A prospective study of sport injuries in youth females

Abstract

ObjectivesTo examine sports and physical education (PE) injury rates in youth females during a school year and to investigate if an association exists between injury and phase of the menstrual cycle. DesignProspective cohort. SettingAn online questionnaire was used to record training and competition exposure and self-reported injuries for 30-weeks. Participants103 PE students (12–15 years) from a girls’ secondary school. Main outcome measuresInjury rates and prevalence of acute, gradual onset/overuse and substantial injuries. ResultsOn average, girls trained 3.4 h/week and competed 1 h/week. During the study, 74 participants reported 595 injuries. The average weekly prevalence of all injuries was 20.7% (95% CI: 20.0–21.3), of which 8.6% (95% CI: 8.3–9.0) were acute injuries and 12.0% (95% CI: 11.4–12.6) were gradual onset/overuse injuries. The overall rate of sport and PE injuries was 10.4 injuries/1000 h of exposure. The most common acute injury involved the ankle (35%) while the most common gradual onset/overuse injury involved the knee (51%). There was no significant association between the stage of the menstrual cycle and the likelihood of injury (P = 0.18). ConclusionThe high number of injuries in this population of girls suggests preventative measures, particularly targeting the lower extremity, are needed.