Study on the Occurrence of Injuries in ‘Basketball-Type’ Physical Education Classes in Elementary Schools.

Abstract

This study aims to analyze injuries caused during ‘basketball-type’ classes among elementary school children in Physical Education Classes by grade, gender, and body parts; clarify patterns in injury situations; and provide materials for injury prevention measures. Data on injuries in children from 2013 to 2019 were provided by the Japan Sport Council and were included in this study. The results revealed the following:

(1) The incidence of basketball-type injuries were higher girls than boys in all grades.

(2) For boys and girls, the highest proportion of injuries in all grades was in the upper extremities, with girls having a higher proportion of injuries than boys. Approximately 91.5% of the boys and 95.0% of the girls had injuries to the hands and fingers.

(3) Among third-grade boys, injuries to the face accounted for approximately 13.8% of the total injuries, which decreased as the grade level increased. Among boys in all grades, injuries to the lower extremities accounted for more than 17% of the total; the boys reported a higher proportion of injuries to the face and lower extremities than girls.

(4) Approximately 99% of injuries to the hands and fingers were not injuries to the skin but to bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, etc, caused by the application of external force to the hands and fingers.