INCIDENCE OF ADOLESCENT INJURIES IN JUNIOR-HIGH-SCHOOL FOOTBALL AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO SEXUAL MATURITY

Previous recommendations for adolescents have stated that sexually imm ature athletes may have a higher potential for injury when competing w ith their more sexually mature peers. However, studies document a high er injury rate among adolescent athletes with increasing age. This stu dy was designed to see whether a relationship exists between sexual ma turity based on Tanner stage and the incidence of adolescent injuries in a collision sport where the injury rates are highest. Three hundred and forty junior high school football athletes, ages 11-15, were obse rved prospectively for injury over two consecutive football seasons. T anner staging of all of these athletes was performed at the prepartici pation physical exam before the start of each season. Fifty-five injur ies were noted for this time period. The overall injury rate was 16%. A direct correlation was observed between higher Tanner stages and inc reased injury rates. Adolescent athletes who have recently experienced sexual maturation may be at higher risk of injury in contact sports.