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Abstract #166678

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Andrew E. Lincoln, ScD, MS¹, Heather Killie, MD², Paula Henderson¹, Jon L. Almquist, ATC³, Richard Y. Hinton, MD, MPH², and Wiemi Douoguih, MD⁴. (1) Orthopedics & Sports Health Research, MedStar Research Institute, 6495 New Hampshire Avenue, Suite 201, Hyattsville, MD 20783, 301-560-2927, andrew.e.lincoln@medstar.net, (2) Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Union Memorial Hospital, 3333 North Calvert Street, #400, Baltimore, MD 21218, (3) Athletic Training Program, Fairfax County Public Schools, 8115 Gatehouse Road, Suite 5100, Falls Church, VA 22042, (4) Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington Hospital Center, 106 Irving St. NW, Suite 215, Washington, DC 20010

Background: With nearly five million participants ages 5-14 and an additional half million players at the scholastic level, baseball is among the most popular youth sports in the United States. Objective: Our objective was to determine the rates, types, and play situations of injuries incurred during participation in youth baseball tournaments and camps. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiological study Materials and Methods: Data were collected during the 2006 season of a prominent baseball league summer camps and tournaments. In total there were 11,241 and 18,469 athletic exposures (AE) (games and practices) in summer camps and tournaments, respectively, among boys 7 to 18 years old. All injuries were entered by certified athletic trainers into a database using Sports Injury Management System (SIMS) software. Results: There were 304 injuries reported during the 2006 season. The injury rate during the camp sessions (19.5 injuries per 1000 AE) was significantly higher (incident rate ratio = 4.23, 95% CI: 3.28 – 5.50) than tournament play (4.6 injuries per 1000 AE). Most frequently, injury occurred during fielding activities (38%), followed by batting (30%) and base running (22%). Contusions accounted for the majority of injuries in both the camp (33%) and tournament (55%) situations. In the 7 to 9 year-olds, head and face trauma comprised 50% of the injuries. In contrast, arm injuries were more prevalent among 12 to 15 year-olds (22%). Overall, 13 year olds incurred 21% of all camp injuries (26.0 per 1000 AE). Conclusions: The overall injury rates were 4 times higher in the camp population. The majority of these injuries were contusions taking place during fielding activities. The highest injury rate was experienced by 13 year-olds, which coincides with a move from a smaller field to a full size field. This information may help to formulate injury prevention strategies in youth baseball.

Learning Objectives:

• • Recognize age-related differences for youth baseball injury incidence and mechanisms of injury.
• • List the most prevalent types of injuries and player activities associated with injuries.
• • Identify opportunities for injury prevention in youth baseball play.

Keywords: Injury Risk, Youth

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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