The aim of this prospective cohort study was to quantify the severity, prevalence and incidence of sports related injury across anatomical regions and sports played in a school based adolescent population in Ireland.
This is a prospective cohort study among secondary school students across the Island of Ireland. Participants were eligible for inclusion if they were secondary school students aged 12-18, participating in any sport on a regular basis, who were not currently injured and, who could provide written informed consent/assent.
Participants received a survey every two weeks from the point of recruitment (October-December 2023) until the end of the school year (May 2024) through a mobile phone application on the participants' phone. The questionnaire consisted of a modified version of the updated Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) injury questionnaire and questions on the number of athletic exposures (AE). The OSTRC questionnaire was used in this study to quantify sports related injury (0-100) and to define substantial injury as any injury with moderate to severe performance, participation or pain impact.
140 participants were recruited to the study with 117 (Mean age=15 years; Female=54.7%; Male=45.3%) of these being successfully onboarded onto the app and included in the study analysis. The response rate was 47.52% across the 32 week follow up. The two most played sports were Field Hockey (N=48) and Rugby (N=26).
Overall there were 200 injuries reported (60% were substantial injuries). The knee was the most common injury location with 43 injuries reported (53% were substantial injuries). The head had the highest average severity score (66/100 average OSTRC Severity Score). Soccer and Field Hockey had significantly lower odds ratios for likelihood of a substantial injury (Soccer: OR=0.33, P-value=0.019; Hockey: OR=0.36, P-value=0.002) compared to rugby. Rugby had the highest substantial injury prevalence (27%) and the highest substantial injury incidence (13.5 new substantial injuries/1000 AE).
The knee appears to be the most common site for injury including substantial injuries within the general adolescent sporting population but the head appears to be the most impactful injury with the highest average severity score. The likelihood of substantial injury appears to be lower in Soccer and Field Hockey compared to Rugby which also had the highest substantial injury incidence and prevalence. The higher impact component which contrasts these sports may highlight the differences in injury burden.
Emphasis should be placed on injury prevention programs and contact skills coaching particularly within high impact contact sports where risk of substantial injury appears to be higher compared to lower impact sports, given the negative affect substantial injury particularly to the knee and head within adolescence may have on adolescence physical and neurological development.
Injury
Adolescents
