Abstract
Background:
Pediatric shoulder injuries, while less frequently discussed than lower extremity injuries, represent a significant burden in youth sports medicine. These injuries can impact skeletal development, lead to chronic instability, and disrupt athletic participation. Analysis of injury patterns across developmental stages is critical for informing clinical guidance, community safety policies, and physician advocacy.
Hypothesis:
Pediatric shoulder injuries are more common among older athletes engaged in high-contact and collision-intensive sports, influenced by the sporting environment and age-related biomechanical susceptibility.
Methods:
NEISS data from 2015–2024 was analyzed for sports-related shoulder injuries in patients 5-18 years old. Injuries were stratified by sport type (NEISS Product Code), biological sex, and injury context: contact level, collision involvement, team vs. individual sports, and environment (indoor/outdoor). Age was classified into groups that are relevant to development: Childhood (5–8yo), Late Childhood (9–11yo), Early Adolescence (12–14yo), and Late Adolescence (15–18yo). Descriptive statistics and categorical analyses identified frequency trends and demographic distributions.
Results:
A total of 12,970 shoulder injuries were recorded. Males accounted for 80.6% of injuries (Table 1). The highest frequencies occurred in football (33.6%), soccer (11.8%), and basketball (9.7%) (Table 2). Injuries peaked in the 15–18 age group (50.6%) and early adolescents (34.4%) (Figure 1). Injuries sustained during contact sports constituted 69.5% (n=12,970) of the total, with collision sports comprising 46.2%. Collision sports are encompassed within the broader category of contact sports, these proportions are overlapping and therefore not mutually exclusive. Team sports and outdoor sports contributed 70.4% and 54.7% of cases, respectively.
Conclusion:
This study emphasizes the relationship between sport type, age demographics, and risk of shoulder injuries in pediatric populations. Physicians, athletic trainers, and public health officials should recognize the elevated risk of injury incidence in adolescent male athletes participating in high-contact or collision sports. Advocating for age-appropriate training, protective gear, and sport-specific injury prevention programs is important to reduce the long-term musculoskeletal consequences of shoulder trauma in youth. This study supports the need for integrating developmental frameworks into sports safety policies, reinforcing pediatricians’ roles in both anticipatory guidance and broader health advocacy within youth sports settings.
