Athletes attending a sports injury clinic--a review

Sports injuries in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has now a wealth of sporting facilities of which the youth of the country is making full use. A prospective study of sports related injuries was conducted during the twelve months of 1983. We present an analysis of 846 such injuries seen at the King Fahd University Hospital, Al Khobar. These injuries formed 8.36% of those who attended after an accident for emergency treatment, of which 63% were under 20 years. The majority was sustained during soccer games. The most frequent site of injury was the knee. We believe that specialised Sports Injury Clinics, initially based at the University Hospitals should be established here, to give guidance and education concerning avoidance of injuries, and for the treatment and follow-up of those injured and enable them to return to sports early.

Attendances at a casualty department for sport related injuries

In a prospective study over a period of 5 months (July-November, 1982), 506 patients were treated at a District General Hospital for a sports related injury. All the patients were seen initially in the Casualty Department and the majority of attendances (58%) were due to injuries caused by the two principal contact sports--Association and Rugby football. There were 294 patients (58%) aged 21 or less and 45 (9%) were aged 15. The study was intended to provide a summary that would quantify the local problem and assess both the efficacy of the existing system and the need for a specialist sports injury service.