BrJ Sports Med 1996;30:218-221 Paediatric sports injuries in Hong Kong: a seven year survey

Objective-To ascertain the epidemiological characteristics of sports injuries in children in Hong Kong. Methods-Retrospective review of all cases seen in the Sports Injury Clinic of the Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong, in the period May 1984 to December 1990. The variables studied were age at presentation, gender, side of the body injured, anatomical location of the injury, type and severity of injury, sport played, level (school, recreational, amateur and professional) and frequency of sports participation, length in years of sports practice, and initial management of the injury. Results-Of the 2293 patients seen, 238 were youngsters (54% boys) 16 years old or younger. Ball games accounted for the greatest number of injuries, with 37 children taking part in basketball, 28 in soccer, 12 in volleyball, and 31 children taking part in a variety of other ball games. Of the remaining children, the single largest group was practising track and field, with sprinting and middle distance running accounting for 42 injuries, and 28 children were injured while cycling. Most of the injuries (85%) were classified as non-serious, but 15% of children presented with a total of 21 fractures, two joint dislocations, five concussions, and seven torn knee ligaments. Conclusions-Children sports participation in Hong Kong, although not at high level and not as widespread as in the West, accounts for significant morbidity. These injuries should be carefully monitored to ascertain whether they result in any detrimental long term effects. (BrJ Sports Med 1996;30:218-221) Key terms: sports injuries; children; epidemiology Competitive sports participation in youngsters has become an established feature of modern society.' The number of children taking part is so high that it has been predicted they might experience negative effects from intensive sports participation at an early age.2 3 The large increase in numbers of participants and in the amount of time spent in training and competing has meant that children now present with injuries that were previously seen almost exclusively in adults.4 Low intensity training can stimulate bone length, while high intensity training may inhibit it.' Excessive repetitive efforts at an early age may result in serious alterations of the weight bearing joint surfaces.6 Three to 11 per cent of school aged children are injured each year when taking part in some form of sports activity,7 8 with boys affected twice as much as girls,9 since they engage in higher risk sports and have a higher level of sports activity than girls. Joint laxity is associated with recurrent ligamentous injury, while tightness is strongly correlated with meniscal injuries and ankle, shoulder, and wrist sprains.'0 The equipment used and the surfaces the sport is played on may have an adjuvant role.'" The large differences found between researchers and between sports in the incidence of injuries among sporting youngsters may be for several reasons, such as differences in the definition of injury, the nature of the study (retrospective or prospective), the method of data collection, variability of exposure to the different sports, and the level at which the sport was practised. The studies performed until now have mainly dealt with North American and European children. Although a small percentage of children will be part of ethnic minorities, no studies have focused specifically on Asian children. We report the results of an eight year study on sports injuries in Chinese youngsters presenting in a specialist clinic in Hong Kong. Methods We carried out a retrospective review of all cases seen in the sports injury clinic of the Prince of Wales Hospital in the period May 1984 to December 1990." In that period, 238 of the 2293 patients seen were youngsters of 16 years or younger. All patients attended the sports injury clinic following referral from another doctor, and all claimed to have been injured during sports participation. A sports injury reporting form was filled by each patient or their parent/relative accompanying them. The following variables were collected: age at presentation, gender, side of the body injured, anatomical location of the injury, type and severity of injury, sport played, level (school, recreational, amateur, and professional) and frequency of sports participation, length in years of sports practice, and initial management of the injury. Data on whether injuries occurred in training or competition were not collected. 218 Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Chinese University ofHong Kong, Prince ofWales Hospital, Clinical Sciences Building, 5th Floor, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong R C Bundoc, clinical research fellow KM Chan, professor J C Y Cheng, professor Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University ofAberdeen Medical School, Polwarth Building, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB9 2ZD, United Kingdom N Maffulli, clinical senior lecturer Correspondence to: N Maffulli. Accepted for publication 28 November 1995 group.bmj.com on April 19, 2017 Published by http://bjsm.bmj.com/ Downloaded from