What is the most common injury in lacrosse players?

From the Guidelines

The most common injury in lacrosse players is concussion, with a high incidence rate of approximately 23/10,000 exposures, particularly due to player-player contact or player-surface contact. According to 1, concussion risk is much higher in competition than in practice, with most concussions occurring as a result of direct impact. Lacrosse is considered a high-impact sport with a significant risk of head injuries, including concussions and intracranial hemorrhages.

Key factors contributing to the high incidence of concussions in lacrosse include:

• Player-player contact, accounting for 70% of concussions
• Player-surface contact, responsible for 17% of concussions
• The fast-paced and physically demanding nature of the sport, requiring rapid acceleration, deceleration, and directional changes

To manage and prevent concussions in lacrosse, it is essential to:

• Implement proper helmet safety and fitting protocols
• Enforce rules to minimize unnecessary contact and penalize reckless behavior
• Provide education on concussion symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment to players, coaches, and medical staff
• Develop and enforce return-to-play protocols to ensure athletes are fully recovered before resuming competition

The American Heart Association's guidelines, as outlined in 1, emphasize the importance of individualizing the classification scheme for athletes based on their specific sport, position, and cardiovascular load. In the context of lacrosse, this means acknowledging the unique demands and risks associated with the sport and taking proactive steps to mitigate them.

From the Research

Most Common Lacrosse Injuries

• The most common types of injuries in lacrosse are sprains, strains, concussions, and contusions 2
• The most common area of injury is the hand, with a significant proportion of these being to the thumb 2
• Concussions are a common injury in lacrosse, with an overall incidence ranging from 0.11-0.84 per 1000 athlete exposures 2
• Player-to-player contact is a common cause of injury in lacrosse, resulting in immediate injuries such as concussions, contusions, and lacerations 2

Injury Rates in Lacrosse

• The game and practice injury rates in college are greater than the rates in high school, and rates are greater for high school players than in youth leagues 2
• The overall incidence of concussion injuries increased over a study period, with the incidence rate in boys being greater than that of girls from 2009 to 2013 3
• The mean annual concussion incidences in youth lacrosse and youth football were 443 and 355 per 100,000 participants, respectively 3

Injury Mechanisms in Lacrosse

• The most common cause of concussion was player-to-ground contact for boys and player-to-ball or player-to-stick contact for girls 3
• Collision/contact with another player was the most common injury mechanism in women's lacrosse, accounting for 18.5% of all injuries 4
• Head injuries, including concussions and closed head injuries, accounted for a significant proportion of all injuries in women's lacrosse, with no significant decline over a study period 4