A new study in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics has found that gymnastics has one of the highest rates of injuries in all of girls sports, comparable to other popular sports like basketball and cheerleading, and activities like cheerleading.
The researchers examined data between 1990 and 2000 when about 9,387 girls and 2,326 boys ages six to 17 years old were treated in hospital emergency rooms for gynastics-related injuries. From this information researchers estimated that the average of 4.8 injuries per 1,000 gymnasts is about the same as other popular sports.
The most common injuries found were to the upper extremities, lower extremities, head/neck and trunk and included strains/sprains, fractures/dislocations, abrasions/contusions and lacerations.
The good news is that gymnastics injuries actually declined 25 percent during the 16 years between 1990 and 2000. But investigators concluded that a national database for gymnastics-related injuries needs to be established to identify risk factors and help develop guidelines for injury prevention.