Pediatric Hurdle-Related Acute Injuries in Track and Field presenting to US Emergency Departments: Descriptive Epidemiology Study

BACKGROUND

Hurdling is a track event that is unique due to a combination of running and jumping over an apparatus. Since hurdling requires a special skillset with sprinting and jumping, athletes are at risk for various musculoskeletal injuries. However, there has been a paucity of studies describing the epidemiology of pediatric hurdle injuries.

PURPOSE

To examine hurdle-related injury types, injured body parts, injury mechanisms, and injury settings in children and adolescents.

METHODS

Descriptive epidemiology study. Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, which represents emergency room visits was retrospectively reviewed. Injury data involving hurdle injuries was searched during a 10-year period (2008-2017) with hurdlers 18 years of age and younger. Injuries were then classified based upon injury types, body parts, injury mechanisms, and injury settings. Descriptive statistics were used including mean ± standard deviation, frequency (N), and percentages (%).

RESULTS

A total of 749 hurdle-related injuries were found from 333 males (44.5%) and 416 females (55.5%). The top three injury types were traumatic fracture (N=218, 29.1%), joint sprain (N=191, 25.5%), and contusion/hematoma/bruise (N=78, 10.4%). The top three injured body parts were ankle (N=140, 18.7%), knee (N=120, 16.0%), and wrist (N=69, 9.2%). The most common injury mechanisms were apparatus-related trips, falls, and landings (N=594, 79.0%). Finally, injury settings consisted of track and field practices (N=469, 62.6%), track and field meets (N=96, 12.8%), and other settings including gym, physical education class, recess, school activities, and camps (N=49, 6.5%).

CONCLUSION

In pediatric hurdle athletes, the most prevalent injury type seen in the emergency room was fracture. Although most hurdle-related injuries occur in the lower extremity, injuries at the wrist were the 3^rd most commonly injured body location. The most common injury mechanism was apparatus-related trip, fall, and landing, and injuries most commonly occurred during track practices. In pediatric hurdle athletes seen in the emergency room, majority of injuries consisted of traumatic fractures and joint sprains at ankle, knee, and wrist, which frequently occurred with apparatus-related trip, fall, and landing mechanisms during track and field practices.

Hand and wrist injuries among collegiate athletes vary with athlete division

BACKGROUND

The rates, severity and consequences of hand and wrist injuries sustained by National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes are not well characterized. This study describes the epidemiology of hand and wrist injuries among collegiate athletes competing in different divisions.

METHODS

The National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program (NCAA-ISP) was accessed from 2004 to 2015 for the following sports: baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, field hockey, gymnastics, softball and volleyball. The data were used to identify all hand and wrist injuries, the specific injury diagnosis, mean time loss of activity following injury, and need for surgery following injury. These were then stratified by gender. Descriptive statistics were performed to examine the association between sports, event type and division. Student's t test was used to calculate p-values for independent variables. Chi-Square test was used to calculate odds ratio. P < 0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

103,098 hand and wrist injuries were reported in in the studied NCAA sports from 2004 to 2015. Male athletes sustained 72,423 injuries (6.01/10,000 athlete exposure) and female athletes sustained 30,675 injuries (4.13/10,000 athlete exposure). Division I athletes sustained significantly more injuries compared to divisions II and III. Overall, 3.78% of hand and wrist injuries required surgical intervention. A significantly higher percentage of division I athletes (both male and female) underwent surgical intervention compared to divisions II and III. The mean time lost due to hand and wrist injury was 7.14 days for all athletes. Division I athletes missed the fewest days due to injury at 6.29 days though this was not significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Hand and wrist injuries are common among collegiate athletes. Division I athletes sustain higher rates of injuries and higher surgical intervention rates, while tending to miss fewer days due to injury. Improved characterization of divisional differences in hand and wrist injuries can assist injury management and prevention.

[How dangerous is American football in a German amateur league? An injury analysis according to playing position over a period of four seasons]

BACKGROUND

American football is known for its high risk of injury, especially in the professional field. Although the number of players in the German football league (GFL) has risen in recent years, data concerning the injury rates of German amateur players in American football are scarce.

OBJECTIVE

Analysis of the injury rates in league games and training sessions in amateur football according to playing positions and body region.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Injuries of 123 American football players in a club playing in the second GFL (first and second team) were prospectively recorded over a period of 4 seasons (2014-2018). A complete history of injuries was obtained from 72 players. The injuries were classified using the Orchard sports injury classification system 10.1 (OSICS 10.1). The injury rates were calculated per 1000 athlete exposures (AE) for training as well as for league games with respect to the playing position and for each body region.

RESULTS

Overall 142 injuries were recorded. On average there were 35.5 injuries per season and 1.9 injuries per player. Of the injuries 54.7% occurred during training and 46.1% during games. The risk of injury was significantly increased during league games (15.6 ± 16.3) compared to training (3.1 ± 2.7, p < 0.0001). While wide receivers and cornerbacks had the highest overall injury rates, running backs had the highest injury risk during games (p = 0.046). Injuries to knees (27.3%) and shoulders (20.1%) were the most frequent. The shoulder was the body region injured most frequently during games (p = 0.002). Regarding the injury pattern, distorsions (30.9%) and contusions (22.5%) occurred more often compared to fractures (12.6%) and dislocations (16.1%). Concussion only contributed to 2.9% of the injuries.

CONCLUSION

American football is a contact sport with high injury rates even in the German amateur field, especially during league games. Regarding body regions, shoulders and knees were predominantly affected while regarding the playing position, wide receivers and cornerbacks were particularly jeopardized. Therefore, a continuous close medical supervision during games and an intensive position-specific training seem to be necessary even in the amateur field in order to reduce the injury rate.

Road traffic injuries in Poland: magnitude and risk factors

INTRODUCTION

The article presents the epidemiology of road traffic injuries and fatalities in Poland in the years 2004-2014. In Poland, every fourth death caused by external reasons is the result of a road traffic crash and Poland has one of the highest road fatality rates in relation to vehicle ownership in Europe, with an average 23 deaths per million residents. This rate is two times higher than most other European Union countries.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The research is based on a secondary analysis of data contained in multiple Polish governmental reports, including those of the Prevention and Analysis Office of Road Traffic Headquarters of Police, National Road Safety Program-GAMBIT 2005, National Road Safety Program 2013 to 2020, and Strategy for Efficient State in 2020, plus previous publications describing road safety in Poland. Data were analysed in two steps. First, the data were described using means and frequencies, and tabulated according to variables. Second, we considered the time frame (day, month, and year of the occurrence), the place and the circumstances of fatal road crashes, the kind of event, and types of road crashes.

RESULTS

Between 2004 and 2014, there were 475,591 traffic crashes on Polish roads. 52,217 people were killed and 597,191 people were injured. Traffic-related injuries represent the leading cause of death for Polish men up to 44 years of age. The most common cause of road crashes in Poland was failure to comply with the rules of the road traffic, such as through excessive speeding. We also found drivers poorly assessed road situations, faced a lack of adequate road infrastructure, and maintained many vehicles in poor condition.

DISCUSSION

Despite the variety of measures undertaken to improve safety on Polish roads, including modifications of the law as well as improving road quality, the number of fatalities and injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes is still considerable, and the losses incurred by Polish society are still substantial.

CONCLUSIONS

The number of fatalities and injuries as a result of road crashes in Poland remains very high. Multifaceted action to improve safety on the roads in Poland should continue.

Trends in alcohol-related injury admissions in adolescents in Western Australia and England: population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

Alcohol-related harm in young people is now a global health priority. We examined trends in hospital admissions for alcohol-related injuries for adolescents in Western Australia (WA) and in England, identified groups most at risk and determined causes of injuries.

METHODS

Annual incidence rates for alcohol-related injury rates were calculated using population-level hospital admissions data for WA and England. We compared trends in different types of alcohol-related injury by age and gender.

RESULTS

Despite a decrease in the overall rate of injury admissions for people aged 13-17 years in WA, alcohol-related injuries have increased significantly from 1990 to 2009 (from 8 to 12 per 10 000). Conversely, alcohol-related injury rates have declined in England since 2007. In England, self-harm is the most frequently recorded cause of alcohol-related injury. In WA, unintentional injury is most common; however, violence-related harm is increasing for boys and girls.

CONCLUSION

Alcohol-related harm of sufficient severity to require hospital admission is increasing among adolescents in WA. Declining trends in England suggest that this trend is not inevitable or irreversible. More needs to be done to address alcohol-related harm, and on-going monitoring is required to assess the effectiveness of strategies.

The epidemiology of NCAA men's lacrosse injuries, 2009/10-2014/15 academic years

Background

Participation in lacrosse has grown at the collegiate levels. However, little research has examined the epidemiology of collegiate men’s lacrosse injuries. This study describes the epidemiology of injuries in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s lacrosse during the 2009/10–2014/15 academic years.

Methods

Twenty-five men’s lacrosse programs provided 63 team-seasons of data for the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program (NCAA-ISP) during the 2009/10–2014/15 academic years. Injuries occurred from participation in an NCAA-sanctioned practice or competition, and required attention from an AT or physician. Injuries were further classified as time loss (TL) injuries if the injury restricted participation for at least 24 h. Injuries were reported through electronic medical record application used by the team medical staff throughout the academic year. Injury rates per 1000 athlete-exposures (AE), injury rate ratios (RR), 95% confidence intervals (CI), and injury proportions were reported.

Results

Overall, 1055 men’s lacrosse injuries were reported, leading to an injury rate of 5.29/1000AE; 95%CI: 4.98–5.61. The TL injury rate was 2.74/1000AE (95%CI: 2.51–2.96). The overall injury rate was higher in competition than practice (12.35 vs. 3.90/1000AE; RR = 3.16; 95%CI: 2.79–3.58). Most injuries were to the lower extremity (58.3%), particularly the ankle (14.1%) in competition and the upper leg (14.3%) in practice. Sprains and strains were the most common diagnoses in both competition (26.9 and 23.7%, respectively) and practice (20.2% and 27.4%, respectively). Most injuries in competitions and practices were due to player contact (32.8 and 17.5%, respectively) and non-contact (29.6 and 40.0%, respectively).

Conclusions

Our estimated injury rates are lower than those from previous college men’s lacrosse research. This may be due to increased injury awareness, advances in injury prevention exercise programs, or rule changes. Still, injury prevention can aim to continue reducing the incidence and severity of injury, particularly those sustained in competitions and to the lower extremity.