PURPOSE This study aimed to prove the mediator effect of skill level on participation frequency and injury level of leisure sports players with the highest injury rate. METHODS Raw data of the “2019 Sports Safety accident data” conducted by the Korea Sports Safety Foundation were used for this study. We analyzed 857 leisure sports players participating in events with the top four highest injury rates (Basketball, Soccer, Baseball/Softball, Foot Volleyball). Frequency, descriptive statistics, and correlation analyses using SPSS version 27.0 and Process macro model 4 were employed for analysis. RESULTS The results regarding participation frequency, injury severity, and skill level among recreational athletes are as follows. First, a positive correlation was established between the participation frequency of recreational athletes and their skill levels. Second, the correlation between participation frequency and injury severity was observed only in soccer and basketball. Third, skill level plays a mediating role in the relationship between participation frequency and injury level. The results indicate that as the participation frequency among leisure sports players who participate in ball sports with a high injury rate increases, this affects the degree of injury. CONCLUSIONS Skill level appears to play a mediating role in the relationship between participation frequency and injury level. Based on the results, we recommend safety education not only on the relationship between participation frequency and injury level, but also the intermediary role of skill level.
The purpose of this study was to describe the epidemiology of Korean collegiate injuries during 2015. Collegiate student-athletes(n=167) in six sports (badminton, baseball, basketball, rugby, taekwondo, and volleyball) participating in all practices and games during pre-season, in-season, and post-season were tracked via the injury surveillance system(rate, location, type, and cause of musculoskeletal injury). Injury rate for 1000 athlete-exposure(AE) and 1000 time-exposure(TE) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals(CI). We captured a total of 961 injuries, a rate of 19.29/1000 AE(95% CI=18.07, 20.51) and 0.16/1000 TE(95% CI=0.15, 0.17). Commonly injured body locations were knee(17.5%, n=168), thigh(16.1%, n=155), ankle(12.1%, n=116), and finger(8.4%, n=81). Injuries were mostly diagnosed as contusion(40.1%, n=385), ligament sprain(21.1%, n=203), and laceration/abrasion/skin injury(13.5%, n=130). Common causes were contact with another athlete(44.6%, n=429), contact with moving object (12.7%, n=122), overuse/atraumatic(11.9%, n=114), and contact with non-yielding object(9.4%, n=90).
