SPORTS-RELATED INJURIES IN SCOTTISH ADOLESCENTS AGED 11-15

Objectives-To measure the age and sex distribution of self reported sp orts and leisure injuries in a 12 month retrospective recall period am ong a representative national sample of Scottish adolescents, and to e xamine the characteristics (gender, age, handedness, and level of spor ts participation) of sports related injuries in relation to injuries s ustained during other activities. Design/Setting-Self completion quest ionnaire survey administered in schools during April-June 1994. Subjec ts-4710 pupils aged 11, 13, and 15 years drawn from a representative s ample of 270 classes with returns from 224 classes (83% completion rat e). Results-42.1% of the sample reported a medically attended injury. These were significantly more frequent among boys but there were no si gnificant age differences in overall frequency of injury. Sport relate d injuries accounted for 32.2% of all medically attended injuries. As with all injuries, frequency was greater in boys than girls at all age s, and there are differences in the pattern of lesions in sports and n on-sports injuries. Lower limb injuries were more frequent than upper limb injury in sports (57.6 v 23.9%), whereas there were no difference s in non-sports injuries (31.5 v 31.3%). Age and handedness difference s in sports injury rates were also identified. High sports participati on was significantly associated with a higher risk of injury in genera l and sports related injury in particular. Conclusion-Age, gender, han dedness, and level of sports participation have been shown to be impli cated in differential risk of sports related injury. Reducing sports i njury among adolescents should be a priority, but research into the in jury profiles of different sports is needed before detailed injury pre vention strategies can be developed.