body checking accounted for 86 percent of all injuries that occurred during games. Learn more in the full Safety blog post.

Helmets and figure skaters. One thing you'll rarely see a figure skater wearing is a helmet. Some sports physicians and trainers think that's a mistake. A recent study concludes that helmet use would prevent a large number of head injuries, especially in children. The study, conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, concluded that the proportion of head injuries among ice-skaters was greater than that observed for participants in other types of skating (skateboarders, roller skaters and in-line skaters)—for whom helmet use is recommended and often required. Learn more in the full Safety blog post.