Study: 95% of high school sports-related fractures require imaging exams
Ninety-five percent of high school sports-related fractures required diagnostic imaging, including x-rays, MRIs and CT scans, and 16 percent required surgical repair, found a recent study published in the July issue of Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine.
"Fractures are a major concern for U.S. high school athletes. They can severely affect the athletes' ability to continue sports participation and can impose substantial medical costs on the injured athletes' families," explained Dawn Comstock, PhD, of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Comstock and colleagues sought to describe the epidemiology of fractures among U.S. high school athletes participating in nine popular sports, including football, soccer, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, baseball and softball.
The researchers collected sports injury data for a nationally representative sample of 100 U.S. high schools during the 2005-2009 academic years via the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance System, High School Reporting Information Online. They accounted for risk factors, including sport and sex, and used fracture injury rates, body site, outcome, surgery and mechanism as main outcome measures for the study.
Comstock and colleagues found that 10.1 percent of all injuries sustained by the high school athletes were fractures, most commonly in the hand/finger (28.3 percent), wrist (10.4 percent) and lower leg (9.3 percent). In addition, fractures were the most common injury to the nose (76.9 percent), forearm (56.4 percent), hand/finger (41.7 percent) and wrist (41.6 percent).
The highest rates of fractures were found within football (4.61 per 10,000 athlete exposures) and the lowest in volleyball (0.52). Boys were more likely than girls to sustain a fracture in basketball (rate ratio, 1.35) and in soccer (rate ratio, 1.34). The researchers also determined that overall, boys sustained the majority (83 percent) of all fractures, and half of all fractures occurred as a result of contact between athletes.
The authors noted that fractures frequently required diagnostic imaging exams, such as x-ray, CT and MRI, and 16.1 percent of fractures required surgical treatment, accounting for 26.9 percent of all injuries requiring surgery.
“Most fractures resulted in greater than three weeks' time lost (34.3 percent) or a medical disqualification from participation (24.2 percent) and were more likely to result in greater than three weeks' time lost and medical disqualification than all other injuries combined,” said Comstock.
Moreover, illegal activities were related to 9.3 percent of all fractures with the highest proportion of fractures related to illegal activity in girls' soccer (27.9 percent). “Increasing penalties, strict enforcement of current penalties and better education about rules and the dangers associated with breaking the rules could all help in reducing injuries related to illegal activities,” offered the researchers.
"Establishing measures to reduce fractures among U.S. high school athletes should be an important part of sports injury prevention policies," the study concluded.
"Fractures are a major concern for U.S. high school athletes. They can severely affect the athletes' ability to continue sports participation and can impose substantial medical costs on the injured athletes' families," explained Dawn Comstock, PhD, of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Comstock and colleagues sought to describe the epidemiology of fractures among U.S. high school athletes participating in nine popular sports, including football, soccer, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, baseball and softball.
The researchers collected sports injury data for a nationally representative sample of 100 U.S. high schools during the 2005-2009 academic years via the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance System, High School Reporting Information Online. They accounted for risk factors, including sport and sex, and used fracture injury rates, body site, outcome, surgery and mechanism as main outcome measures for the study.
Comstock and colleagues found that 10.1 percent of all injuries sustained by the high school athletes were fractures, most commonly in the hand/finger (28.3 percent), wrist (10.4 percent) and lower leg (9.3 percent). In addition, fractures were the most common injury to the nose (76.9 percent), forearm (56.4 percent), hand/finger (41.7 percent) and wrist (41.6 percent).
The highest rates of fractures were found within football (4.61 per 10,000 athlete exposures) and the lowest in volleyball (0.52). Boys were more likely than girls to sustain a fracture in basketball (rate ratio, 1.35) and in soccer (rate ratio, 1.34). The researchers also determined that overall, boys sustained the majority (83 percent) of all fractures, and half of all fractures occurred as a result of contact between athletes.
The authors noted that fractures frequently required diagnostic imaging exams, such as x-ray, CT and MRI, and 16.1 percent of fractures required surgical treatment, accounting for 26.9 percent of all injuries requiring surgery.
“Most fractures resulted in greater than three weeks' time lost (34.3 percent) or a medical disqualification from participation (24.2 percent) and were more likely to result in greater than three weeks' time lost and medical disqualification than all other injuries combined,” said Comstock.
Moreover, illegal activities were related to 9.3 percent of all fractures with the highest proportion of fractures related to illegal activity in girls' soccer (27.9 percent). “Increasing penalties, strict enforcement of current penalties and better education about rules and the dangers associated with breaking the rules could all help in reducing injuries related to illegal activities,” offered the researchers.
"Establishing measures to reduce fractures among U.S. high school athletes should be an important part of sports injury prevention policies," the study concluded.