AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF SPORTS INJURIES IN THE LATROBE VALLEY, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

Abstract

1262 The aim of this study was to determine the risk of an injury occurring during sport and physical activity within a well-defined regional population. A geographic region of the Latrobe Valley in urban/rural Victoria was chosen for this study. Census data was obtained to determine the size of the population. A randomised household telephone survey of sport and physical activity participation and associated injuries over the 2-week period prior to the survey was undertaken. The survey was conducted over 4 2-week periods to account for seasonality in participation. Participation and injury data was obtained on every member of each household over the age of 4 years. The resulting sample represented 1084 people from 417 households. The most popular sport and physical activities were walking (2315 participants per 10,000 population), swimming (747 participants per 10,000 population), bike riding (710 participants per 10,000 population), basketball (712 participants per 10,000 population) and Australian football (477 participants/10,000 population). Overall, 5% of the sport and physical activity participants were injured during their activity in the preceding 2 weeks. The sports with the highest injury rates were cricket (41 injuries per 1000 participants), soccer (51 injuries per 1000 participants) and netball (24 injuries per 1000 participants). Of the injured participants, 27% received some form of treatment but only 1/3 of these treated cases required medical attention. Participation/performance in sport and physical activity was affected in 36% of the injured cases and 34% said that the data affected their daily routine. These data indicate that sports injuries are a significant problem in themselves, but also impact on participation. Strategies to prevent sport and physical activity injuries will also increase participation in such activities.