The incidence of injury in Texas high school basketball - A prospective study among male and female athletes

Recent publications have reported differences in the incidence, rate, risk, and type of sports injury among men and women. We undertook a prospective study to determine the incidence of injury among high school basketball pla yers and to examine the differences in injury type, incidence, rate, and ri sk between male and female athletes. During a single basketball season, an injury survey of girls' varsity teams at 100 class 4A and 5A high schools i n Texas was conducted. These data were previously reported. We surveyed the same 100 high schools during a subsequent season to gather injury data fro m the boys' varsity teams. The athletic trainer collected data on each repo rtable injury and reported the data weekly to the University Interscholasti c League. A reportable injury was defined as one that occurred during a pra ctice or a game, resulted in missed practice or game time, required physici an consultation, or involved the head or the face. The boys' and girls' dat a were compared and statistically analyzed. The rate of injury was 0.56 amo ng the boys and 0.49 among the girls. The risk of injury per hour of exposu re was not significantly different between the two groups. In both groups, the most common injuries were sprains, and the most commonly injured area w as the ankle, followed by the knee. Female athletes had a significantly hig her rate of knee injuries including a 3.79 times greater risk of anterior c ruciate ligament injuries. For both sexes, the risk of injury during a game was significantly higher than during practice.