Wrestling Injuries In School Aged Female Athletes In Us Emergency Departments

PURPOSE: Wrestling injuries in female athletes is an understudied topic. The aim of this study is to characterize the injuries that occur in female wrestlers aged 5-18-year-old who presented to United states (US) emergency departments (ED) from 2014-2023 and compare patterns between youth and adolescent wrestlers. METHOD: Retrospective comparative study including female patients aged 5-18 years of age, presenting to the ED due to an injury related to their participation in the sport of wrestling. Data was extracted from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) from 2014 to 2023. Information extracted included patient demographics, injury location, disposition, diagnosis and narrative for each patient. Injury distribution for youth (5-11) and adolescent (12-18) were evaluated using chi squared. RESULTS: An estimated 28,824 (841 NEISS cases) female wrestlers from ages 5-18 years old presented to U.S. EDs with an injury during the study period. The most injured body parts were the head, shoulder, knee, and elbow (16.53%, 14.03%, 11.06%, and 10.7%, respectively). More injuries occurred in adolescent wrestlers than youth wrestlers (p < 0.05), with approximately 7x more injuries (737 cases vs 104 cases). The distribution of injury diagnoses was similar in youth and adolescent age groups, with the most common injury being a strain/sprain, accounting for 27.9% and 30.3% of all injury diagnoses, respectively. Fractures were more common amongst youth wrestlers, accounting for 23.1 % of all injuries versus 13.6% in the adolescent group. The distribution of body parts injured by location were significantly different among the two groups (p < 0.05). In the youth group, the head was the most common location (11.5%, 95% CL 20.0-57.7%), followed by the wrist (10.6%, 95% CL 9.85-47.4%) and elbow (9.6%, 95% CL 16.3-56.6%). The most common injury location in the adolescent group was also head (17.2%, 95% CL 24.9-34.9%), however the next most common was shoulder (14.9%, 95% CL 31.4-43.5%), followed by the knee (11.7%, 95% CL 27.7-41.0%). In both groups, most injuries occurred above the waist (>60% of all injuries). CONCLUSION: Adolescent (12-18-year-old) wrestlers are more likely to sustain injuries. The distribution of injuries varies by wrestler's age, with the majority occurring above the waist.