COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A study of U.S. pediatric basketball-related injuries found such injuries treated in hospitals dropped from 1997 to 2007, researchers say.
Charles Randazzo and Nicolas G. Nelson of the Center for Injury Research and Policy, Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and Lara B. McKenzie of Ohio State University in Columbus, conducted an analysis using data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.
An estimated 4.1 million basketball-related injuries were treated in U.S emergency departments among children and adolescents age 20 and under during the study period, the study says.
The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, finds the most common injury was a strain or sprain to the lower extremities at 30.3 percent, while 23.8 percent had ankle injuries.
Boys were more likely to sustain lacerations and fractures or dislocations, while girls were more likely to sustain traumatic brain injuries and knee injuries.
Teens ages 15-19 were three times more likely to injure the lower extremities, while children ages 5-10 were more likely to injure the upper extremities, sustain traumatic brain injuries and have fractures or dislocations.
"Although the total number of basketball-related injuries decreased during the 11-year study period, the large number of injuries in this popular sport is cause for concern," the study authors say in a statement.
