Epidemiology of Sports Injuries Among High School Athletes in the United States: Data From 2015 to 2019

Nearly 8 million high school students in the United States participate in sports each year. With the lack of recent population data, an update to previous studies on US high school athletes is needed. To update the epidemiology of sports injuries in high school athletes in the United States. Descriptive epidemiology study. The data from the National Health School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, including 100 nationally representative high schools, were obtained for 9 high school sports (boys' football, soccer, basketball, wrestling, and baseball and girls' soccer, basketball, volleyball, and softball) between the 2015 and 2019 academic years. Injury rates were calculated as the ratio of injuries per 1000 athlete exposures (AEs), defined as 1 athlete participating in 1 practice or competition. Data on injured body area, injury type (sprains/strains, concussions, contusions, and fractures), time loss, and need for surgery were also obtained. Rate ratios (RRs) with 95% CIs and values were calculated. Athletic trainers reported 15,531 injuries during 6,778,209 AEs, with an overall rate of 2.29 injuries per 1000 AEs. Injury rates were highest in football (3.96), girls' soccer (2.65), and boys' wrestling (2.36). The overall injury rate was lower in girls' sports (1.86) compared with boys' sports (2.52) (RR, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.71-0.76]; < .001) and was higher in competition compared with practice (RR, 3.39 [95% CI, 3.28-3.49]; < .001). The most commonly injured body areas were the head/face (24.2%), ankle (17.6%), and knee (14.1%). Sprains/strains (36.8%) and concussions (21.6%) were the most common diagnoses. Overall, 39.2% and 34% of injuries resulted in a time loss of