Lower Extremity Hockey Puck Impaction Fractures in Professional Hockey Players: A Case Series and Review of the Literature.

This article focuses on injuries to the lower leg and ankle caused by hockey puck impacts in professional hockey players, highlighting the clinical challenges in diagnosis, treatment, and return-to-play (RTP) decisions. It presents a case series of three players who sustained distinct osseous injuries from puck strikes, ranging from non-displaced distal fibula fractures to a displaced tibial shaft fracture requiring surgical fixation after reinjury. The report emphasizes the lack of hockey-specific management protocols, variability in injury severity, and the balance clinicians must strike between adequate healing time and athletes' desire to return to play. It calls for further research to develop standardized guidelines for recognizing and managing hockey puck–related lower extremity injuries to improve outcomes and RTP strategies.