Cervical muscle strains are an often-overlooked injury, with neck-/spine-related research typically focusing on spinal cord and vertebral injuries. Using data from two high school and one collegiate sports injury surveillances systems, this thesis describes the epidemiology of cervical muscle strains in four male sports in which contact is legal (football, ice hockey, lacrosse, and wrestling). Injury counts, injury rates, injury rate ratios, and distributions of participation restriction time, injury mechanism, and injury activity were examined by sport and level of play. At both the high school and collegiate levels, football had the highest cervical muscle strain injury rate. Most injuries occurred in competitions, were non-time loss (< 24 hours of participation restriction time), and were due to player contact. Despite the low incidence, it is important to consider the development and evaluation of prevention strategies that may help reduce the negative effects sustained by athletes who suffer cervical muscle strains.