Adolescent females\' readiness to participate in sports

JOURNALOF ADOLESCENTHEALTH CARd l!I88;9:310-314

Adolescent Females’ Readiness to Participate in Sports Sex and Race Differences in the Preparticipation Athletic Examination ROBERT H. DURANT, JOE M. SANDERS, GERRY BRANTLEY,

Ph.D.,

JR.,

M.D.,

B.S.,

FSAM,

CHARLES

FSAM,

SUSAN

RRY WORDS:

Preparkicipationathletic examination

From the Medical Cotlege of Georgia and the Universi’yofArkansas For Medicnt S&rues. Address reprint requests to: Robert H. DuRant, Ph.D., FSAM, Section of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Department of Ppdiatnks, Medial College oj Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912. h4nnuscript aaepted March 11, 1987.

310

oxJ74lfmsam.30

JAY, M.D.,

AND RAY BEDGOOD,

With the increasing number of adolescent females partidpat@ in oqaniztd athletics, there has been concern ova their swctptibility to injury during participation. whether females diffe!r from males ThisstudyassaHts in the severity and frtqutncy of abnormalities on the preparddpation athletic txamination (PAE). Standardized PAEs were performed on 1259 h@h school athletes. Pemalts wert found to have s@ificantly less orthopedic problems than males on both the health history and the physical txamination. Ftmaies wtrt found to havt a lower ptrcentaBt of abnormalities of the hips, knees, and ankles than malts. Black malts had a significantly higher ratt of hip abnormalitits than whitt malts, and black females had a higher rak of knee abnormalities than white ftmalts. A s@ificantly h&her ptmntege of males than ftmalts wtrt referrtd for furthtr tvaluation prior to lthlttic partidpation. Althou~h our adolescent females had fewer physical probltms on tht PAE that miSht add to thtir ‘risk of having an athletic injury, the types of problems that wtrt found in our ftmalee suggest that thty should partidpate in more atmbic and strength trpinine stssions prior to tht sports season.

mash~

W. LINDER,

M.D.,

FSAM,

B.S.

Athletic examination Female athletes

In 1974 the American Medical Association’s Committee on the Medical Aspects of Sports recommended that school-aged females be encouraged to participate in all athletic events except vigorous contact sports such as football and ice hockey (1). Since that time there has been a continuing debate concerning the female’s susceptibility to athletic injury (2-5). Haycock and Gillette (2) reported that collegiate women sustained the same type and frequency of injuries as men except for a higher frequency of &ntusions and injuries to the knee and ankle in women. In contrast, Anderson (3) reported that women cadets at the U.S. Military Academy had a higher injury rate when they participated in a physical activity program similar to those designed for men. However, when the activity program was modified for women, the injury rate declined. Although most studies have attributed differences in the type of athletic injuries sustained by men and women to physiologic differences (2-5), several factors that may predispose women athletes to injuries may be detected during the preparticipation athletic examination (PAE) (5,6). Although most high school athletic injuries involve the knee and ankle joints (7-lo), there is contradictory data as to whether abnormal orthopedic fmdings on the PAE are predictive of an increased risk of athletic injury (10,ll). Most studies have re-

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JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH CARE Vol. 9, No. 4

and Sex Differences in the Frequency of Yes Responses from the Health History Males Black

hychronicOr recurrent illnesses Any illness lasting more than a week Anyhospitalizations Any surge, except tonsillectomy Any injuries requiting treatment by a physician Presently taking any medications Any problem with blood p.n?ssureor heart Any dMneas, fainting, convulsions or frequent headaches Ever been knocked out or had concussion Wear eyeghasesor contact lenses Wear any dental appliances Allergic to any medication Any knee injury Any knee surgery Any ankle injury Any history of neck injury Any other joirhtsprains or dislocations Any broken bones Any oqan missing other than tonsils Any heat exhaustion or heat stroke Any reason for not participating

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Females White

Black

White

n

%

n

%

n

%

n

%

5 22 71 31 87 12 11 16 23 70 11 21 57 6 46 5 69 15 4 3 2

0.9 3.7 12.1 5.3 14.8 2.0 1.9 2.7 3.9 11.9 1.9 3.6 9.7 1.0 7.8 0.9 11.8 6.4 0.7 0.5 0.3

7 27 113 55 126 19 4 9 28 55 50 25 45 13 44 5 50 27 3 1 4

2.1 8.3b 34.J 16.7 38.5 5.6 1.2 2.7 8.5’ 16.T 15.2’ 7.6b 13.6 3.9 13.4’ 1.5 15.3 25.5 0.9 0.3 1.2

3 14 1s 9 21 8 3 16 3 42 4 8 20 0 19 2 15 4 1 2 0

1.3 6.0 7.8 3.8 9.1 3.4 1.3 6.8 1.3 17.9 1.7 3.4 8.5 0.0 8.1 0.9 6.5 0.7 0.4 0.9 0.0

2 7 25 6 38 6 1 3 10 30 17 12 5 2 20 0 16 3 0 2 0

1.9 6.6 23.4’ 5.6 35.8 5.6 0.9 2.8 9.3b 28-V 15.y ll.2b 4.7 1.9 1S.p 0.0 15.0’ 0.9 0.0 1.9 0.0

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found in males consisted primarily of recent injury, joint instability, and tight heel cords. The females’ ankle abnormalities were predominantly “weak’ ankles. Although blacks reported significantly fewer problems than whites on the health history, they were found to have significantly more abnormalities of the mouth (p