Eye injury in sport

Eye injury sustained during sport is increasing in incidence worldwide, reflecting the rise in popularity of sport as recreation. It can account for up to 25% of severe eye injuries. This paper considers the historical context and demography of sports injuries, and the physical mechanisms and results of various types of ocular trauma in relation to sport. It reviews the specific problems associated with the sports considered to be most important in the epidemiology of eye injuries today. Certain sports, such as boxing, have an intrinsic risk of injury so high that some consider the sport should be banned. The risk of injury in many sports can be mitigated by changes in rules, such as the prevention of high sticking in ice hockey. Other sports with high risk of trauma could be made far safer with the widespread introduction of eye protection, and this applies especially to squash and badminton. The various types of eye protection are discussed. There is an urgent need to increase awareness of the risk of eye injury, to teach safe techniques, and to encourage the use of appropriate ocular protective wear in those at high risk of injury, especially the one-eyed.     

Ocular sports injuries: the current picture

Objectives—To determine the recent incidence of eye injury due to sport in Scotland, identify any trend, and establish which sports are responsible for most injury? The type of injury and final visual outcome is also evaluated. Methods—A prospective observational study of ocular injuries sustained during sport was performed over a one year period. Only patients requiring hospital admission were included. Data were collected on a standardised proforma and entered into a central database. Patients were followed up for at least three months. Results—Of 416 patients admitted because of ocular injury, 52 (12.5%) resulted from playing a sport. Although all racquet sports together accounted for 47.5% of these injuries, football was the single most common sport associated with ocular trauma, being responsible for 32.5% of cases. The most common clinical finding was macroscopic hyphaema occurring in 87.5% of patients. Overall the final visual acuity was 6/6 in 92.5% of patients. Conclusions—The incidence of eye injury due to sport at 12.5% is lower than previously reported, suggesting a change in the pattern of ocular trauma. Football is the single most common cause of ocular injury from sport in Scotland, but the wearing of protective headgear would be difficult to instigate. The incidence of hyphaema in sport related ocular trauma (87.5%) is almost double that of all ocular injury (47.8%), so the potential for serious visual loss as the result of a sports injury should not be underrated. Ophthalmologists have a role in protecting this young population at risk by actively encouraging the design and use of protective eyewear. Key Words: eye injury; ocular trauma; hyphaema; protective eyewear     

Eye injuries in sports

In a retrospective study from 1988 to 1998, eye injuries were found in 553 patients. Seventy-six (13.7%) of these injuries were associated with sport. The mechanism of trauma was for the most part a ball (71.1%) or a club (13.2%). Most eye injuries occurred in soccer (35.5%), which is, by far, the most widespread sport in this region of Norway. A disproportionately high number of the injuries occurred in floorball (17.1%), bandy (13.2%), and squash (10.5%). The rules in these sports may, in theory, be strict enough to prevent eye injuries in most cases. However, these rules are often neglected in informal activities. Strategies for educating the general public about the potentially serious effect of eye injuries in sports exposed to such risk are of great importance.     

The risk of abdominal injury to women during sport

Although trauma to pregnant women is a potential risk during sport, as there is no published information about the magnitude of this risk, it is presumed to be low. Whilst there is an emerging literature about the risk of adverse outcomes following severe and catastrophic trauma to pregnant women, this literature almost exclusively focuses on road trauma victims or the result of assault. This paper describes the risk of abdominal injuries to women participants across a range of sports in Australia. An extensive search of the available literature could not identify any studies that had discussed this issue specifically in pregnant women. Studies, which have reported injuries in athletes, have generally found abdominal/chest injuries to account for fewer than 2% of all injuries, even in contact sports. Most of these published studies do not differentiate between the chest and abdomen and provide no specfic details on the exact nature or mechanisms of the injuries. Given the limitations of the published studies, an examination of data from two Australian general injury databases (one describing hospital admissions, the other hospital emergency department presentations), three Australian sports-injury treatment databases (sports medicine clinic attendances and medical coverage services) and one cohort study was undertaken to describe sports-related abdominal injuries. These analyses confirm that the risk of abdominal injury during sport is very low. In conclusion, currently there is not an adequate evidence-base for quantifying the risk of abdominal injuries during sport in women, let alone pregnant women or for justifying a ban of sport on this basis. Recommendations for future epidemiological sports injury studies and the potential for linkages with perinatal morbidity and mortality databases are given.     

Sport accidents in childhood.

Injuries among children during sporting activities are common. This study is a one year study including children between five and fourteen years of age who sustained their injuries during sporting activities and were treated at Trondheim Regional and University Hospital. Sport accidents account for 27 per cent of all childhood accidents in this age group. Fifty-three per cent of the injured were boys, and 47 per cent were girls. The boys sustained more severe injuries than the girls. Soccer caused the greatest number of injuries. Horse riding and alpine skiing were the cause of the most severe injuries. A more widespread use of protective guards, better technique and body control, better coaching and not allowing the younger children to take part in technically advanced sporting activities might reduce the number and the severity of the sport injuries in children.     

Survey of sport participation and sport injury in Calgary and area high schools.

OBJECTIVE: To examine (1) sport participation and (2) sport injury in adolescents. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a retrospective survey design. In total, 2873 adolescents were recruited from a random sample of classes from 24 Calgary and area high schools. Each subject completed an in-class questionnaire in March 2004. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Overall and sport-specific participation rates (number of sport participants/number of students completing survey). Overall and sport-specific injury rates (number of injuries/number of participants). RESULTS: In the previous 1 year, 94% of students participated in sport. The top 5 sports by participation for males were basketball, hockey, football, snowboarding, and soccer, and for females, basketball, dance, volleyball, snowboarding, and soccer. The injury rate including only injuries requiring medical attention was 40.2 injuries/100 adolescents/y (95% CI, 38.4-42.1), presenting to a hospital emergency department was 8.1 injuries/100 adolescents/y (95% CI, 7.1-9.2), resulting in time loss from sport was 49.9 injuries/100 adolescents/y (95% CI, 48-51.8), and resulting in loss of consciousness was 9.3 injuries/100 adolescents/y (95% CI, 8.3-10.5). The greatest proportion of injuries occurred in basketball, hockey, soccer, and snowboarding. The top 5 body parts injured were the ankle, knee, head, back, and wrist. The top 5 injury types were sprain, contusion, concussion, fracture, and muscle strain. A previous injury was associated with 49% of the injuries and direct contact with 45% of injuries. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of participation in sport and sport injury are high in adolescents. Future research should focus on prevention strategies in sports with high participation and injury rates to maximize population health impact.     

American football injuries in Finland.

American football is currently played in 14 European countries. It is a contact sport where injuries are inevitable. In this study, injuries causing more than one week of absence from game or practise were registered during the 1991 preseason and season. A total of 112 injuries was reported among 684 players. Knees were most vulnerable to injury (28.6%) followed by ankle injuries (16.7%). Operations were performed on 28 (25%) of the injured players. Catastrophic injuries can occur in this sport, but none has happened in Finland during the 12 years for which the sport has been practised. The skill level was not a contributing factor. The frequency of injuries and their profile closely resemble those in US-based studies so it is suggested that the precautions and preventive measures recommended in the USA should be applied and followed in Europe.     

The impact of sport and active recreation injuries on physical activity levels at 12 months post‐injury

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of serious sport and active recreation injury on 12‐month physical activity levels. Adults admitted to hospital with sport and active recreation‐related injuries, and captured by the Victorian Orthopaedic Trauma Outcomes Registry were recruited to the study. Changes between preinjury and 12 month post‐injury physical activity was assessed using the short International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Independent demographic, injury, and hospital variables were assessed for associations with changes in physical activity levels, using multivariate linear regression. A total of 324 patients were recruited, of which 98% were followed up at 12 months. Mean short IPAQ scores decreased from 7650 METS (95% CI: 7180, 8120) preinjury to 3880 METS; (95% CI: 3530, 4250) post‐injury, independent of functional recovery. Education level and occupation group were the only variables independently associated with changes in physical activity levels post‐injury. These results highlighted that sport and active recreation injuries lead to significant reductions in physical activity levels. Hence, the prevention of sport and active recreation injuries is important when considering promotion of activity at a population level.     

Impact of school sports injury

BACKGROUND: Most injuries in school occur during sport. OBJECTIVES: To explore the impact of sports injury in supervised school sport. METHOD: A prospective study of sports injury in children of secondary school age presenting to the accident and emergency department. Each patient was identified on registration, matched with medical records after discharge, and contacted later by telephone to complete a structured interview. Patients were only included if their injury was sustained during supervised school sport. RESULTS: During the study period, 194 patients aged 11-18 attended the accident and emergency department with an injury, 51% of which occurred during school sport. Injuries occurred most commonly in rugby (43%), followed by physical education and games together (17.5%). Most injuries were x rayed (72%). Just over 12% of pupils lost no time from sport, most (71%) were back to sport within three weeks, and 2.7% were injured for more than eight weeks. Almost a third of parents needed to take time off from work to deal with the injured child. CONCLUSION: School sports injuries are important. They account for just over half of all injuries in secondary school children. They cause significant disruption to school and sport and have important implications for the wider family.     

Eye casualties during Operation Telic

AIM: To audit all eye casualties presenting to a British Army Field Hospital during the conflict period of Operation Telic between the dates 27th March and 1st May 2003. METHOD: A retrospective analysis of entries into the attendance register and clinical notes from the Emergency Department of 34 Field Hospital. RESULTS: Forty five eye casualties were seen in the Emergency Department of 34 Field Hospital and they accounted for 2.0% of all attendances (n=2292). Of these, eye injuries were the commonest (58.7%), whilst the diagnosis of conjunctivitis was the most frequent non-traumatic presentation. A total of 6 casualties required transfer rearwards to a specialist UK facility. Of all eye casualties seen, 6 were of non-coalition status. CONCLUSIONS: Eye patients account for a significant proportion of the total number of casualties seen during the warfighting stage; only 25% of eye injuries can return to active duty, compared with 85% of all surviving wounded. Importantly, even minor eye injuries or infections can rapidly incapacitate personnel and if untreated cause permanent severe visual loss. The prompt diagnosis of ocular pathology, coupled with appropriate treatment in the field or evacuation for advanced care, can limit potential sight-threatening sequelae.     

Spinal injury in sport

Spinal injuries are very common among professional or amateur athletes. Spinal sport lesions can be classified in overuse and acute injuries. Overuse injuries can be found after years of repetitive spinal load during sport activity; however specific overuse injuries can also be found in adolescents. Acute traumas are common in contact sports. Most of the acute injuries are minor and self-healing, but severe and catastrophic events are possible. The aim of this article is to review the wide spectrum of spinal injuries related to sport activity, with special regard to imaging finding.     

Epidemiology of medically treated sport and active recreation injuries in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, Australia

OBJECTIVE: To quantify and describe medically treated sport and active recreation injuries in a defined region of the Latrobe Valley from 7 November 1994 to 6 November 1995. METHOD: A geographic target area was defined, restricted to the six postcodes that fell wholly within the catchment area of the Latrobe Regional Hospital. Data describing medically treated sport and active recreation injuries to Latrobe Valley residents aged over 4 years (about 70,000) were selected by postcode from three sources: the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset (hospital admissions), the Victorian Injury Surveillance System (presentations to hospital emergency departments), and the Extended Latrobe Valley Injury Surveillance (ELVIS) project (presentations to general practitioners). RESULTS: At least 2300 cases of medically treated sport and active recreation injury were recorded. This corresponds to a hospital admission rate of 16/10,000 population, emergency department presentation rate of 169/10,000 population, and a general practitioner presentation rate of 187/10,000 population. There were more male patients than female, and younger age groups were also overrepresented, but these data may reflect the greater participation of these groups in sport and active recreation. Australian football was associated with the highest number of injuries (accounting for 24.0% and 22.0% of presentations to emergency departments and general practitioners respectively) followed by cycling (15.7% and 12.6%) and basketball (17.5% and 13.5%). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that routine health sector data collections in defined populations can provide useful information on the size, distribution, and characteristics of the problem of sport and active recreation injuries at the community level. However, all current health sector systems for injury data collection and surveillance require attention to improve case capture and identification and data quality.     

Sports-related eye injuries: floorball endangers the eyes of young players

The objectives of this study were to determine the distribution of different sports-related eye injuries and to identify injury types to enable recommendations to be made about the use of protective eyewear. The study population comprises all 565 eye trauma patients examined at the Ophthalmology Emergency Clinic of the Helsinki University Central Hospital over a 6-month period. Data were collected from patient histories and questionnaires. In addition, three severe floorball eye injury cases are presented. Of the 565 eye traumas, 94 (17%) were sports related. Of these, 42 (45%) were associated with floorball. Countrywide, in Finland, estimated over 300 (+95% CI 228-415) floorball eye injuries occur annually. The mean age of floorball patients was 22 years. The most common finding (55%) in sports injury patients was hyphema. Clinically severe eye injuries during this period accounted for one-fourth of all cases. During the study period, no eye injury was found in an organized junior ice hockey, where facial protection is mandatory. Floorball is estimated to belong to the highest risk group in sports, and thus, the use of protective eyewear is strongly recommended. We conclude that national floorball federations should make protective eyewear mandatory.     

Analysis of hurling and camogie injuries.

In 1984, 4500 people with sport injuries attended the Cork Regional Hospital. Of these, 817 were injured in the national game of hurling and camogie. Hand injuries were the most frequent occurring in approximately one third of injured players (33 per cent) and of these, just half had a closed metacarpal fracture. Facial injuries were the second most frequent category (28 per cent). Almost one third of these were nasal fractures, while forehead and eyebrow lacerations, fractured zygoma, loss of teeth are also common. Sport eye injuries referred to the Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital in Cork during the same period amounted to 107, of which 26 occurred in hurling. It is believed that a properly designed protective head gear would largely eliminate such facial and eye injuries.     

Injury risk evaluation in sport climbing

The aim of this study was to quantify and rate acute sport climbing injuries. Acute sport climbing injuries occurring from 2002 to 2006 were retrospectively assessed with a standardized web based questionnaire. A total number of 1962 climbers reported 699 injuries, which is equivalent to 0.2 injuries per 1?000?h of sport participation. Most (74.4%) of the injuries were of minor severity rated NACA I or NACA II. Injury distribution between the upper (42.6%) and lower extremities (41.3%) was similar, with ligament injuries, contusions and fractures being the most common injury types. Years of climbing experience (p<0.01), difficulty level (p<0.01), climbing time per week during summer (p<0.01) and winter (p<0.01) months were correlated with the injury rate. Age (p<0.05 (p=0.034)), years of climbing experience (p<0.01) and average climbing level (p<0.01) were correlated to the injury severity rated through NACA scores. The risk of acute injuries per 1?000?h of sport participation in sport climbing was lower than in previous studies on general rock climbing and higher than in studies on indoor climbing. In order to perform inter-study comparisons of future studies on climbing injuries, the use of a systematic and standardized scoring system (UIAA score) is essential.     

Ocular injuries in basketball and baseball: what are the risks and how can we prevent them?

Ocular trauma is a frequent result of sports-related injury during basketball and baseball. A screening sideline examination should be performed immediately to assess vision and evaluate the severity of damage. The team physician should be able to treat minor injuries and identify vision-threatening trauma for immediate referral. Injuries range from minor, including corneal abrasion and foreign bodies, to more severe, including hyphema, orbital fracture, and globe rupture. Resultant damage may be vision-threatening and permanent. Most of these injuries can be prevented with full-time use of sport-specific protective eyewear. Physicians should recommend appropriate eye protection and counsel patients accordingly.     

A study on patients presenting with injuries to the eye

Ocular injuries are a common occurrence, as the eye is very susceptible to trauma. This study was carried out to determine the main causes of injuries to the eye and to assess the degree of impairment of vision caused by such injuries. A total of 191 victims of ocular injuries who presented for medico-legal examination during a 1-year period were analysed in respect of their sex, age, type of injury and degree of visual impairment. The majority of victims in this study group had sustained injuries following assault. There did not appear to be any correlation between use of a weapon and the gravity of the eye injury. Victims with acid burns although fewer in number, had a higher proportion with a more severe degree of visual impairment.     

2005～2010年396名军人伤害住院病情分析

目的:对某区部队伤害住院患者进行流行病学特征分析,提出预防建议。方法:应用我院的病历数据库资料进行分析。结果:意外损伤、军事训练伤、运动伤是导致部队伤害住院的3大主要因素。伤害主要发生在18～24岁(占76.77%)之间,干部意外损伤、运动伤、斗殴伤和交通伤高于战士,军事训练伤则战士明显高于干部。结论:部队要重视和加强伤害的预防工作。     

汽车安全气囊致眼外伤临床分析

目的 探讨汽车安全气囊致眼外伤的临床特点及诊治方法.方法 对2004～2006年于我院眼科住院的15例30眼汽车安全气囊致眼外伤病例进行回顾性分析.结果 闭合性眼球钝挫伤15例30眼,均伴有角膜挫伤(占100%),其中合并有前房积血12例20眼(占66.67%),瞳孔括约肌撕裂6例9眼(占30%),视神经挫伤5例6眼(占20%),玻璃体积血3例3眼(占10%).经治疗12例24眼角膜恢复透明,合并前房积血全部吸收,其中18眼视力恢复至1.0;1例1眼在临时角膜下行玻璃体切割、穿透性角膜移植术,术后视力0.1;4例5眼形成角膜瘢翳,因为同时合并有视神经挫伤,视力0.2～0.3.结论 汽车安全气囊可导致多种类型眼损伤,其中尤以角膜挫伤发病率高,且多为双眼性,角膜恢复透明时间长,治疗棘手,可延误合并有眼后段损伤的诊断及治疗,因此对合并有眼后段损伤的病例临床上容易漏诊,早期诊治有利于患者视力恢复.     

The dangers of sport on an operational deployment.

This study, a retrospective review of the orthopaedic outpatient work from a multinational hospital in Bosnia, further confirms the dangers of sport on an operational tour. Sports injuries were shown to be a major cause of morbidity, affecting both the operational effectiveness of the force and also resulting in a number of career-threatening injuries. In particular, football was shown to be the most common cause of injury and the wisdom of allowing this sport during operational tours must be questioned.