Field hockey workouts: a tested warm-up, strength, hamstrings, ankles and head safety

Legs take most injuries

Hamstrings caused the biggest injury burden in Irish senior men, and ankle sprains were 13.7% of injuries in US college women's games.

Sources 1, 2

One warm-up has been tested

Dutch youth teams using Warming-up Hockey, 12 minutes at least twice a week, had fewer injuries per hour and lost fewer days. The teams chose their own group, and after allowing for age and sex the difference in injury rates could be chance.

Sources 3, 4

Borrow the Nordic and Copenhagen programmes

Programmes with the Nordic hamstring exercise were linked with about half as many hamstring injuries across sports, and two large football trials found big falls, but when only properly randomised trials are pooled the effect is uncertain. The Copenhagen adductor programme cut groin problems by 41% in footballers. Neither has been tested in hockey.

Sources 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Sticks and balls cause the serious head injuries

Most head, neck and face injuries in US college women's hockey happened near the goal, from a stick or ball, and penalty corners caused 14% of injuries in elite tournaments.

Sources 2, 11

Masks, goggles and mouthguards

Face masks are compulsory when defending penalty corners at International Hockey Federation (FIH) events, and England Hockey strongly recommends them, with shin, ankle and mouth protection. When US high schools made goggles compulsory, eye injuries fell.

Sources 12, 13, 14

Concussion: no competition before day 21

England Hockey follows the UK guidelines for grassroots sport, with an exception for players managed by healthcare professionals experienced in sports concussion.

Source 15

Repeated sprints over a long match

In 18 elite men, players covered about 6.8 km a match, or 8.2 km for a position over the full 70 minutes, with about 34 sprints of 3 seconds each and heart rate averaging 87% of maximum in the first half. Elite women covered about 6.6 km, midfielders running hardest, and in elite women, aerobic fitness went with more high-intensity running. Fifteen elite players kept their high-speed running up over 6 matches in 9 days. The Compendium of Physical Activities gives field hockey 7.8 metabolic equivalents (METs), a measured value.

Sources 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

The crouchEmerging evidence

In 7 players running on a treadmill, dribbling in a crouch added 15 to 16 kJ a minute to the energy cost of running and compressed the spine by 0.4 mm a minute, and 53% of 81 players surveyed reported low back pain. Elite players usually have high aerobic fitness, and synthetic pitches have changed the game's demands.

Sources 21, 22

Landing and turning with a stickEmerging evidence

In 31 US college women, field hockey players landed with more knee bend than lacrosse players and cut with more trunk lean, which may protect the knee. Holding a stick changed how players sidestepped, without raising the sideways load on the knee. These are laboratory studies.

Sources 23, 24

Where the load falls

The sites the studies point to:

• Hamstrings, knees, hips and groins: sprinting and turning.
• Ankles: sprains in games and training.
• The lower back and hips: the crouch and the drag flick.
• The head, face and hands: sticks and balls, especially near the goal and at penalty corners.

Sources 25, 1, 2, 26, 11

What to train (our reading)

Repeated sprints and aerobic fitness, hamstring and groin strength, landing and change-of-direction control for the knees, ankle balance, and trunk strength and hip mobility for the crouch.

How often players get hurtEmerging evidence

The numbers, by group:

• Across 22 studies: from 0.1 to 90.9 injuries per 1,000 player hours, depending on the level and how injuries were counted.
• Dutch elite players: 3.5 new acute injuries per 1,000 hours of training and 12.3 per 1,000 hours of matches; 74% happened without contact.
• Irish senior men: 9.4 injuries, counting any complaint, per 1,000 hours.
• Dutch youth teams with their usual warm-up: 6.4 injuries per 1,000 hours of hockey.
• US college women: 7.9 injuries per 1,000 athlete-exposures (one player in one game or practice) in games and 3.7 in practices, 1988 to 2003; 6.3 overall in 2014 to 2019.
• Elite tournaments, including minor injuries: 53 (boys) and 86 (girls) per 1,000 player match hours at the under-18 European Championships; 40 (men) and 30 (women) at FIH events.

Sources 27, 28, 25, 3, 2, 29, 30, 31

Ankle sprainsEmerging evidence

In US college women, ankle sprains were 13.7% of game and 15.0% of practice injuries, and a common cause of 10 or more days out, though they fell over 15 years. Our sprained ankle and chronic ankle instability guides cover treatment.

Source 2

HamstringsEmerging evidence

In Irish senior men, the hamstring was among the commonest injury sites and caused the biggest burden, 22.6 injury days per 1,000 hours. Across field sports, hamstring injuries ran at 0.81 per 1,000 hours, about 9 times higher in matches than training. Our hamstring strain guide covers recovery.

Sources 25, 1, 32

Groins, hips and kneesEmerging evidence

Knees, hips and groins were among the commonest sites in Irish men, and drag flickers reported more hip injuries. Across team sports, women injured an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) about twice as often as men, and an ACL tear was among the few severe injuries at recent FIH events. Our groin strain, hip pain, hip impingement, ACL injury and knee pain guides cover these.

Sources 25, 26, 33, 31

ConcussionEmerging evidence

Concussion was the commonest single injury in US college women's hockey (8.6%), and US high-school girls' hockey had the third-highest concussion rate of girls' sports. In US emergency departments, concussions in players aged 6 to 24 were mostly from the ball. At recent FIH events, head injuries made up 64% of women's moderate injuries. Our concussion guide covers the graduated return.

Sources 29, 14, 34, 35, 31

Eyes, faces and handsEmerging evidence

In US college women, over 77% of head, neck and face injuries and of hand and finger injuries came from contact with a stick or ball, mostly near the goal. Eye injuries in US high schools were about three times as common without a goggle rule. At the under-18 European Championships, girls had more head and face injuries. Our broken finger and broken hand guides cover the hands.

Sources 2, 14, 30

Back painMixed evidence

Back pain is common: 56% of young Dutch elite players had it in a year, 44% of UK Premier and Division One players reported it, and 63% of South African teenage boys in a 3-month period. But US college women who played had no more back pain than women who didn't (56% against 55%), and drag flickers reported more back injuries. Our back pain and spondylolisthesis guides cover what to do.

Sources 36, 37, 38, 26, 39

Who's at higher riskEmerging evidence

Matches within 24 hours of the last had 3.8 and 6.8 times the injury rate of matches 3 to 7 days apart in one cohort, girls at a youth tournament had more minor and head and face injuries, and players near the goal were most often hit by the stick or ball. These are associations.

Sources 40, 30, 2

Warming-up Hockey, as developed and trialledEmerging evidence

A Dutch programme from the Royal Dutch Hockey Association (KNHB) and the consumer safety institute VeiligheidNL:

• What: 12 minutes in three 4-minute parts (running drills, movement skills such as one-leg jumps, a plank and deep squats, and hockey sprints), with more than 50 exercises in versions by age and sex, changing every week through the season and delivered to coaches by a Dutch app.
• How often: at least twice a week, before any training or match.
• Who: 291 Dutch youth players aged 10 to 17 in 22 teams over the 2016 to 2017 season; the 10 teams using it were chosen by their clubs and were younger on average (11.5 against 12.9 years).
• Effect: 4.1 against 6.4 injuries per 1,000 hours of hockey. Allowing for age and sex, the difference could be chance: the hazard ratio was 0.86, and its 95% confidence interval, 0.51 to 1.45, includes no effect. Days lost to injury were clearly lower, by about 8 per 1,000 hours.
• In practice: coaches ran it in a median 93.5% of sessions, and players were there for a median 84.3%; keeping it going during the indoor season was harder.

Sources 4, 3

A balance warm-up in young playersEmerging evidence

In 30 young players randomised to a 20-minute neuromuscular warm-up twice a week for 10 weeks or a control group, one balance test improved more (69% against 32%), but others didn't, and injuries weren't measured.

Source 41

ACL programmes, borrowed from other sportsStrong evidence

Across 8 meta-analyses, warm-ups with strength, jump-and-land and balance work halved ACL injuries in all athletes and cut ACL tears without contact by about two-thirds in women and girls. Women in team sports tear an ACL about twice as often as men. None of these programmes has been tested in hockey.

Sources 42, 33

Nordic lowers for hamstrings, borrowed from other sportsEmerging evidence

In 15 studies of 8,459 athletes, programmes including the Nordic hamstring exercise were linked with about half as many hamstring injuries, and two large football trials found big falls, but when only properly randomised trials are pooled the effect is uncertain. Hamstrings are hockey's biggest injury burden in men, but no hockey trial has been done.

Sources 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 1

The Copenhagen programme for groins, borrowed from footballEmerging evidence

In semi-professional footballers randomised by team, the Copenhagen adductor exercise, 3 times a week in pre-season for 6 to 8 weeks and then once a week, cut groin problems by 41%. Untested in hockey.

Source 10

Ankle braces and balance, borrowed from other sportsStrong evidence

In 1,460 high-school basketball players, lace-up ankle braces cut ankle injuries by about two-thirds, and across 6 trials braces cut repeat ankle sprains by about two-thirds and first ones by about half (low-quality evidence for first sprains).

Sources 43, 44

Stretching, and warm-ups in generalStrong evidence

Across 25 trials, stretching programmes didn't prevent sports injuries, while strength training cut them to about a third. In football, the FIFA 11+, the warm-up from football's world governing body (FIFA), cut injuries by 39%, but the earlier FIFA 11 didn't: what's in a warm-up matters.

Sources 45, 46

Spacing out matchesEmerging evidence

In professional and youth players, matches within 24 hours of the last had several times the injury rate of matches 3 to 7 days apart. At tournaments with matches on consecutive days or twice a day, skip extra conditioning in between (our suggestion).

Source 40

Backs: nothing testedMixed evidence

No study has tested a way to prevent back pain in hockey. Our suggestion: trunk strength, hip mobility and a gradual build-up in drag-flick practice, and our back pain guide for pain that lasts.

Sources 26, 21

Repeated sprintsEmerging evidence

In 18 male university players, adding 2 sessions a week of 30 m all-out sprints with 30 seconds' rest, rising from 6 to 12 sprints over 8 weeks, improved jump height, 30 m sprint time and repeated-sprint times; sprinting uphill added a little more, not clearly. There was no group that didn't sprint.

Source 47

Functional trainingEmerging evidence

In 40 young elite men (average age 21.5), 12 weeks of 60-minute functional training sessions 3 times a week, randomised by group against standard training, improved flexibility, agility and endurance, but not sprint speed. The exercises weren't described in the summary we read.

Source 48

A little jump training for boysEmerging evidence

Sixty foot contacts twice a week for 6 weeks may have improved 10 m sprint in boys around their growth spurt, while less mature boys gained little and boys who didn't train got slower. The groups were small and the results uncertain.

Source 49

Sprint intervals on a bikeEmerging evidence

In 25 Olympic-standard women, 6 extra sessions of sprint intervals on a bike over 6 weeks improved an intermittent running test against no change in those who didn't do them.

Source 50

A faster drag flickEmerging evidence

In 29 elite players aged 14 to 18, randomised for 11 weeks, 6 strength exercises for the lead leg twice a week, progressed for each player, raised drag-flick ball speed by 2.8 km/h, while the comparison group's didn't change. The exercises weren't named in the summary we read.

Source 51

Fitting it around hockey

Every session: the 12-minute warm-up, at least twice a week. Pre-season, 6 to 8 weeks: 2 strength sessions a week, the Nordic and Copenhagen programmes on their football schedules, and 2 repeated-sprint sessions a week.

In season: 1 or 2 shorter strength sessions, with the Nordic and adductor work once a week, and no heavy legs, Nordic lowers or hard jumping in the 48 hours before a match (our suggestion). Matches close together raise the risk, so tournaments need recovery more than extra training.

Sources 3, 4, 5, 10, 47, 40

Face masks at penalty corners: the rulesStrong evidence

The FIH's Rules of Hockey recommend a face mask that follows the contours of the face for defending a penalty corner or penalty stroke, don't allow one otherwise, and forbid using protective kit to play dangerously. At FIH events, masks have been compulsory for defending penalty corners since January 2025. England Hockey strongly recommends masks for defending penalty corners in every age group and format, without making them compulsory.

Sources 52, 12, 13, 53

Face masks: the evidenceEmerging evidence

Penalty corners caused 7.1 injuries per 1,000 player match hours at elite tournaments, including 11 head injuries. At the under-18 European Championships, boys wore facial protection less often than girls (66% against 86%). In laboratory tests, masks' protection varied with ball speed, temperature and where the ball hit, and some failed.

Sources 11, 30, 54

GogglesEmerging evidence

Under the FIH rules, field players may wear plastic goggles, with a soft-covered frame and plastic lenses, only for medical reasons. In US high schools they're compulsory: before the national rule, players in states without one had more head and face injuries, and after it severe eye injuries fell by 67% and severe head and face injuries by 70%, with no rise in concussions. Eyewear didn't prevent concussion in women and girls, very low-certainty evidence.

Sources 52, 55, 14, 56

Mouthguards and shin and ankle guardsStrong evidence

The FIH recommends shin, ankle and mouth protection for field players, and England Hockey strongly recommends all three, with mouthguards replaced every year and fitted by a dentist or bought from a reputable supplier. Across sports, people without mouthguards had over twice the risk of mouth and face injuries.

Sources 52, 13, 57, 58

The playing rules that protect playersStrong evidence

A ball is dangerous when it makes an opponent take legitimate evasive action; a flick or scoop at an opponent within 5 m is dangerous; players mustn't come within 5 m of an opponent receiving a falling raised ball; the ball mustn't be raised on purpose from a hit except in a shot at goal; and at a penalty corner, a first shot that's a hit must cross the goal line no higher than the 460 mm backboard. These rules target the stick and ball injuries behind most serious head and face injuries.

Sources 52, 2

GoalkeepersStrong evidence

Goalkeepers must wear at least headgear, leg guards and kickers.

Source 52

England Hockey's policyStrong evidence

England Hockey has adopted the UK guidelines for grassroots sport for all hockey under its jurisdiction: recognise, remove, return. Anyone with a suspected concussion comes off at once, takes no further part in sport or work activity, even if symptoms settle, until assessed by a healthcare professional or NHS 111 (the National Health Service's urgent advice line) within 24 hours, rests for 24 to 48 hours, then follows a graduated return. There's no return to competition within 21 days, unless the player is managed by healthcare professionals experienced in sports concussion, as international and pathway players are; they may be cleared earlier. See a GP if symptoms last beyond 28 days.

Sources 15, 59, 60

US high schoolsStrong evidence

Every US state requires a young player with a suspected concussion to be removed and cleared by a healthcare professional before returning, rather than setting a minimum number of days.

Source 61

Goggles don't prevent concussionEmerging evidence

Concussion rates didn't change after US schools made goggles compulsory, and eyewear wasn't protective for concussion in women and girls. In elite players, concussions came mostly from collisions with other players, then the stick or ball, all in open play.

Sources 14, 56, 35

What the crouch doesEmerging evidence

Dribbling in a crouch raised the energy cost of running and compressed the spine faster than ordinary running, in a small laboratory study.

Source 21

But players don't always have more back painMixed evidence

US college women who played had about as much back pain as women who didn't. In young Dutch elite players, being satisfied with their own performance and with the coaching staff went with less back pain, an association. In UK players, the drag flick was among several factors linked with back pain.

Sources 38, 36, 37

Drag flickersEmerging evidence

In 432 adult players, drag flickers reported more back and hip injuries over 3 months than other players. Lead-leg strength training raised drag-flick speed in young elite players. Our suggestion: build drag-flick practice gradually, keep the trunk and hips strong, and get back pain that lasts checked.

Sources 26, 51

Everyone: seven questions

The PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone) asks about a heart condition or high blood pressure, chest pain, dizziness or losing consciousness, other long-term conditions and their medicines, a bone or joint problem that activity could make worse, and being told to exercise only under supervision. If you answer yes to any, check with your doctor or a qualified exercise professional first. If you're over 45 and not used to hard exercise, ask a qualified exercise professional before the hardest sessions, and delay if you're ill.

Source 62

After an ankle sprain

Ankle sprains are common in hockey, and braces cut repeat sprains in trials in other sports. Wear a brace for sport, do the balance programme in our sprained ankle guide, and get checked before matches.

Sources 2, 44

After an ACL reconstruction

Women in team sports tear an ACL about twice as often as men. Follow the return-to-sport checks in our ACL injury guide, and keep a warm-up with strength and landing work going.

Sources 33, 42

After a hamstring strain

Hamstrings are hockey's biggest injury burden in men. Use our hamstring strain guide, then the Nordic programme before the season.

Sources 1, 5

Teenagers with back pain, especially drag flickers

Back pain that lasts more than a couple of weeks, or is worse arching backwards, needs checking: see our back pain and spondylolisthesis guides.

Sources 26, 36

Pregnant

The NHS advises against sports with a risk of falling or bumping your tummy, and names hockey. Talk to your midwife or GP; skills practice without contact may suit (our suggestion), and our pregnancy guide has more.

Source 63

People with epilepsy

Our epilepsy guide explains that in the International League Against Epilepsy's grouping, team sports such as hockey carry no extra risk.

Fainting or chest pain

The NHS advises seeing a GP if you've fainted, and to call 999 if you faint while exercising; the PAR-Q+ asks you to check first if you get chest pain or dizziness. Do that before you play.

Sources 64, 65, 62

A ball or stick to the eye

Go to A&E (accident and emergency) or call 999 if the eye was hit at high speed, your sight has changed, it's very painful, you feel or are being sick, or blood or pus is coming from it.

Source 66

A head injury: call 999

The NHS says to call 999 if someone has hit their head and:

• Has been knocked out and hasn't woken up, or can't stay awake or keep their eyes open.
• Has a fit (seizure).
• Has problems with their vision or hearing, or clear fluid coming from their ears or nose.
• Has new numbness or weakness in any part of their body, or problems with walking, balance, understanding, speaking or writing.
• Has a dent in their head, or their behaviour has changed, such as being more irritable or distracted.

Source 67

Suspected concussion

Stop playing: if in doubt, sit them out. No further sport that day, an assessment within 24 hours by a healthcare professional or NHS 111, and no competition before day 21 under England Hockey's policy. Contact NHS 111 straight away if they're being sick, feel dizzy or take medicine that thins the blood.

Sources 15, 60, 67

Teeth and nose

A broken tooth needs a dentist: keep any piece in milk or saliva. Call 999 or go to A&E for a nosebleed that won't stop, clear fluid from the nose, or a large cut on the face.

Sources 68, 69

Fingers, hands, knees and ankles

Call 999 or go to A&E if you heard a crack, the injured part has changed shape or points at an odd angle, it's numb or tingling, or the skin is blue, grey or cold. Get help from NHS 111 if it's very painful, very swollen or bruised, or you can't put weight on it or walk more than a few steps.

Source 70

A deep cut

Press on the wound with a clean cloth. Call 999 or go to A&E if the bleeding won't stop, or for a bad cut on the face or the palm of the hand.

Source 71

Heat at summer tournaments

Heat exhaustion needs a cool place, fluids and cooling the skin. Call 999 if someone is still unwell after 30 minutes of rest, cooling and fluids, or has a very high temperature, hot skin that isn't sweating, a fast heartbeat or breathing, confusion, a fit or loss of consciousness.

Source 72

Fainting or chest pain: call 999

Call 999 if someone faints while exercising, or has chest pain that doesn't go away, spreads to the arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness.

Sources 64, 65

"Field hockey is non-contact, so heads are safe"Emerging evidence

Concussion was the commonest single injury in US college women's hockey, and most head, neck and face injuries came from the stick or ball near the goal.

Sources 29, 2

"Goggles make players reckless"Emerging evidence

When US high schools made goggles compulsory, eye injuries and severe head and face injuries fell, and concussion rates didn't rise.

Sources 55, 14

"A face mask makes penalty corners safe"Emerging evidence

Masks protect, but in laboratory tests their protection varied and some failed, and penalty corners still caused injuries at elite tournaments.

Sources 54, 11

"The hockey crouch wrecks your back"Mixed evidence

Back pain is common in players, but US college players had no more of it than non-players, and drag flicking, more than the crouch itself, went with back injuries.

Sources 38, 36, 26

"Any warm-up prevents injuries"Mixed evidence

Only one field hockey warm-up has been tested, and its effect after allowing for age and sex could be chance. In football, the FIFA 11+ cut injuries but the earlier FIFA 11 didn't: what's in the warm-up, and doing it regularly, matter.

Sources 3, 46

"Stretching before play prevents hamstring strains"Strong evidence

Stretching programmes didn't prevent sports injuries, while programmes with the Nordic exercise were linked with far fewer hamstring injuries.

Sources 45, 5

"Fit players can play two matches a day without extra risk"Emerging evidence

Matches within 24 hours of the last had several times the injury rate of matches 3 to 7 days apart, an association.

Source 40