Epidemiology of Injury in Community Club and Youth Sport Organizations

Abstract

Often regarded as a rite of childhood and significant cultural unifying agent, participation in highly organized pediatric and adolescent sport activities is extensive, with more than 60 million American youth involved in organized sport activities annually. Many of these young people participate in non-school community-based settings, which will be the focus of this chapter. This focus is particularly important given that participants in these venues often do not have similar access to immediate health care as that experienced by participants in high schools, for example, where athletic trainers are often employed.

The popularity of organized pediatric and adolescent sports underscores the broad scope of positive health outcomes resulting from regular physical activity. Trends toward early and multifaceted training, frequent competition, and single sport specialization, however, enhance the risk of injury among youth. Proactive approaches to athletic injury prevention, treatment and care among youth are predicated on an effective understanding of descriptive epidemiology, and the ability to identify who is injured, where and when injuries occur, and what outcomes exist. Accurate and precise data, both within and across sports, may not only allow for valid comparison of injuries, but provide further insight and examination as to the cause of injury.