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NCAA News Archive - 2001
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The NCAA News
Head injuries in several fall sports and player-contact injuries in soccer highlight the latest NCAA Injury Surveillance System reports.
The fall 2000 survey conducted as part of the Injury Surveillance System (ISS) provides a baseline of injury data from a national sampling. Researchers should be cautious when comparing ISS results with injury data from other studies.
No common definition of injury, measure of severity or evaluation of exposure exists in athletics-injury literature. The information in the summary must be evaluated under the definitions and methodology outlined for the ISS.
The system, in its 18th year, monitors injuries in 15 different sports, including five in the fall: football, women's soccer, men's soccer, women's volleyball and field hockey.
A sport-by-sport review follows:
Football
Practice (3.8) and game (35.4) injury rates per 1,000 athlete-exposures were slightly lower than the 16-year averages for the sport. The game concussion rate of 2.9 (one concussion every six games for 60 participants) reflects a consistently increasing trend in the sport over the past several years. Football game-injury rates equate to 2.1 injuries per game for a team of 60 participants.
The upper leg, knee and ankle were the most prevalent body parts injured in practice, accounting for 42 percent of all reported injuries. Knee, ankle and shoulder injuries accounted for half of all reported game injuries. Sprains, strains and contusions were the top three types of injuries.
Two of every five game injuries required restricted or missed participation for seven days or more, while 8 percent of injuries required surgery of some type. Actual game scrimmaging (11-on-11) was the highest risk practice activity, with an injury risk three times higher than other contact non-scrimmage activities.
Women's volleyball
Women's volleyball is one of the few sports monitored that has game practice rates similar to practice. The 2000 data show practice (4.5) and game (4.2) rates identical and slightly lower than the 18-year averages for the sport. Assuming eight game participants, the game rate equates to one injury every 30 games in the sport.
Ankle, upper leg and shoulder were the most common body parts injured in practice, accounting for 48 percent of reported injuries. The ankle, knee and lower back accounted for 64 percent of the reported injuries in game competition. Sprains and strains were the top two types of injuries.
More than a third -- 37 percent -- of game injuries resulted in time loss of seven days or more, while 13 percent resulted in surgery. Non-contact was the mechanism of injury in 49 percent of practice and 21 percent of game injuries. Player contact described 28 percent of game injuries.
Men's and women's soccer
Men's soccer showed practice (3.9) and game (18.0) injury rates that were slightly lower than the 15-year averages for the sport. Assuming 15 game participants, the game rate equates to one injury every 3.7 games in the sport.
Ankle, upper leg and knee were the most common body parts injured in practice, accounting for 60 percent of reported injuries; the same three were the top injuries in games. Strains, sprains and contusions were the top three types of injuries in both practices and games. Concussions accounted for 10 percent of game injuries.
More than a quarter -- 27 percent -- of game injuries resulted in time loss of seven days or more, while 6 percent resulted in surgery. In games, player contact accounted for nearly two-thirds (66 percent) of all injuries; 25 percent of game injuries were associated with attempting or receiving a slide tackle.
Women's soccer showed practice (5.3) and game (17.5) injury rates that were slightly lower than the 15-year averages for the sport. Assuming 15 game participants, the game rate equates to one injury every 3.8 games in the sport.
Upper leg, knee and ankle injuries were the top three body parts injured during practices, accounting for 55 percent of the reported injuries. The ankle, knee and head accounted for 53 percent of the reported injuries in game competition. A total of 13 percent of all reported game injuries were concussions. Sprains, strains and contusions were the top types of injuries in both practices and games.
There were 29 percent of women's soccer game injuries that restricted participation for seven days or more, while 10 percent resulted in surgery.
Consistent with patterns that have been monitored since 1989, women soccer players had a four times higher risk overall (seven times higher in games) of anterior cruciate ligament injury than men's soccer participants. Just more than half -- 51 percent -- of game injuries resulted from player contact; 20 percent were associated with a slide tackle.
Field hockey
In field hockey, practice (4.5) injury rates were higher and game (7.0) injury rates were lower than the 15-year averages for the sport. Assuming 15 game participants, the game rate equates to one injury every nine games in the sport.
The upper leg and knee continued to be the top two body parts injured in practice, while the head, knee and upper leg were the top game injuries (accounting for 42 percent). Concussions accounted for 12 percent of all game injuries, although 36 percent of all game injuries could be defined as above the neck (including face, nose, eyes, etc).
Strains, sprains and inflammation were the top three types of injuries and accounted for 64 percent reported in practice. Sprains, lacerations and strains accounted for 53 percent of reported game injuries.
A total of 24 percent of game injuries resulted in time loss of seven days or more, while 8 percent resulted in surgery. Contact with the ball or stick accounted for 13 percent of all practice and 44 percent of all game injuries.
The ISS was developed in 1982 to provide current and reliable data on injury trends in intercollegiate athletics. Injury data are collected yearly from a representative sample of member institutions and the resulting data summaries are reviewed by the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. The committee's goal continues to be to reduce injury rates through suggested changes in rules, protective equipment or coaching techniques, based on ISS data.
Definitions of terminology:
Sampling
Exposure and injury data are submitted weekly by athletic trainers from institutions selected to represent a cross section of NCAA membership. The cross section is based on the three divisions of the NCAA and the four geographical regions of the country. The selected institutions amount to a minimum 10 percent sample of the membership sponsoring the sport; therefore, the resulting data should be representative of the total population of NCAA institutions.
The system does not identify every injury that occurs at NCAA institutions in a particular sport. Rather, it collects a sampling that is representative of a cross section of the NCAA.
Exposures
An athlete exposure (A-E) is one athlete participating in one practice or game in which he or she is exposed to the possibility of athletics injury. For example, five practices, each involving 60 participants, and one game involving 40 participants, would result in a total of 340 A-Es for a particular week.
Injuries
A reportable injury in the ISS is defined as one that:
1. Occurred as a result of participation in an organized intercollegiate practice or game.
2. Required medical attention by a team athletic trainer or physician.
3. Resulted in restriction of the student-athlete's participation or performance for one or more days beyond the day of injury.
Injury rate
An injury rate is a ratio of the number of injuries in a particular category to the number of athlete exposures in that category. This value then is multiplied by 1,000 to produce an injury rate per 1,000 athlete exposures.
For example, six reportable injuries during a period of 563 athlete exposures would give an injury rate of 10.7 injuries per 1,000 athlete exposures [(6 divided by 563) x 1,000].
Additional information on the report is available from the health and safety staff at the NCAA national office.
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