• Michael J Mello, Richard Myers, Jennifer B Christian, Lynne Palmisciano, and James G Linakis.
• Injury Prevention Center at Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA. mjmello@lifespan.org
• Acad Emerg Med. 2009 Mar 1; 16 (3): 243-8.

ObjectivesLimited research exists describing youth football injuries, and many of these are confined to specific regions or communities. The authors describe U.S. pediatric football injury patterns receiving emergency department (ED) evaluation and compare injury patterns between the younger and older youth football participants.MethodsA retrospective analysis of ED data on football injuries was performed using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program. Injury risk estimates were calculated over a 5-year period (2001-2005) using participation data from the National Sporting Goods Association. Injury types are described for young (7-11 years) and adolescent (12-17 years) male football participants.ResultsThere were an estimated total of 1,060,823 visits to U.S. EDs for males with football-related injuries. The most common diagnoses in the younger group (7-11 years) were fracture/dislocation (29%), sprain/strain (27%), and contusion (27%). In the older group (ages 12-17 years), diagnoses included sprain/strain (31%), fracture/dislocation (29%), and contusion (23%). Older participants had a significantly higher injury risk of injury over the 5-year study period: 11.0 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 9.2 to 12.8) versus 6.1 (95% CI = 4.8 to 7.3) per 1,000 participants/year. Older participants had a higher injury risk across all categories, with the greatest disparity being with traumatic brain injury (TBI), 0.8 (95% CI = 0.6 to 1.0) versus 0.3 (95% CI = 0.2 to 0.4) per 1,000 participants/year.ConclusionsNational youth football injury patterns are similar to those previously reported in community and cohort studies. Older participants have a significantly higher injury risk, especially with TBI.

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