Wrestling game injuries among children in Dakar: a report on 172 cases

INTRODUCTION The objective was to report epidemiological and lesional features among children practicing wrestling as a game in Dakar, Senegal. METHODS It was a retrospective study including all patients under 16, victims of wrestling game injuries. We studied epidemiological and lesional aspects in children: frequency of wrestling game injuries among all games, age, sex, geographic origin, place of injury, parent's socioeconomic status, nature of the injury and location. RESULTS Wrestling game injuries represented 19.9% injuries in all games. Sex-ratio was 33.4. The most affected age group was the 6-10 years old age group. The majority of children are from suburban Dakar (64%). Injuries occurred most often at home and in the street. Most children are from low socioeconomic status (64%). Fractures predominated and were localized almost exclusively on the elbow. CONCLUSION Wrestling game injuries in Dakar occur among older children from the suburbs, living in the neighborhood of great wrestling champions' districts of residence. Wrestling game cause injuries, consisting mostly of elbow fractures.