Letters to the Editor

Lies, damned lies and statistics

(1).

To the Editor;

I commend Forward et al (2) for their interesting and thought-provoking article based on data from emergency department visits due to hockey injury reported according to sex and injury type. Many additional factors, not mentioned in their discussion, should be considered in interpreting their data. First, the differences between the way parents view injury for girls and boys may influence whether they choose to go to the emergency department, wait to see a family doctor or do not turn to a medical professional (3). Second, males are less likely to seek help for medical care in general (4), making emergency department visits for soft tissue injury more likely for females. Third, where and if help is sought is dependent on social factors (5), and whether there is a trainer or medical professional present at games or practices who might treat injury on site without requiring further medical attention (6). Women’s teams are less well funded, less supported by the media, less socially accepted and less likely to have a trainer or medical professional present at games and practices (3,6–8). Men are more likely to have an athletic trainer at practices and games, with an understanding of injury prevention exercise, warm-ups and the care of soft tissue injuries, perhaps circumventing the need to present to an emergency department (6).

Reporting that injury rates are higher in females than males without considering the societal factors that affect the reporting of these injuries supports the misogynist view that girls are too delicate for sport, especially a fast-paced and ‘dangerous’ sport such as hockey (9). An acknowledgement of these considerations would enhance the discussion presented in this article and lead to a deeper understanding of this complicated issue.