Head injuries in high school athletes increase despite overall drop in athletic injuries
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LAS VEGAS — According to results presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, head injuries are increasing among high school athletes despite an overall decrease in injury rates since 2006.
“High school sports do not come without their own inherent risks,” Sean A. Tabaie, MS, MD, FAAOS, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., told Healio. “All adolescent athletes, no matter the sport, are at risk of injuries. It is important for both the athletes and their parents to be aware of this potential,” he said.
Tabaie and colleagues used the National Health School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance study to analyze 15,531 sport-related injuries among U.S. high school athletes from 2015 to 2019. The sports included football, soccer, basketball, wrestling, volleyball, baseball and softball, according to the study.
Tabaie and colleagues found an overall injury rate of 2.29 per 1,000 athletic exposures (AEs), a decrease from 2.51 per 1,000 AEs recorded in a similar study that analyzed injury data from 2005 to 2006. In their study, Tabaie and colleagues noted the most common injuries were to the head and face (24.2%), ankle (17.6%) and knee (14.1%). Injury rates were highest in football (3.96 per 1,000 AEs), girls’ soccer (2.65 per 1,000 AEs) and boys’ wrestling (2.36 per 1,000 AEs), according to the study.
Compared with the data from 2005 to 2006, the researchers noted an increase in injuries to the head, as well as an increase in injuries resulting in a time loss of greater than 1 week. They noted that despite the overall decrease in injuries from 2006, injuries have changed in form and severity.
“This research has allowed me to be better prepared when discussing the potential risks of high school sports with both my adolescent patients and their parents,” Tabaie said. “I am able to give them tangible information, which I feel gives them realistic expectations and allows them to undertake proper injury prevention protocols to hopefully prevent sustaining an injury themselves,” he concluded.
Reference:
Rechel JA, et al. J Athl Train. 2008;doi:10.4085/1062-6050-43.2.197.
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Pizzarro J, et al. Poster 439. Presented at: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting; March 7-11, 2023; Las Vegas.
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