4. Discussion
concussions, fractures, injuries, weight loss, sports-related injuries, bruises, upper extremity injury
MINOR, COMPLICATIONS, BROWN
The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to assess the frequency of PA-related injuries among Saudi students aged 13–18 to determine the location of the injury in the body area, the types of injuries, and whether or not the injury required urgent medical attention, and (2) to investigate the association of these factors with gender, age, BMI, the student’s extent of knowledge about PA-related injuries, level of SB, and their weekly PA.Results revealed that boys were at higher risk for injury than girls, 57.28% of boys and 33.67% of girls reported having suffered PA-related injuries over the past year. Recorded values were greater than those noted by Cai et al. [According to our findings, three factors might contribute to the elevated overall incidence and gender discrepancy: first, a low overall level of PA was reported among participants, more in boys than girls; second, a reduced knowledge of PA-related injuries was seen among participants; and third, a higher SB was reported in boys compared to girls. The difference in fat-free mass between boys and girls and the maturity stage might also contribute partly to the occurrence of some types of PA-related injuries.Note that these results were expected and reasonable given the limited access of Saudi women to sports and PA. Indeed, various social and religious conditions have made women’s sports in Saudi Arabia a controversial topic for many years due to the suppression of women’s participation in sports by conservative authorities. Saudi women were not allowed to play sports in public places, go to school alone, or engage in recreational activities with or in front of men. The first sports center dedicated to girls in Saudi Arabia was established in 2013, offering training programs including fitness, karate, yoga, weight loss, and special activities for children.Unlike boys, physical education has just been introduced into the education system for girls, and it is not yet implemented in all schools. The physical education program in girls’ schools was approved in 2017 with the aim of boosting sports activities among all members of Saudi society, one of the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. In a recent systematic review of the prevalence of inactivity and perceived barriers to active living, Al-Hazzaa [Results also demonstrated that bruises and strains were the most common types of sports injuries among boys, while bruises and fractures were the most common injuries among girls. Among subjects, 32.07% of the injured participants reported having suffered at least two types of injuries. The limbs were the most injured body parts in boys, while the head and lower limbs were the most vulnerable parts in girls. Regarding the injuries, 23.37% required urgent medical attention. Participants aged 15 to 17 years were more vulnerable to repeated injuries (three or more) in various parts of the body (two or more), mainly the head and trunk.The growth and development of adolescents have implications for specific risks of sports-related injuries. Growth and development can also impact short- and long-term complications of sports-related injuries [Knowledge of PA-related injuries is also a relevant factor in preventing the occurrence of injuries. The results found negative associations between knowledge of PA-related injuries and all variables related to injury frequency, location, and types, except bruises and strains compared to no injuries. However, knowledge of PA-related injuries cannot be studied independently of cognitive development in general. According to Brown et al. [The data also revealed that SB were associated with a greater likelihood of developing a number and type of sports injuries: for every one-point increase in SB, the likelihood of being injured increased by 1.431, having an injury that requires medical intervention by 1.87, suffering three or more sports injuries by 2.274, having strains by 2.001, having concussions by 3.936, having two or more types of injuries by 1.666, and having an upper extremity injury by 2.302. Cairncross et al. [Several limitations of this study should be considered. First, because our data are self-reported, recall and reporting biases are unavoidable. Students can clearly remember late and serious injuries but easily forget earlier and minor injuries [