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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: Over 7 million athletes participate in high school (HS) sports annually, with both the benefits of physical activity and risks of injury. While catastrophic cervical spine injuries have been studied, limited data are available characterizing less severe cervical spine injuries in HS athletes.
OBJECTIVE: To describe and compare cervical spine injury rates and patterns among United States (US) HS athletes across 24 sports over a ten-year period.
DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiology study SETTING: National sample of high schools participating in the High School Reporting Information Online (High School RIO) injury surveillance system. PARTICIPANTS: Athletes from participating schools injured in a school sanctioned practice, competition, or performance during the 2005-2006 through 2014-2015 academic years.
METHODS: Cervical spine injury data captured by High School RIO during the ten-year study period were examined. Cervical spine injury was defined as any injury to the cervical spinal cord, bones, nerves, or supporting structures of the cervical spine including muscles, ligaments, and tendons. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Cervical spine injury rates, diagnoses, mechanisms, and severities.
RESULTS: During the study period, 1,080 cervical spine injuries were reported during 35,581,036 athlete exposures (AE) for an injury rate of 3.04 per 100,000 AE. Injury rates were highest in football (10.10), wrestling (7.42) and girls' gymnastics (4.95). Muscle injuries were most common (63.1%), followed by nerve injuries (20.5%). A larger proportion of football injuries were nerve injuries compared to all other sports (IPR, 3.31; CI, 2.33-4.72), while in boys' ice hockey fractures represented a greater proportion of injuries compared with all other sports (IPR, 7.64; CI, 2.10-27.83). Overall, the most common mechanisms of injury were contact with another player (70.7%) and contact with playing surface (16.1%).
CONCLUSIONS: Cervical spine injury rates and patterns vary by sport and gender. Characterizing these differences is the first step in developing effective, evidence-based prevention guidelines.
Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Language: en |