Sports-Related Injuries in Children

Abstract

Within a 3-year period, from 1980 to 1982, 1124 sports injuries of children aged 6-15 years were treated in the Turku University Central Hospital casualty department. Two-thirds (69%) of the injuries were sustained by boys. Sports injuries represented 21% of the diagnoses related to accidents in this age group. Half of the sports accidents occurred during the 4 winter months. Boys were injured most commonly in ice hockey (36%) and football (20%) and girls in skating (18%) and riding (18%). One quarter (26%) of the injuries were located in the head and neck, 36% in the upper extremities, 33% in the lower limbs, and 4% in the trunk. The most common types of injuries were fractures (26%), sprains and strains (24%), contusions (22%) and wounds (17%). The proportional occurrence of fractures increased with age in boys (P less than 0.001) and decreased in girls (P less than 0.001), luxations (P less than 0.05) and sprains (P less than 0.001) increased with age in girls; skull injuries (P less than 0.01) and contusions and wounds (P less than 0.001) decreased in boys. Girls had more sprains (P less than 0.001) but fewer contusions and wounds (P less than 0.001). Most of the injuries were mild; 9% of the cases were hospitalized. Minor surgery was performed in 16% and reconstructive surgery in 2% of all injuries. About 70% of the injuries occurred in nonorganized sports.

A retrospective study of the demographics of sport and exercise injuries in 1143 children presenting to an Irish emergency department over a 6-month period

“…Previous authors have identified a high level of presentation of injury in children involved in cycling [8]. This was apparent in this study, but in addition it highlights the high odds of multiple types and sites of injury in this sport.…”

“…Previous studies on sport related injuries have largely focused on older children [8,18,22], a combination of adult and paediatric sport injuries [1,14] or included general childhood injuries [3,15]. This present study, however, is the largest and most detailed study of paediatric SRIs presenting to an emergency medical department, conducted in Ireland, and to the best of our knowledge, the second largest study in the worldwide literature [18].…”

“…This is unlikely to be due to an increase in protective headgear, as this was infrequently used, and may instead reflect better skill levels attained as children age [8,20]. Fig.…”

“…The number of children of all ages participating in sport, for enjoyment, the pursuit of physical fitness, and competition is increasing [4,8,17,24]. This increase in sports participation appears to be accompanied by an increase in the number of sports related injuries (SRIs), and it is recognised that SRIs are a significant cause of hospitalisation and health care costs in children and adolescents [4,10,22].…”

Sports activities related to injuries? A survey among 9–19 year olds in Switzerland

“…x Many reports are provided by hospitals and emergency facilities [6][7][8] and as such do not include injuries treated by pediatricians or general practitioners. x To refine the quality of the data and focus on the circumstances of the injury, some researches have looked prospectively at the occurrence of sports injuries within defined populations.…”