PROCESS FOR EFFECTIVELY STUDYING THE BIOMECHANICS OF INJURY IN YOUTH SPORTS

Abstract

Introduction: This paper addresses various concerns that should be evaluated when attempting to develop an understanding of the biomechanics of injury in youth sport activities. Methods: A two stage process was developed to study the biomechanics of injury in youth sport athletes. The first stage involved the development of a questionnaire to collect information on the physical characteristics of young athletes, the history of their sport participation, the level and incidence of pain associated with their training for sport and participation in sport, and the sites and types of injuries sustained. This questionnaire has been modified to make it compatible with the specific terminology and sport involvement characteristics of several youth sport groups, and its utility has been tested on these groups. The second stage of this process involved drawing relationships between regions of the body with relatively high levels of pain, incidences of pain, and incidences of injury and the kinetics of selected sport skills that were suspected to precipitate these problems. Results: This process was successfully employed in collecting data on youth participants in powerlifting, pairs skating, gymnastics, and rowing. It has resulted in a strategy that can be used to collect similar information on other youth sport groups. Conclusions: The following factors must be considered when investigating the mechanisms of injuries associated with youth participation in sport: the physical characteristics of athletes, the time and intensity of sport participation, the techniques (skills) employed, and the sport environment. References: Brown, E. W. (1987). Mechanisms of injury in young athletes. In E. W. Brown & C. Branta (eds.), Competitive sports for children and youth - An overview of research and issues (pp. 107-113). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers. Brown, E. W., & Abani, K. (1985). Kinematics and kinetics of the dead lift in adolescent power lifters. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,17(5) 554-563. Brown, E. W., & Kimball, R. G. (1983). Medical history associated with adolescent powerlifting. Pediatrics, 72(5), 636-644. Brown, E. W., & McKeag, D. B. (1987). Training, experience, and medical history of pairs skaters. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 15(4), 100-114. Brown, E. W., Witten, W. A., Espinoza, D. M., Witten, C. X., Wilson, D. J., Wisner, D. M., Weise, M., & Learman, J. (1996). Attenuation of ground reaction forces in dismounts from the balance beam. In T Bauer (ed.), Proceedings of the XIII international symposium of the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports (pp. 114-117). Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada: Lakehead University Press.