title: Injury and treatment characteristics of sport-specific injuries sustained in interscholastic athletics: a report from the athletic training practice-based research network.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The inclusion of clinical practice factors, beyond epidemiologic data, may help guide medical coverage and care decisions.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Trends in injury and treatment characteristics of sport-specific injuries sustained by secondary school athletes will differ based on sport.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analysis of electronic patient records.
  
  
  METHODS
  Level 4.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants consisted of 3302 boys and 2293 girls who were diagnosed with a sport-related injury or condition during the study years. Injury (sport, body part, diagnosis via ICD-9 codes) and treatment (type, amount, and duration of care) characteristics were grouped by sport and reported using summary statistics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most injuries and treatments occurred in football, girls' soccer, basketball, volleyball, and track and field. Sprain or strain of the ankle, knee, and thigh/hip/groin and concussion were the most commonly documented injuries across sports. The injury pattern for boys' wrestling differed from other sports and included sprain or strain of the elbow and neck and general medical skin conditions. The most frequently reported service was athletic training evaluation/reevaluation treatment, followed by hot/cold pack, therapeutic exercise, manual therapy techniques, electrical stimulation, and strapping of lower extremity joints. Most sports required 4 to 5 services per injury. With the exception of boys' soccer and girls' softball, duration of care ranged from 10 to 14 days. Girls' soccer and girls' and boys' track and field reported the longest durations of care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Injury and treatment characteristics are generally comparable across sports, suggesting that secondary school athletic trainers may diagnose and treat similar injuries regardless of sport.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Subtle sport trends, including skin conditions associated with boys' wrestling and longer duration of care for girls' soccer, are important to note when discussing appropriate medical coverage and care.
authors.affiliation: Post-Professional Athletic Training Program, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, A.T. Still University, Mesa, Arizona.
authors.forename: Kenneth C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Post-Professional Athletic Training Program, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, A.T. Still University, Mesa, Arizona.
authors.forename: Alison R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Snyder Valier
authors.affiliation: Post-Professional Athletic Training Program, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, A.T. Still University, Mesa, Arizona.
authors.forename: Tamara C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Valovich McLeod
keywords: adolescent athletes; medical coverage; practice characteristics