Current Status and Prevention of Sports Injuries in Japan: From the orthopedic viewpoint

摘要

In recent years we have seen a decline in exercise ability and an increase in the occurrence of lifestyle-related diseases among children in Japan, which are believed to be caused by decreases in daily exercises and insufficient participation in sporting activities. On the other hand, an increase in the incidences of sports-related trauma and injuries among children, possibly due to exces-sive exercise and participation in sports, has been reported. However, the actual morbidity such as the frequency and type of musculoskeletal disorders, including sports injuries in childhood, remain unclear. As part of the model project for developing and enhancing a musculoskeletal examinations system in school, the Shimane Group of "Japanese Committee of Bone & Joint Decade" carried out the following three surveys: 1) a morbidity survey of musculoskeletal dis-orders among schoolchildren and students, 2) a status survey of musculoskeletal examinations by school physicians, and 3) a survey of the recog-nition levels towards musculoskeletal disorders among school nurse teachers (called "Yogo" teachers in Japan), parents, chief teachers of physical education, and sports coaches. This paper describes the current status of sports inju ries among children from elementary to high schools and discusses issues related to the pre-vention of such injuries based on the results of the Shimane Group's research.