Sports injuries in a high school

Abstract

A 1-year study was undertaken investigating all sports injuries at a large high school. A total of 1283 student athletes participated in sports and suffered 280 injuries for an overall injury rate of 22%. The largest injury rate was in football (61%) followed by girls and boys gymnastics, wrestling, and boys basketball. Five sports had no injuries--boys' tennis, golf, boys' and girls' swimming, and girls' water polo. Severity of injury was measured by number of days lost per injury. Girls' track had the greatest number of days lost per injury (320) followed by girls' basketball, girls' cross country, boys' track, and boys' wrestling. Sprains and strains accounted for 57% of all injuries. Of the injured athletes, 87 were seen by a physician and only 5 athletes required surgery. The small number of serious injuries requiring surgery suggests that a motivated and competent pediatrician can play an integral role as a team physician.