The sport and leisure industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the business market. It has been estimated that each year 1–1.5 million people attend accident and emergency (A&E) departments in Britain,¹ and 3.7 million people present to emergency departments in the USA,² with an injury related to sport and exercise. With these levels of presentation A&E departments can provide valuable research into the demographics of sports related injuries.

There are numerous studies regarding the incidence of sports injuries within a community or defined population, however, there is little modern research investigating specifically the nature of sports injuries presenting to an A&E department in Britain.^3–6 Other studies have been published from Ireland,^7,8 Europe,^9–11 Australasia,^12,13 Asia,¹⁴ and more recently North America.^2,15

This observational study aimed to determine the incidence of attendance, types of injuries, nature of the sport involved, and the arrangements for follow up management in patients presenting, with an injury related to sport, to the A&E department of Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock.

METHOD

The study took place prospectively over a period of three months from February to April 1999 and included people 16 years of age or over. Any patient presenting with an injury attributable to participation in organised sport or recreational activity had their details and A&E number noted by the triage nurse on duty. Only new attendances were included. Relevant A&E cards …