A June 2022 study (1) compared pre-high school and high school football quarterback injuries. In all 118 pre-high school quarterback patients were compare to 256 high school quarterback patients.
- A total of 121 injuries were found in 118 male Pre-HS QBs (average age about 12.5 years old), while 302 injuries were observed in 256 male HS QBs (average age almost 16).
- Overall, nearly two-third (2/3) of injuries were acute (64.3%) while a little over one-third (1/3) of injuries were overuse in nature (35.7%), and there were no differences between Pre-HS and HS QBs
- The top 3 injured anatomic locations for Pre-HS QBs were elbow (20.7%), shoulder (18.2%), and head/neck (14.0%).
- For HS QBs, the top 3 injured anatomic locations were shoulder (24.5%), knee (17.5%), and head/neck (15.2%).
- There were significant differences in proportion of elbow, hip/trunk/upper leg, and knee injuries between Pre-HS and HS QBs.
- Pre-HS QBs had significantly more bony/cartilaginous/labral injuries than their older counterparts (60.3% vs. 46.3%) while HS QBs experienced significantly more ligamentous injuries than Pre-HS QBs (14.2% vs. 5.8%).
1 Kobelski GP, Radel LC, Jones JC, O’Brien MJ, Meehan WP, Sugimoto D. Comparison of Pre-High School and High School Football Quarterback Injuries. The Physician and Sportsmedicine. 2022 May 27(just-accepted).