title: Sports injuries in school-aged children. An epidemiologic study.
abstract: In November 1982, epidemiologic data were collected in a unique, large scale, population-based survey on sports injuries in school-aged children living in Holland. A total of 7,468 pupils, aged 8 to 17, completed questionnaires covering a retrospective period of 6 weeks. Seven hundred ninety-one sports injuries were registered, amounting to an incidence of 10.6 sports injuries per 100 participants. In 31% of the cases, medical consultation was needed. Injuries incurred during the study period caused 36% of the children to miss one or more physical education classes and caused 6% to miss school for at least 1 day. Contusions and sprains were the most common lesions (77%). Three of four injuries involved the lower extremity, in particular the ankle. Sixty-two percent of all the injuries occurred in organized sports, 21% in physical education classes, and 17% in unsupervised sports activities. The highest injury rates were found in basketball and field hockey. In this study population, 15 and 16-year-old boys who had a high sports activity index and played team sports, particularly contact team sports, formed a high risk group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Janus Jongbloed Research Center on Sports and Health, State University Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Backx
authors.forename: W B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Erich
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Kemper
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Verbeek
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States