Epidemiology of United States High School Sports-Related Fractures, 2008-09 to 2010-11

Abstract

Background High school athletes sustain millions of injuries annually, many of which are fractures. Fractures can severely affect athletes physically, emotionally, and financially and should be targeted with focused prevention methods. Hypothesis Patterns and primary mechanisms of fractures differ by sport and gender. Study Design Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods High school sports-related injury data were collected from academic years 2008-09 to 2010-11 for 18 sports and from 2009-10 to 2010-11 for 2 additional sports. We used linear regression to describe annual fracture rate trends and calculated fractures rates, rate ratios (RRs), and injury proportion ratios (IPRs). Results From 2008-09 to 2010-11, certified athletic trainers reported a total of 21,251 injuries during 11,544,455 athlete exposures (AEs), of which 2103 (9.9%) were fractures, with an overall rate of 1.82 fractures per 10,000 AEs. Fracture rates were highest in football (4.37 per 10,000 AE), boys' ice hockey (3.08), and boys' lacrosse (2.59). Boys sustained 79.1% of all fractures, and the overall rates of fractures were greater in boys' sports than in girls' sports for competition (RR, 2.82; 95% CI, 2.45-3.24) and practice (RR, 2.43; 95% CI, 2.07-2.86). The most commonly fractured body sites were the hand/finger (32.1%), lower leg (10.1%), and wrist (9.5%). Overall, 17.2% of fractures required surgery, which was higher than for all other injuries combined (IPR, 3.14; 95% CI, 2.81-3.52). The most common mechanism of fracture involved contact with another player (45.5%). Using linear regression, we found the proportion of all injuries that were fractures was inversely correlated with the athlete's age (P = .02) but was not correlated with the athletes' age- and gender-adjusted body mass index. Conclusion Fractures are a significant problem for high school athletes. Targeted preventive interventions should be implemented to reduce the burdens these injuries cause the athletes.

Injury and Illness Epidemiology at a Summer Sport-Camp Program, 2008 Through 2011

“…Although many high school sport-injury epidemiology studies have been conducted, 1,2,[16][17][18] as previously indicated, the results are likely not representative of the sportcamp injury experience. Athlete-exposures are commonly calculated by using athlete-practices or athlete-competitions, 19 with a single practice or competition often held per day.…”

Traumatic Athletic Injuries of the Hand

“…In the year 2008-2009, hand and finger fractures made up 32.1 % of all fractures sustained by high school athletes in the United States (McCue et al 1979;Swenson et al 2012). In an NFL setting over a 10-year period, metacarpal and finger fractures alone made up over 30 % of injuries to the hand (Palmer and Linscheid 1977;Mall et al 2008).…”

Management of Sport-Related Fractures: Operative Versus Non-Operative Management

“…Fractures remain one of the most serious injuries suffered by athletes, resulting in considerable time away from sport, with significant rates of persisting symptoms posttreatment (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). Despite their significant morbidty, there remains considerable variation in their management, due to various factors such as clinician preference and experience, difference in availability of resources and variation in patient desires and expectations (6,7).…”

“…Despite their significant morbidty, there remains considerable variation in their management, due to various factors such as clinician preference and experience, difference in availability of resources and variation in patient desires and expectations (6,7). Given the significant adverse economic and social implications these injuries can have, both from professional and amateur sport, appropriate knowledge of the optimal management strategies for sport-related fractures is a key factor in modern day sports medicine (1)(2)(3)(4)(5).…”