Football participation is popular among youth (between ages 6-12), with approximately one million playing tackle football and 900,000 playing flag football. Over the past three years, youth participation in flag football has risen by 39%, more than any other sport. With the recent media attention on the potential long-term and deleterious effects of exposure to head impacts, there has been an impetus to promote flag football as a safer alternative to tackle football. While the participation rates are rising for flag football, there remains a lack of epidemiologic research and thus evidence of sport-specific injuries and relative risk due to participation. The lack of objective epidemiological data on flag football energy incidence presently means there is no support for any emphasis that it is a safer alternative to tackle football in the immediate or long-term duration. In addition, with the increasing participation rates in flag football, clinicians, parents, coaches, and athletes need data-driven evidence regarding the prevalence of injuries in flag football athletes and the potential risks of injury unique to the sport itself. This study explores and describes the epidemiology of injury associated with youth flag football participation.
