High Injury and Concussion Rates in Female Youth Team Sport: An Opportunity for Prevention

The aim of this study was to investigate sport-related injury rates, types, locations, and mechanisms in female youth team sports. This was a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study. An anonymous online survey was administered to high school students (ages 14-19) in Alberta, Canada. The survey included questions regarding demographic information, sport participation and self-reported injuries sustained in the past year. Results were analyzed for girls who reported playing a top ten team sports for female participation. For girls participating in team sports, the overall injury rate was 55.5 injuries/100 participants/year. The rate of at least one concussion was 9.4 concussions/100 participants/year. Injury and concussion rates were highest in ringette (Injury rate=42.9 injuries/100 participants/year, Concussion rate=19.0 concussions/100 participants/year) and rugby (Injury rate=40.0, Concussion rate=15.3). The top three most serious injury locations were the knee (24.7%), ankle (21.6%) and head (16.1%). The most common injury types were joint/ligament sprain (26.71%), fracture (13.0%) and concussion (11.8%). Contact mechanisms accounted for 73.4% of all serious injuries reported in girls team sports. Team sport injury rates are high in female youth team sports. Specific consideration of sport-specific injury rates, types and mechanisms in girls’ team sports will inform development and evaluation of targeted sport-specific prevention strategies.