Injury patterns in women's intramural flag football.

A prospective study of women's flag football injuries was carried out over a 4 year period at Mississippi State University. Data was gathered on 114 injuries. Organized intramural flag football activities caused 93% of the injuries observed (7% were injured in pick-up games). The finger accounted for 39%, knee for 16%, and ankle for 8% of these injuries. The type of injury was closely distributed among sprains, fractures, contusions, and strains. Collisions, with other players and objects, resulted in 64% of these injuries. Offensive ball handlers (running backs and receivers) had the greatest probability of being injured. From this data, it is obvious that women's injury patterns are not the same as men's and that varsity injury data cannot be extrapolated to recreational injuries.