Balachandran Uma, Koehne Niklas, Locke Auston, Jain Charu, Nietsch Katrina S, Mulcahey Mary K, Frank Rachel M, Cannada Lisa K, Parisien Robert L
Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
Loyola University Medical Center, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, Maywood, Illinois, USA.
Orthop J Sports Med. 2025 Aug 12;13(8):23259671251360345. doi: 10.1177/23259671251360345. eCollection 2025 Aug.
Flag football, a noncontact variant of American football, has gained significant interest in the United States and globally, which has been attributed to its accessibility, low cost, and perceived safety compared with traditional tackle football.
To identify the trends, primary mechanisms, and distributions of American flag football injuries among female athletes to better inform prevention and safety measures.
Descriptive epidemiology study.
Data analyzed in this study were extracted from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), a public database representing approximately 100 US emergency departments (EDs) that provides national injury estimates. NEISS was queried for all flag football injuries in female patients from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2023. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the distribution of injury by age, mechanism, diagnosis, and body region. Linear regression was used to analyze changes in injury rates over time.
Across the study period, 605 female patients with flag football injuries were evaluated at US EDs, extrapolating to a national estimate (NE) of 22,666 injuries from 2014 to 2023. The highest frequency of injuries occurred in 2023 (NE = 3531; 15.6%) and the lowest in 2020 (NE = 436; 1.9%). The most common injury diagnosis was found to be strain/sprain (NE = 6835; 30.2%), with adolescents aged 11 to 20 years sustaining the greatest number of injuries across all diagnoses. The most commonly affected body part was the finger (NE = 137; 22.6%). When analyzing the mechanism of injury, the most common cause was fall, including fall on an outstretched hand (NE = 4321; 19.1%). In addition, the majority of patients were treated and released (NE = 22,253; 98.2%).
This study demonstrated that from 2014 to 2023, female flag football injuries reported to US EDs remained relatively stable, dropping in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and peaking in 2023. The most common injuries sustained by female athletes playing flag football were strains/sprains and fractures. Given the high prevalence of injuries sustained in the adolescent population, the use of appropriate protective gear should be emphasized to prevent a precipitous rise in injuries as the sport continues to grow in popularity throughout the country.
腰旗橄榄球是美式橄榄球的一种非接触式变体，在美国和全球都引起了极大关注，这归因于其与传统擒抱式橄榄球相比具有易参与、成本低和安全性高的特点。
确定女子运动员美式腰旗橄榄球损伤的趋势、主要机制和分布情况，以便更好地为预防和安全措施提供依据。
描述性流行病学研究。
本研究分析的数据来自国家电子伤害监测系统（NEISS），这是一个代表约100家美国急诊科的公共数据库，可提供全国伤害估计数。对2014年1月1日至2023年12月31日期间女性患者的所有腰旗橄榄球损伤进行了查询。采用描述性统计分析损伤按年龄、机制、诊断和身体部位的分布情况。使用线性回归分析损伤率随时间的变化。
在研究期间，美国急诊科对605名有腰旗橄榄球损伤的女性患者进行了评估，据此推算出2014年至2023年全国损伤估计数（NE）为22,666例。损伤发生频率最高的是2023年（NE = 3531；15.6%），最低的是2020年（NE = 436；1.9%）。最常见的损伤诊断是拉伤/扭伤（NE = 6835；30.2%），11至20岁的青少年在所有诊断中受伤人数最多。最常受影响的身体部位是手指（NE = 137；22.6%）。在分析损伤机制时，最常见的原因是跌倒，包括伸手撑地跌倒（NE = 4321；19.1%）。此外，大多数患者接受治疗后出院（NE = 22,253；98.2%）。
本研究表明，2014年至2023年期间，向美国急诊科报告的女子腰旗橄榄球损伤相对稳定，在2020年新冠疫情期间有所下降，2023年达到峰值。女子腰旗橄榄球运动员最常见的损伤是拉伤/扭伤和骨折。鉴于青少年人群损伤发生率较高，随着这项运动在全国范围内持续普及，应强调使用适当的防护装备以防止损伤急剧增加。
