Selected Topics: Sports MedicineSoccer Injuries in Children Requiring Trauma Center Admission
Introduction
Youth soccer is one of the most popular sports in the United States, with approximately 15.2 million children participating (1). Although contrary to its fundamental design, soccer is often a full-contact sport. In one study, the injury rate for soccer players was one serious injury per 100 athlete exposures during games plus practices (2). A solid trend of increasing participation has been observed, which increases the frequency of injury (3).
Although the majority of injuries incurred while playing soccer are minor and do not require admission, our institution has treated patients who experienced soccer injury severe enough to require trauma activation and admission. The objective of this study is to report our experience over the past 10 years and to illuminate what we predict to be a source of increasing trauma referrals.
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
This study received Institutional Review Board approval. Study design was retrospective chart review. Inclusion criteria were children with soccer injury treated at a single Level I trauma center. Our institution serves a broad rural region with a population of more than three million. Patients were identified by query of a Trauma Registry for the etiology of soccer injury incurred between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2009 with age < 18 years old. Additionally, the Medical Center electronic
Results
Trauma registry review identified 20 children with soccer injury severe enough to require a trauma team response, with range in age from 9 to 17 years old (average 14.4 years, SD 2.08). Of these, 15 (75%) were age 14 years or older. Thirteen of the children were male (65%) and seven (35%) were female.
The injuring event for each child was described as one of four general mechanisms. Mechanism was kicked or kneed for 8 children, player-to-player collision for 8 children, falls for 3 children, and
Discussion
Soccer is reported to be one of the leading causes of sports-related injury (4). This review identified 20 children over the course of 10 years with soccer injury severe enough to warrant a trauma team response on presentation to the hospital (Table 1), and an additional 61 children with less severe injuries who presented to either an ED or clinic.
For the 20 children requiring trauma team activation, the injuries were not subtle, and there was concordance between history of injury, examination,
Conclusion
Life-threatening injuries, as well as injuries with potential for long-term disability, are present in this series. A majority of children in our review suffered isolated extremity injury with minimal morbidity. Children with serious injury may initially present to a pediatrician, trauma center, or rural ED. Injured soccer players may also present hours or even days after the injury. Parents, coaches, and providers may not have an appreciation of the magnitude of injury possible in youth
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Cited by (8)
Catastrophic neurologic injuries in sport
2018, Handbook of Clinical NeurologyCitation Excerpt :As mentioned previously, American football carries a particularly high risk of catastrophic traumatic brain and spine injury. On the other hand, despite being immensely popular worldwide, soccer is a source of many noncatastrophic injuries and concussions but few reported catastrophic traumatic brain and spine injuries (Chomiak et al., 2000; Boden, 2005; Walters et al., 2014). One prospective study of 398 soccer players from a spectrum of ages and skill levels noted a total of 686 injuries sustained over a 1-year period, 113 (16.5%) of which were severe – and none of which were traumatic brain or spine injuries (Chomiak et al., 2000).
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