We recently published an article in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health exploring the prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries among children and adolescents in Ireland and the activity- and lifestyle-related factors associated with injury.
Physical activity and sport provide substantial physical, psychological and social benefits for children and adolescents. However, participation also carries a risk of musculoskeletal injury, which can disrupt participation and contribute to withdrawal from sport and physical activity. Understanding how frequently injuries occur and the types of injuries sustained is therefore an important first step in developing appropriate injury prevention strategies.
We found that 44.7% of children and adolescents reported sustaining an injury in the previous 12 months, with males reporting a greater proportion of injuries than females. Overall, the findings demonstrate that musculoskeletal injuries affect a substantial proportion of young people in Ireland.
The lower limb was the most commonly affected area, accounting for 51.6% of all reported injuries, compared with 26.4% for the upper limb and 22% for the head and trunk. The leg was the most frequently reported individual injury location. Importantly, almost half (46.5%) of reported injuries required medical attention, with hospital and doctor treatment among the most commonly reported management strategies.
We also examined whether activity- and lifestyle-related factors differed between those who reported an injury and those who did not. Interestingly, there was no significant difference in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels between the two groups. However, adolescents who reported an injury had significantly lower daily screen time and reported greater enjoyment of physical activity than their uninjured counterparts. Although these differences were statistically significant, the effect sizes were small and should therefore be interpreted cautiously.
These findings highlight an important challenge when promoting physical activity among children and adolescents. Young people who enjoy being active may participate more regularly in sport and exercise and consequently experience greater exposure to situations in which injuries can occur. At the same time, injury itself can interrupt participation and potentially contribute to young people withdrawing from sport and physical activity.
As efforts continue to encourage children and adolescents to become and remain physically active, injury prevention should be considered alongside physical activity promotion. Developing accessible injury prevention strategies that can reach young people across different sporting and physical activity settings may help reduce injury risk while supporting continued participation and allowing young people to experience the long-term benefits of an active lifestyle.
Link to the paper: https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jpah/aop/article-10.1123-jpah.2026-0421/article-10.1123-jpah.2026-0421.xml