Sports-related complaints among children attending the Sports and Exercise Medicine Unit at a selected hospital in the Colombo District, Sri Lanka
Mithila Ruwanga Galbadage, Chulasiri Pubudu Upekshana, Aranjan Lional Karunanayake · Journal Of The Postgraduate Institute of Medicine · 2026
Background: and
Objective: Sports participation among children has increased globally, resulting in a rising burden of sports-related injuries and medical complaints. However, published Sri Lankan data on paediatric sports-related complaints remain limited. This study aimed to describe the pattern of sports-related complaints among children attending the Sports and Exercise Medicine Unit at a selected hospital in the Colombo District, Sri Lanka.
Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using secondary data extracted from clinic records of children who attended the Sports and Exercise Medicine Unit from January 2013 to December 2019. A total of 592 children were included. Data were analysed using SPSS version 24. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the data, and associations between selected sports and anatomical sites of pain were assessed using Chi-square tests.
Results: The majority of children were aged 10–15 years (71.5%), and 62.2% were males. The knee was the most frequently affected anatomical site (17.8%), followed by the back (12.6%), foot (10.0%) and thigh (9.3%). Athletics (27.7%) and swimming (22.6%) were the most commonly reported sports. Athletics participation showed a strong association with thigh pain (22.8% vs 4.1%; p < 0.001). Swimming was significantly associated with foot pain (15.4% vs 8.4%; p = 0.019). Rugby participation was significantly associated with back pain (20.0% vs 11.6%; p = 0.046). No significant associations were observed for cricket.
Conclusions: Distinct sport-specific patterns of anatomical site involvement were observed. These
Findings: highlight the need for targeted injury-prevention strategies in Sri Lanka.