Injuries Resulting From Checking In United States High School Boy’s Lacrosse, 2008/09-2015/16 School Years

Abstract

High school boys’ lacrosse allows for intentional contact through body and stick checking. Recently, rules further limiting body checking were implemented to reduce injury risk. Yet, there is limited research focused on the epidemiology of injuries resulting from being checked. PURPOSE: Describe the epidemiology of injuries resulting from being body and stick checked in high school boys’ lacrosse during the 2008/09-2015/16 school years. METHODS: Athletic Trainers (ATs) collected injury and athlete-exposure (AE) data via the High School Reporting Information Online system. Injury was defined as: (1) occurring from participation in a school-sanctioned completion or practice; (2) requiring medical attention by an AT or physician; and (3) resulting in time loss of at least 24 hours (although all concussions, dental injuries, fractures were included). Analyses were restricted to injuries occurring from being body and stick checked. Injury counts, rates per 10,000AE, and injury rate ratios (IRR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported. Linear regression estimated annual average changes in injury rates. RESULTS: ATs reported 160 “body checked” and 137 “stick checked” injuries. These injuries occurred during 933,165AE, leading to injury rates of 1.71 and 1.47/10,000AE, respectively. A decrease in injury rate was found for “body checked” injuries (annual average change of -0.18/10,000AE; 95%CI: -0.23, -0.13; P<0.001) but not for “stick checked” injuries (annual average change of 0.02/10,000AE; 95%CI: -0.07, 0.11; P=0.68). The injury rate was higher in competitions than practices for both “body checked” (4.35 vs. 0.56/10,000AE; IRR=7.82; 95%CI: 5.40, 11.34) and “stick checked” injuries (3.40 vs. 0.62/10,000AE; IRR=5.51; 95%CI: 3.81, 7.96). Most “body checked” injuries were to the head/face (47.5%) and shoulder (16.9%), and diagnosed as concussions (43.8%). In contrast, most “stick checked” injuries were to the hand/wrist (29.2%) and head/face (21.2%), and diagnosed as fractures (32.8%) and contusions (27.7%). CONCLUSION: “Body checked” and “stick checked” injuries occurred at higher rates in competitions than practices, but varied in body part and diagnosis distributions. Reductions in the “body checked” injury rate across time may be associated with rule changes limiting body checking.