There's a dangerous new game being played out in the locker rooms of hockey rinks and arenas across North America. Although most coaches, parents and certainly most doctors have never heard of “Helmets and Gloves” (also called locker boxing and buckets), they are quickly becoming more familiar with the cuts, bruises and concussions that are ensuing from the game.
Dalhousie University Associate Professor of Pediatrics Dr. Kevin Gordon learned of the game and consequences while treating injured athletes at the IWK (Izaak Walton Killam) Health Centre in Halifax.
A bit of Internet investigation soon led Gordon to videos of matches posted on YouTube and other sites popular with young people. The game, seen as a test of “manhood,” has few rules and even less equipment. Participants, wearing only gloves and helmets, knock one another about the head until someone falls to the ground or a helmet flies off. While shoulder dislocation, cuts from skate blades, and even toe amputation are among reported injuries, the primary concern is concussion.
In particular, “it's the concussion upon the concussion that is the big worry,” Gordon notes. “If you play while concussed, you are more likely to get concussed again. You get a cumulative effect.”
In regulated sports, a team member would not be able to play for a specified period of time after suffering a concussion. “[But] these are concussions that aren't even going on anyone's radar,” says Gordon, who now includes questions about Helmets and Gloves on every concussion history he takes.
In many cases, kids do not even consider the blackout they suffer or the head injury they receive as a result of the locker room game to be an actual concussion because it was never diagnosed as such, Gordon says.