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Study finds higher injury rate during competitions vs. practices for high school athletes
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High school athletes have a higher rate of injuries during athletic competitions compared to practices, according to a study published in the Journal of Athletic Training.
R. Dawn Comstock, PhD, and colleagues at the Nationwide Children's Hospital and Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, compared the types and numbers of injuries among high school athletes participating in nine sports, including boys' football, soccer, basketball, wrestling and baseball, and girls' soccer, volleyball, basketball and softball.
The study involved data for 100 nationally representative United States high schools collected using the High School Reporting Information Online).
Among the 100 participating schools, athletes sustained 4,350 injuries during the 2005-2006 school year. This corresponds to an estimated 1.44 million injuries nationally, according to the study.
Investigators found an injury rate of 4.63 per 1,000 athlete-exposures during athletic competition and an injury rate of 1.69 during practices.
"Of all sports, football had the highest competition (12.09) and practice (2.54) injury rates per 1,000 athlete-exposures," the authors noted in the study.
Most injuries — 57.2% — affected the lower extremities, while 21.5% affected the upper extremities, 14.6% affected the head/face/neck and 6.7% affected the trunk.
Specifically, the ankle was the most frequently injured body site (22.7%), followed by the head/face (12.3%) and the thigh/upper leg (8%), according to the study.
Compared with injuries sustained during practices, a higher proportion of competition-related injuries were to the head, face and neck, with a proportion ratio (PR) of 1.61. In particular, boys' soccer had a PR of 7.74 and girls' basketball had a PR of 6.03 for such injuries.
In addition, competition-related injuries were more likely to be concussions, with a PR of 2.02. The PRs for concussions were particularly greater for boys' soccer (PR = 6.94) and for girls' basketball (PR = 5.83), according to the study.
"Given the growing population of high school athletes along with the important physical and social benefits of sport participation, reducing sport injury rates is a high priority," Comstock stated in a press release.
"Continued surveillance is warranted to monitor changes in injury patterns over time and to assess the effects of rule and equipment changes. Additionally, continued research into particular injuries, such as sprains/strains, concussions and lower extremity injuries, may give researchers insights into new training enhancements or improvements in protective equipment. Continued surveillance is needed to monitor changes in injury patterns over time, to better understand risk factors for injuries and to evaluate injury prevention efforts," she said.
For more information:
- Rechel JA, Yard EE, Comstock RD. An epidemiologic comparison of high school sports injuries sustained in practice and competition. J Athl Train. 2008;43:197-204.