Injury Recurrence Among High School Athletes in the United States: A Decade of Patterns and Trends, 2005-2006 Through 2015-2016

Abstract

Background:As participation in high school athletics increases, so does the number of adolescents experiencing sports-related injury. Understanding injury patterns is an important component to developing and evaluating prevention and rehabilitation programs.Purpose:To analyze recurrent injury rates and patterns among high school athletes, to compare recurrent injuries with new injuries, and to evaluate injury trends over time.Study Design:Descriptive epidemiology study.Methods:High school sports injury data on 24 sports were collected from 2005-2006 through 2015-2016 via the High School RIO (Reporting Information Online) surveillance system. Injury rates were calculated as number of injuries per 10,000 athletic exposures (AEs). Injury rate ratios and injury proportion ratios (IPRs) were calculated to compare differences among subgroups.Results:Overall, 78,005 injuries were sustained during 40,195,806 AEs, for an injury rate of 19.41 per 10,000 AEs. Of these, 69,821 (89.5%) were new injuries, and 8184 (10.5%) were recurrent. The ankle was the most commonly injured body part among recurrent injuries, while the head/face was the most common body part that sustained new injuries. Ligament sprains were more often recurrent, while concussions were more commonly diagnosed as new, although concussions represented 16.7% of recurrent injuries. Trends for recurrent injuries over time were relatively stable. The proportion of athletes who had >3 weeks of time loss or medical disqualification (15.8% vs 13.3%; IPR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.13-1.26) or who voluntarily withdrew from sport (2.5% vs 1.1%; IPR, 2.33; 95% CI, 2.00-2.73) was significantly greater for recurrent injuries than new injuries. Furthermore, a greater proportion of recurrent injuries resulted in surgery (8.1% vs 6.0%; IPR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.24-1.46).Conclusion:Although only 10.5% of all injuries were recurrent, they more frequently resulted in missing >3 weeks of playing time and were more often managed surgically when compared with new injuries. The rate of recurrent injuries has not increased over the past decade.

Sports Specific Injury Pattern of Sportspersons

“…It exhibits that lower limb area is suffered from maximum percentage of injury (45.43±2.84). Researches conducted by Welton, et al [15] reported that only 10.5 % of overall injuries were recurrent. Most of the recurrent injuries were subsequent of previous injuries.…”

How I approach managing student athletes at risk for bleeding

“…Sports injury statistics in well children clearly highlight that injury risk varies by sport. Welton et al reported on sports injuries in high school athletes from 2005 to 2016 utilizing the High School Reporting Information Online (RIO) surveillance system . Over 78 005 sustained injuries occurred during the study period.…”

“…Welton et al reported on sports injuries in high school athletes from 2005 to 2016 utilizing the High School Reporting Information Online (RIO) surveillance system. 29 Over 78 005 sustained injuries occurred during the study period. For males, the highest rate of new injuries per athlete exposures (AE) was in football (36.82/10 000 AE), followed by wrestling (21.20/10 000 AE), ice hockey (19.47/10 000 AE), and lacrosse (18.11/10 000 AE).…”

Males with chronic ankle instability demonstrate deficits in neurocognitive function compared to control and copers

“…Ankle sprains are the most common musculoskeletal injury as well as the most frequent recurring injury in most sports (Roos et al, 2017;Welton et al, 2018). The cost to treat a single ankle sprain is approximately $1000 with the overall burden on the US healthcare system estimated to be between four and six billion dollars due to the high frequency and recurrence rate of ankle injury (Shah, Thomas, Noone, Blanchette, & Wikstrom, 2016).…”