The NCAA's latest Injury Surveillance System (ISS) reports generally lower practice and game injury rates for winter sports.

This is the second year in a row in which winter sports monitored by the ISS showed decreased injury rates. Rates were significantly lower in this year's report for women's gymnastics.

The ISS, in its 20th year, monitors injuries in 15 different sports, including six in the winter season: men's and women's basketball, men's and women's ice hockey, wrestling and women's gymnastics.

The 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 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.

Men's and women's basketball

In men's basketball, practice (3.7) and game (9.1) injury rates were slightly lower than the 15-year averages for the sport. Assuming 10 game participants, the game rate equates to one injury every 11 games in the sport.

The ankle, head and foot were the top body parts injured in games, accounting for 44 percent of the game-related injuries. Sprains, contusions and strains were the top three types of injuries in both practice and games.

Twenty-six percent of game injuries resulted in time loss of seven days or more, while 8.5 percent resulted in surgery. Contact with another player accounted for 57 percent of all game injuries. Fifty-three percent of game injuries occurred within the lane.

Women's basketball had practice (3.7) and game (7.6) injury rates that were slightly lower than the 15-year averages for the sport. Assuming 10 game participants, the game rate equates to one injury every 13 games in the sport.

The ankle, knee and head were the top body parts injured in games, accounting for 62 percent of the game-related injuries. Sprains, contusions and concussions were the top types of game injuries. Women basketball players had a five-times-higher risk of anterior cruciate ligament injuries than their male counterparts.

Thirty-nine percent of game injuries resulted in time loss of seven days or more, while 14 percent resulted in surgery. Contact with another player accounted for 56 percent of all game injuries. Forty-seven percent of all game injuries occurred in the lane.

Men's and women's ice hockey

Men's ice hockey showed practice (1.7) injury rates and game injury rates (14.2) slightly lower than the 17-year average for the sport. Assuming 15 game participants, the game rate equates to one injury every five games in the sport. The ankle, shoulder and knee were the most common body parts injured in practice, accounting for 37 percent of reported injuries. The shoulder, head and knee were the top injuries in games, accounting for 48 percent of reported injuries. Strains, sprains and contusions were the top three types of injuries in practices. Concussions accounted for 14 percent of game injuries.

Thirty-eight percent of game injuries resulted in time loss of seven days or more, while 4 percent resulted in surgery. In games, player contact accounted for 50 percent of all injuries.

Women's ice hockey showed practice (2.6) and game (11.7) injury rates that were slightly lower than the three-year average for the sport. Assuming 15 game participants, the game rate equates to one injury every six games in the sport. The head, shoulder and knee were the top three body parts injured during practice, accounting for 42 percent of the reported injuries, while the head, knee and shoulder accounted for 55 percent of the reported injuries in game competition. Twenty-eight percent of all reported game injuries were concussions. Concussions, sprains and contusions were the top types of injuries in games.

Thirty-seven percent of women's ice hockey game injuries restricted participation for seven days or more, while 7 percent resulted in surgery. Forty-two percent of game injuries resulted from player contact.

Wrestling

Practice (5.7) and match (25.8) injury rates were lower than the 18-year averages for the sport. Wrestling match-injury rates equate to one injury every four matches for a team of 10 participants.

The knee, face and ankle were the most prevalent body parts injured in practice, accounting for 43 percent of all reported injuries, while the knee, shoulder and ankle accounted for 55 percent of all reported match injuries. Skin infections accounted for almost one-fourth of the practice time loss events. Sprains and strains were the top two types of match injuries.

Forty-five percent of all match injuries required restricted or missed participation for seven days or more, while 9 percent of match injuries required surgery of some type. Takedown was the highest-risk match activity with a risk of injury three times higher than any other move.

Women's gymnastics

In women's gymnastics, data show significantly lower practice (4.3) and meet (6.5) injury rates than the 18-year averages for the sport. Assuming eight meet participants, the injury rate for meets equates to one injury every 20 meets in the sport. The ankle, knee and foot were the most common body parts injured in practice, accounting for 44 percent of reported injuries, while the knee, ankle and elbow accounted for 67 percent of the reported injuries in meets. Sprains, strains and hyperextension were the top three types of injuries in practices and meets.

Forty percent of meet injuries resulted in time loss of seven days or more, while 14 percent resulted in surgery. Dismount and landing were the top mechanisms for meet injuries.

How the ISS works

Exposure and injury data were submitted weekly by athletic trainers from institutions selected to represent a cross section of NCAA membership. The cross section was 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.

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.

A reportable injury in the ISS is defined as one that:

The 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 is then 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, or on the NCAA's Web site at www.ncaa.org.