A comparison of paediatric soccer, gaelic football and rugby injuries presenting to an emergency department in Ireland

doi:10.1016/j.injury.2006.06.010

Injury

Volume 38, Issue 1, January 2007, Pages 104-111

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.injury.2006.06.010 Get rights and content

Summary

Objectives

Children presenting with sport related injuries (SRIs) as a result of soccer, rugby and gaelic football are frequently seen in an emergency medicine (EM) setting in Ireland. A comparison of the demographics of injuries in these three sports has however not previously been performed. The purpose of this study was to provide up-to-date data on the nature of these SRIs.

Method

Data was collected retrospectively on all children (<17 years of age), injured in these three sports, presenting to an emergency medicine department over 6 months, and was entered into a database for analysis.

Results

Retrospective analysis was performed on 23,000 charts, and 409 SRIs were identified over a 6-month period. None of the children reported using any form of protective gear, and 27% reported a previous presentation to the emergency department with a SRI. Most injuries were as a result of soccer (56%), with 24% occurring in gaelic football, and 20% occurring in rugby. The predominant mechanism of injury was different in each sport, in soccer-falls (38%), in gaelic football-collisions with objects (balls) (37%), and in rugby-collision with persons (55%). Although the predominant type of injury in soccer and gaelic football was a fracture, accounting for 50% and 42% of injuries, respectively, in rugby however, skin/soft tissue injuries presented more commonly, accounting for 44% of injuries. When the general site of injury was investigated, the upper limb accounted for the majority of SRIs in each sport. In the management of SRIs, oral analgesics were prescribed in 50%, however, it was observed that no use was made of topical, intramuscular or rectal analgesic routes of administration. In addition it was observed that RICE/general injury advice was given in only 27%, physiotherapy was requested in 2%, and no injury prevention advice was given to any child. Overall, 8% required admission.

Conclusions

The data provided from this study may raise awareness of the nature of SRIs affecting children in each of these three sports, and may be useful in formulating much needed injury prevention strategies.

Introduction

The increase in sports participation in Ireland in soccer, gaelic football and rugby has led to an increase in the number of paediatric Sports Related Injuries (SRIs).17, 31, 35, 36 Worldwide, this trend has translated into increasing numbers of those injured interfacing with the hospital medical service.²⁰ As a result of this, SRIs in children are now recognised as the second leading cause of emergency department visits and hospital admissions.11, 18, 34 Since the majority of SRIs of a serious nature initially present in this setting, an important opportunity exists for significant epidemiological and interventional study of these patients.20, 30, 33

However, after a detailed Pubmed search, it was evident that there was a paucity of detailed data regarding paediatric injuries in these sports presenting to the emergency department. Before strategies to reduce serious injuries are formulated, it is essential to have sport-specific data on the current mechanism, type, site and management of these injuries. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to collect up-to-date data on the nature and management of paediatric SRIs, presenting to an emergency department, in these three popular and widespread ball games played in Ireland.

Section snippets

Method

Data was collected retrospectively on all children under 17 years of age presenting with a SRI, to the emergency department of Cork University Hospital, a major teaching hospital and trauma centre in Ireland, over six consecutive calendar months from 1st Jan 2002. For each patient, the following data was collected: day of presentation, gender, age, sport, use of protective gear, mechanism, site, side and type of injury, previous sports injury, investigations performed, and management. All data

Results

Over a 6-month period, 409 children presented with SRIs in these three sports, with 27% reporting a previous presentation to the emergency department with an injury as a result of sport. None of the children reported using any form of protective gear. There were significantly more soccer injuries presenting than gaelic football (56% versus 24%***) or rugby injuries (56% versus 20%***).

At weekends (Saturday and Sunday) compared to weekdays (Monday to Friday), the mean proportion of injuries

Discussion

Previous studies on SRIs involving these three sports have tended to describe injuries in adults, or both adults and children.4, 8, 10, 22, 24, 25, 29, 36 Few studies have specifically investigated injuries in children under 17 years, particularly those in the youngest age groups under 8, who are often just beginning their participation in sport.¹⁷ Also, many studies omit vital detail on injury management.13, 30 In addition, since many of these studies were conducted in single sports, and some

Conclusion

Injuries seen in the emergency department are usually biased towards the more serious injuries, those needing emergency treatment, and those needing surgery. In many cases this treatment cannot be offered in a non-hospital setting. The results of this study provide a useful insight into the nature of injuries that present to the emergency department, and is the first study to exclusively compare such injuries in these three popular sports played by children in Ireland. In addition, it suggests

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¹: These authors contributed equal work.

View full text

A comparison of paediatric soccer, gaelic football and rugby injuries presenting to an emergency department in Ireland

Summary

Objectives

Method

Results

Conclusions

Introduction

Section snippets

Method

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Orthop Clin North Am

Soccer injuries and their relation to physical maturity

Am Dis Child

Injuries caused by falling goalposts in Denmark

Br J Sports Med

Football injury survey: when and where players get hurt

Phys Sports Med

Incidence and nature of the most common rugby injuries sustained in Argentina (1191–1997)

Br J Sports Med

Distal fractures in young goalkeepers: a case for an appropriately sized soccer ball

Br J Sports Med

Facial fractures in gaelic football and hurling

Ir Med J

A pilot study examining injuries in elite gaelic football

Br J Sports Med

The mechanical properties of bone tissue in children

J Bone Joint Surg Am

Injuries in rugby union football

BMJ

Serious sports injuries requiring hospitalization seen in a paediatric emergency department

Am J Dis Child

Incidence rate of injuries during sport activity and physical exercise in a rural Swedish municipality: incidence rates in 17 sports

Int J Sports Med

Injuries in youth football

Paediatrics

The effect of neuromuscular training on the incidence of knee injury in female athletes: a prospective study

Am J Sports Med

Injuries in youth amateur soccer and rugby players-comparison incidence and characteristics

Br J Sports Med

Sports-related injuries in children

Int J Sports Med

Epidemiological comparison of injuries in school and senior club rugby

Br J Sports Med

The prevention of sports injuries in children