228253 Epidemiology of Fractures Sustained by US High School Athletes, 2005-09

Monday, November 8, 2010 : 9:30 AM - 9:50 AM

Christy L. Collins, MA , Center for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH
David Swenson, BS , College of Medicine, 1The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Ellen E. Yard , Center for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH
Natalie McIlvain, BS , Center for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH
Sarah Fields, JD, PhD , School of Physical Activity and Educational Services, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
R. Dawn Comstock, PhD , Center for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH
  
Background/Purpose: High school athletes in the US sustain over 100,000 fractures annually. Such injuries can pose significant physical and monetary costs to athletes and their families. Our objective was to describe fracture injury rates and patterns by sport and gender.

Methods: Using an internet-based data collection tool, RIO™, certified athletic trainers from 100 nationally representative US high schools reported exposure and injury data for athletes in 9 sports during the 2005-09 academic years.

Results: Fractures accounted for 10.1% of injuries sustained by US high school athletes. The highest fracture rate was in football (4.61 per 10,000 athlete exposures (AE)), the lowest in volleyball (0.52 per 10,000 AE). Boys were more likely than girls to sustain fractures in basketball (RR=1.35, 95% CI=1.06–1.72) and soccer (RR=1.34, 95% CI=1.05–1.71). Overall, the most frequently fractured body sites were the hand/finger (28.3%), wrist (10.4%), and lower leg (9.3%). Most fractures resulted in >3 weeks time lost (34.3%) or medical disqualification from participation (24.2%). The vast majority of fractures (95.4%) required at least one diagnostic procedure such as an X-ray, CT scan, or MRI, and 16.1% required surgical treatment, accounting for 26.9% of all injuries requiring surgery.

Conclusions: Fractures can severely affect the ability of US high school athletes to continue participation in sports and can also impose a financial burden on the athletes' families. Effective, targeted, evidence-based fracture prevention programs are needed.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand why fractures are of particular concern among US high school athletes 2. Identify the most commonly fractured body sites among US high school athletes 3. Explain the importance of being able to identify differences in fracture rates and patterns by sport and gender.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I participated in the study to a significant extent.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.

Back to: 3041.0: Recreational injuries in at-risk populations