Profile of sport/leisure injuries treated at emergency rooms of urban hospitals

Abstract

The main thrust of this study was to examine the nature and number of sport/leisure injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms in a large metropolitan city. A total of 244 respondents, or 4% of the total case load in six hospital emergency wards, were treated for sport/leisure injuries during the 1-week survey. The results show that 86.3% occurred to individuals 30 years of age or under, that injuries to males outnumbered those to females by a margin of 3:1, and that 57.5% of those injured were active on a regular basis (i.e., at least once a week). The highest number of sport/leisure injuries (71.5%) occurred from participation in noncontact recreational sports and 61.9% occurred during supervised activities, yet over 55% received no on-site or first-aid treatment. These data suggest a need to promote community oriented safety education and first-aid programs.