Citation

Fecteau D, Gravel J, D'Angelo A, Martin E, Amre D. Clin. J. Sport. Med. 2008; 18(5): 410-414.

Affiliation

Division of Pediatrics, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/JSM.0b013e318188b8b5

PMID

18806548

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The trend in pediatric sport organizations is to regroup activities into tournaments. Sports-related injuries in children are a public concern. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between sport injuries and consolidation of physical activity in children. DESIGN: A case-crossover study. SETTING: The emergency department of a tertiary care hospital for approximately 1 year in 2006. PARTICIPANTS: Eligible participants had to be between 8 to 16 years of age, presenting to the emergency department for an acute injury that occurred during a timed organized sport event. ASSESSMENT OF RISK FACTORS: A standardized questionnaire was used to evaluate the number of hours of organized physical activity, which was defined as a supervised exercise leading to competitions. The number of hours of activity was compared between case periods (48 hours and 7 days) and control periods of same length. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: An injury was defined as any acute problem with organic tissue that occurred during a sport. RESULTS: On average, participants performed 136 minutes of organized sport activity in the 48 hours preceding the injury for a mean difference of 8 +/- 18 min. They also performed 356 minutes of organized sports in the 7 days prior the injury. This represented an increase of 40 +/- 31 minutes compared to the control periods. CONCLUSIONS: More injuries were observed if the athletes had increased the concentration of activity in the 7 days prior. Although small, this difference reflected a minor clinical effect. In our study, we failed to disclose an association for the period of 48 hours.

Language: en