A recent study collected data on the rates and patterns of medically disqualifying (MDQ) injuries among US high school athletes. Between the 2005-2006 and 2013-2014 school years, a high school injury
database found 59,862 total injuries. Of those injuries, 3599 injuries resulted in medical disqualification, or 6.0% of all injuries.
Medical disqualification injuries vary by sport, sex, and type of athletic activity. The most common MDQ injury mechanism was found to be player-player contact (48.2%). Most, 60.4%, occurred in competition. MDQ injury rates were higher among girls in the sex-comparable sports of basketball, cross-country, soccer, and track and field. The most commonly injured body site was the knee (33.7%). The most common MDQ injury diagnosis was sprains/strains (35.9%) and the most common specific MDQ injury was knee sprains/strains (25.4%), with the anterior cruciate ligament being the most commonly injured knee structure.
Source: American Journal of Sports Medicine, published online May 10, 2016
