From the Perelman School of Medicine.
Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Pediatr Emerg Care. 2022 Jul 1;38(7):e1365-e1368. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000002754. Epub 2022 May 12.
This study sought to characterize the mechanisms of injury responsible for common softball-related injuries in recent years.
The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database was queried for all pediatric softball-related injuries presenting to participating US emergency departments from 2010 to 2019. Patients were classified by age as children (7-12 years), adolescents (13-18 years), or young adults (19-21 years). The case narrative of each injury was used to establish the mechanism of injury: hit by bat, hit by ball, sliding into base, collision with another player, catching, running, and throwing. Statistical weights provided by the Consumer Product Safety Commission were used to produce national injury estimates.
There were an estimated 511,117 pediatric softball injuries presenting to the emergency department over the study period, with a mean patient age of 14.3 years (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.1-14.4 years). The head/neck was the most commonly affected body part, making up 30.2% of cases (95% CI, 28.2%-32.2%). Injuries to the head/neck were most often caused by being hit by the ball (78.4%; 95% CI, 76.4%-80.3%) and most commonly resulted in a superficial injury (36.9%), internal injury (22.2%), or concussion (16.3%). Foot/ankle injuries were most frequently caused by sliding into base (51.5%; 95% CI, 47.0%-55.2%) and typically resulted in a sprain/strain (65.5%). The most frequent causes of shoulder/elbow injuries were being hit by the ball (33.3%; 95% CI, 28.6%-38.3%) and throwing the ball (27.6%; 95% CI, 22.8%-32.9%). These resulted most frequently in a sprain or strain (39.5%), followed by a superficial injury (28.2%). The proportion of softball injuries affecting the shoulder and elbow and the lower extremities increased with athlete age, whereas the proportion of injuries affecting the remainder of the upper extremities decreased with athlete age.
Being hit by the ball was the most common mechanism of injury, especially in the head/neck region, and shoulder/elbow injuries increase with athlete age. Coaches and leagues may consider mandating helmets for infielders and pitch counts for pitchers, especially among adolescent athletes.
本研究旨在描述近年来常见垒球相关损伤的致伤机制。
通过美国国家电子伤害监测系统数据库，检索 2010 年至 2019 年期间在参与调查的美国急诊部门就诊的所有与儿童垒球相关的损伤。患者按年龄分为儿童（7-12 岁）、青少年（13-18 岁）或青年（19-21 岁）。根据每个损伤的案例描述，确定损伤机制：被球棒击中、被球击中、滑入垒位、与其他球员发生碰撞、接球、跑步和投掷。使用消费品安全委员会提供的统计权重来生成全国伤害估计值。
在研究期间，估计有 511117 名儿童在急诊部门因垒球受伤，平均患者年龄为 14.3 岁（95%置信区间[CI]，14.1-14.4 岁）。头部/颈部是最常受影响的身体部位，占 30.2%（95%CI，28.2%-32.2%）。头部/颈部的损伤多由被球击中引起（78.4%；95%CI，76.4%-80.3%），最常见的结果是浅表损伤（36.9%）、内部损伤（22.2%）或脑震荡（16.3%）。足踝损伤最常由滑入垒位引起（51.5%；95%CI，47.0%-55.2%），通常导致扭伤/拉伤（65.5%）。肩部/肘部损伤最常见的原因是被球击中（33.3%；95%CI，28.6%-38.3%）和投球（27.6%；95%CI，22.8%-32.9%）。这些损伤最常导致扭伤或拉伤（39.5%），其次是浅表损伤（28.2%）。随着运动员年龄的增长，肩部/肘部和下肢的垒球损伤比例增加，而上肢其余部位的损伤比例随着运动员年龄的增长而减少。
被球击中是最常见的损伤机制，尤其是在头部/颈部区域，肩部/肘部损伤随着运动员年龄的增长而增加。教练和联盟可能会考虑要求内场球员戴头盔和限制投手的投球次数，尤其是在青少年运动员中。
