Abstract
Background
There is a high prevalence of injury in adolescent sports including time loss and non-time loss related injury. This study aims to investigate the risk factors associated with sports injury severity from time loss to non-time loss injuries in adolescent sports.
Methods
This was a prospective cohort study. At baseline, sports participation, demographic factors and dynamic balance using an inertial sensor instrumented Quantified Y-balance Test (QYBT) were captured. Participants were followed bi-weekly for one school year to record athletic exposures and injury status using a modified Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre Overuse injury questionnaire.
Multilevel ordinal regression models analysed the association between injury severity and risk factors of interest including age, gender, bodyweight, body mass index, somatic maturity, athletic exposures and QYBT derived dynamic balance metrics (Normalized reach distance, jerk magnitude root mean squared, gyroscopic magnitude root mean squared and gyroscopic sample entropy).
Results
Of 140 adolescents (56% female) that took part, 117 were included in analysis. 63% reported at least one injury. Higher gyroscopic values in the posteromedial reach direction had lower odds of more severe injury (Odds Ratio: 0.89; 95% Confidence Interval: 0.81–0.98). Higher weekly athletic exposures were associated with higher odds of sustaining a more severe injury (Odds Ratio: 1.11; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.04–1.18).
Conclusions
Adolescents in a mixed sport population who have higher athletic exposures and poorer dynamic balance performance as assessed using the QYBT are at higher risk of more severe injury. Dynamic balance and athletic exposures represent trackable and modifiable factors that are associated with injury in adolescent sports.
There is a high prevalence of injury in adolescent sports including time loss and non-time loss related injury. This study aims to investigate the risk factors associated with sports injury severity from time loss to non-time loss injuries in adolescent sports.
Methods
This was a prospective cohort study. At baseline, sports participation, demographic factors and dynamic balance using an inertial sensor instrumented Quantified Y-balance Test (QYBT) were captured. Participants were followed bi-weekly for one school year to record athletic exposures and injury status using a modified Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre Overuse injury questionnaire.
Multilevel ordinal regression models analysed the association between injury severity and risk factors of interest including age, gender, bodyweight, body mass index, somatic maturity, athletic exposures and QYBT derived dynamic balance metrics (Normalized reach distance, jerk magnitude root mean squared, gyroscopic magnitude root mean squared and gyroscopic sample entropy).
Results
Of 140 adolescents (56% female) that took part, 117 were included in analysis. 63% reported at least one injury. Higher gyroscopic values in the posteromedial reach direction had lower odds of more severe injury (Odds Ratio: 0.89; 95% Confidence Interval: 0.81–0.98). Higher weekly athletic exposures were associated with higher odds of sustaining a more severe injury (Odds Ratio: 1.11; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.04–1.18).
Conclusions
Adolescents in a mixed sport population who have higher athletic exposures and poorer dynamic balance performance as assessed using the QYBT are at higher risk of more severe injury. Dynamic balance and athletic exposures represent trackable and modifiable factors that are associated with injury in adolescent sports.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 245 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-13 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation |
| Volume | 18 |
| Early online date | 14 Apr 2026 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - 25 May 2026 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2026.
Data Availability Statement
The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.Funding
The authors thank all those student athletes who chose to take part and the Higher Education Authority of Ireland for helping fund this study.
UN SDGs
This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
-
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
Keywords
- Adolescents
- Sport
- Injury
- Risk factors
- Athletic exposures
- Dynamic balance
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