Quantifying the risk of sports injury: a systematic review of activity-specific rates for children under 16 years of age
- 1 May 2007
- journal article
- review article
- Published by BMJ in British Journal of Sports Medicine
- Vol. 41 (9), 548-557
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2006.033605
Abstract
Injuries caused by sports and other forms of physical activity in young children constitute a significant public health burden. It is important to quantify this risk to ensure that the benefits of sport participation are not outweighed by the potential harms. This review summarises the literature reporting exposure-based injury rates for various forms of physical activity in children aged 15 years and younger. Forty eight studies were found, of which 27 reported injury rates per hourly based exposure measured and 21 reported injury rates according to some other measure. Fourteen different sports and activities were covered, mostly team ball sports, with soccer being the most widely studied. Injury definition and the method of ascertaining and measuring injuries differed between studies, which created a large variation in reported injury rates that did not necessarily represent actual differences in injury risk between activities. The highest hourly based injury rates were reported for ice hockey, and the lowest were for soccer, although the range of injury rates for both of these activities was wide. Very few studies have investigated sports-related injuries in children younger than 8 years or in unorganised sports situations.This publication has 58 references indexed in Scilit:
- Injuries in Youth Football: A Prospective Observational Cohort Analysis Among Players Aged 9 to 13 YearsMayo Clinic Proceedings, 2002
- Children's fractures: a population based studyInjury Prevention, 1999
- Exposure DataSports Medicine, 1997
- Epidemiological comparison of injuries in school and senior club rugby.British Journal of Sports Medicine, 1996
- Cycling to school--a significant health risk?Injury Prevention, 1995
- Incidence of Adolescent Injuries in Junior High School Football and Its Relationship to Sexual MaturityClinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 1995
- Incidence of Injury in Indoor SoccerThe American Journal of Sports Medicine, 1994
- Injuries among young soccer playersThe American Journal of Sports Medicine, 1991
- Incidence Rate of Injuries During Sport Activity and Physical Exercise in a Rural Swedish Municipality: Incidence Rates in 17 SportsInternational Journal of Sports Medicine, 1988
- Evaluation of injuries in youth soccerThe American Journal of Sports Medicine, 1980