Sports injuries in women: a one-year prospective follow-up study at an outpatient sports clinic.

A one-year prospective follow-up study of all patients visiting Tampere Research Station of Sports Medicine (TRSSM) was carried out in order to determine the specific features of women's sports injuries compared to those of men. During this period 334 women (31%) and 745 men (69%) visited the station. Women were significantly younger than men and the ten most usual sports events causing the injury differed from those of men. In women acute dislocations, contusions, and fractures were significantly less common in men, while women had more frequent stress-related sports injuries. In both sexes the most common sites of trouble were knee, ankle, and lower back, but in women as opposed to men, the metatarsal area, the toes, and the sole were among the ten most usual sites of the injury. Fourteen women (4%) and 49 men (6%) required operative treatment of the injury. The knee was the most common site of operation in both sexes, in women significantly more frequently than in men.