A survey of sports injuries among a convenience sample of Israeli athletes.
BACKGROUND
Israel lacks a systematic surveillance of sports injuries, and knowledge of risk factors and specific patterns of injury is inadequate. In order to promote prevention of sports-related injuries, the magnitude of the problem must first be identified and the incidence and severity of sports injuries described.


OBJECTIVE
To conduct a survey on previous sports injuries among a sample of Israeli athletes.


METHODS
A convenience sample of Israeli amateur athletes participating in the 1997 15th Maccabiah Games was randomly selected. The study group answered an anonymous self-administered questionnaire that included sociodemographic data, and information regarding their sports activity and sports-related injuries that had occurred during the previous 2 years.


RESULTS
The study group, aged 12-73 years (median age 21), comprised 301 consenting athletes in 28 different sports. Of these athletes 56.1% reported having had at least one injury. Most injuries (75.6%) involved the upper and lower extremities, and 37.8% of the injured sportsmen had received medical attention from a physician. Half of the athletes participated in contact sports--both collision and limited impact. This group had a much greater proportion of reported injuries in all age groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Surveillance of sports injuries should be expanded in order to develop appropriate prevention programs in Israel.
Dankner
R
R
Health Services Research Unit, Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy, Ministry of Health, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel. racheld@gertner.health.gov.il
Kaplan
G
G
Barell
V
V
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011897:Random Allocation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012494:Sampling Studies; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices