Prevalence and characteristics of self-reported sports-related injuries among university students: a cross-sectional study

Sports-related injuries among recreationally active university students remain incompletely described. This study estimated past-year injury prevalence, described lifetime injury-history characteristics, and explored associations between past-year injury occurrence and participant characteristics. This cross-sectional survey collected 394 responses at a Saudi university during January–December 2025. After excluding three nonconsenting respondents and 108 consenting nonparticipants, 283 active students were analysed. Exploratory logistic regression included sex, age group, body mass index category, participation frequency, perceived training intensity, and chronic disease. Overall, 157 students reported past-year injury (55.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 49.7–61.2%), and 178 reported lifetime injury. Among 281 complete cases, male respondents had higher adjusted odds of past-year injury reporting than female respondents (adjusted odds ratio 2.48; 95% CI 1.32–4.65; p = 0.005), with similar estimates across sensitivity analyses. No association with chronic disease was detected. Among lifetime injury reporters, 65.7% selected contact sports and 36.5% reported visiting a doctor or physiotherapist. Self-reported sports-related injuries were common among physically active students in this single-university convenience sample. The findings provide exploratory, descriptive evidence and should not be interpreted as sport-specific injury rates or causal effects because exposure time was not measured and injuries were not clinically verified.