Sport-related injuries account for a significant proportion of injuries in Canadian youth, though their recent epidemiology is unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the trends in organised sport and recreation-related injuries in the paediatric population (0–17 years) of Southwestern Ontario from January 2017 to June 2023.
Data from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) were used to analyse the patterns of paediatric sport and recreation-related injuries at the London Health Sciences Center Children’s Emergency Department (ED). The study period was further divided into prepandemic, peri-pandemic and post-pandemic time frames to better understand the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the frequency of injuries.
Over the 6-year study period, there was a significant decrease in the number of sport and recreation-related injuries. The pre-COVID study period had the most injuries (N=4286), followed by post-COVID (N=1151) and peri-COVID (N=164). Approximately 30% of injuries in each time frame required ED follow-up, referral or admission to hospital. Ice hockey, soccer, basketball, football and physical education were the five sports resulting in highest total number of injuries. The head was the most reported body part injured and 10-year to 14-year olds had the greatest number of injuries in all time periods.
Ours is the first study we are aware of that describes the trends in sport and recreation-related injuries in children and how the pandemic impacted their patterns and frequency. The results provide direction for injury prevention and education, though further research is needed.