Locke Auston R, Koehne Niklas H, Yendluri Avanish, Laurore Charles, Obana Kyle K, Tiao Justin, Saltzman Bryan M, Trofa David P, Li Xinning, Parisien Robert L
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN.
Sports Health. 2025 Mar 27:19417381251326575. doi: 10.1177/19417381251326575.
Flag football is a rapidly growing sport with injuries frequently presenting to emergency departments (EDs). Current literature on flag football lacks mechanisms of injury and any information pertaining to female athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine demographic-specific injury trends in those playing flag football.
The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) was queried for flag football injuries presenting to United States EDs from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2022. Patient demographics, injury site, diagnosis, and disposition were recorded. NEISS narratives were used to identify mechanisms of injury. National estimates (NEs) were calculated using the NEISS statistical sample weight. Annual injury trends were evaluated by linear regression.
Descriptive epidemiology study.
Level 3.
There were 2508 flag football injuries (NE, 86,443) analyzed from 2013 to 2022; 78.2% were sustained by male athletes. Linear regression analysis revealed no significant trend in annual injuries ( = 0.16) from 2013 to 2022. The most common mechanism of injury was player-player collision (35.7%). The 2 age groups most affected by flag football injuries were middle school-aged (11-13 years) (20.8%) and high school-aged (14-18 years) (23.7%). The area of the body most affected for pediatric (<18 years) groups was the head, while adults most frequently injured their fingers. In addition, the most common mechanism for the pediatric age group was fracture (21.3%), whereas adult age groups most frequently suffered from strain/sprain injuries.
The number of injuries from flag football identified in this study has not decreased throughout the last decade, aside from 2020 - potentially due to the prevalence of COVID-19. Collisions were the most frequent mechanism of injury across all age groups. Whereas younger athletes frequently sustained head injuries and fractures, older athletes typically sustained strain/sprain injuries and finger injuries.
腰旗橄榄球是一项迅速发展的运动，受伤情况经常出现在急诊科。目前关于腰旗橄榄球的文献缺乏损伤机制以及任何与女性运动员相关的信息。本研究的目的是调查参与腰旗橄榄球运动人群中特定人口统计学特征的损伤趋势。
查询了国家电子伤害监测系统（NEISS）中2013年1月1日至2022年12月31日期间美国急诊科收治的腰旗橄榄球损伤病例。记录了患者的人口统计学特征、损伤部位、诊断和处置情况。利用NEISS的叙述内容来确定损伤机制。使用NEISS统计样本权重计算全国估计数（NE）。通过线性回归评估年度损伤趋势。
描述性流行病学研究。
3级。
2013年至2022年共分析了2508例腰旗橄榄球损伤病例（全国估计数为86,443例）；78.2%的损伤发生在男性运动员身上。线性回归分析显示，2013年至2022年期间年度损伤情况无显著趋势（P = 0.16）。最常见的损伤机制是运动员之间的碰撞（35.7%）。受腰旗橄榄球损伤影响最大的两个年龄组是中学年龄组（11 - 13岁）（20.8%）和高中年龄组（14 - 18岁）（23.7%）。儿科（<18岁）组身体受影响最大的部位是头部，而成年人最常受伤的部位是手指。此外，儿科年龄组最常见的损伤机制是骨折（21.3%），而成年人年龄组最常遭受拉伤/扭伤。
本研究中确定的腰旗橄榄球损伤数量在过去十年中除2020年外并未减少，这可能归因于新冠疫情的流行。碰撞是所有年龄组最常见的损伤机制。年轻运动员经常遭受头部损伤和骨折，而年长运动员通常遭受拉伤/扭伤和手指损伤。
