Pediatric bowling injuries presenting to U.S. emergency departments: a descriptive epidemiologic study

Bowling is a popular youth sport, but despite its popularity, there is limited research on pediatric bowling-related injuries. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to identify common injury locations and types among pediatric bowlers and assess differences in common injured body locations and diagnoses based on age and sex.

Data were sourced from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) for the period 2014-2023, focusing on individuals 18 years old or younger. The data sourced from NEISS are raw numbers of cases, not stratified/weighted data. Injuries were categorized by body locations and diagnoses, and chi-square test was performed to compare injury patterns between pre-adolescents (5-10 years) and adolescents (11-18 years), as well as between males and females, with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval to determine significance.

A total of 755 injuries were analyzed: 375 in pre-adolescents and 380 in adolescents, with 399 injuries in males and 356 in females. Overall, the most frequently injured body locations were the finger (30.7%), face (9.3%), wrist (8.6%), knee (7.4%), and lumbar spine (6.8%). Pre-adolescents experienced more finger (OR = 4.00, p < 0.001) and face (OR = 8.00, p < 0.001) injuries, while adolescents had more wrist (OR = 2.38, p = 0.001), knee (OR = 6.63, p < 0.001) and lumbar spine (OR = 4.41, p < 0.001) injuries. Males had a higher frequency of finger injuries (OR = 1.55, p = 0.006), whereas females experienced more wrist injuries (OR = 2.19, p = 0.003). Regarding diagnoses, pre-adolescents had a higher proportion of fractures (OR = 3.40, p < 0.001), contusions/abrasions (OR = 1.74, p = 0.007), lacerations (OR = 8.00, p < 0.001), and crushing injuries (OR = 2.91, p = 0.034), while adolescents had more sprains/strains (OR = 4.78, p < 0.001). Males were more likely to suffer fractures (OR = 2.11, p < 0.001), and females more likely to sustain sprains/strains (OR = 2.32, p < 0.001).

These findings suggest that finger, face, and wrist injuries are common among youth bowlers. Differences in injury patterns may be attributed to variations in skeletal maturity, physiology, and experience. These results underscore the need for targeted prevention strategies and further research in pediatric bowling.