| The incidence of injury in combat sports has not been adequately
reported although it is important to identify the nature and frequency
of injuries prior to the implementation of prevention programs. This
study compared injury rates treated in Hospital Emergency Departments
between different combat sports of boxing, wrestling, and martial
arts. A secondary objective described anatomic region and diagnosis
of these injuries. Data were obtained on all boxing, wrestling, and
martial arts-related injuries that were in the National Electronic
Injury Surveillance System database and resulted in Emergency Department
visits between 2002 and 2005. Pearson's chi-square statistics were
calculated to compare injury rates for each activity accounting for
complex sample design. Martial arts had lower injury rates compared
to boxing and wrestling for all diagnoses (p<0.001). Boxing had
lower injury rates compared to wrestling for strains/sprains and dislocations.
Boxing and wrestling had similar injury rates for concussions. Injury
prevention efforts should consider the distribution of injuries and
concentrate on preventing strains/sprains in wrestling, concussions
in boxing and wrestling, and fractures for all three activities. The
findings of the present study do not provide evidence that combat
sports have alarmingly high rates of injuries resulting in emergency
department visits.
KEY
WORDS: Combat sports injuries, sports injuries, emergency department
visits, complex sample design.
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