Injury patterns in Swedish elite athletics – part 2 : risk indicators

• Objective: To examine the risk indicators associated with sustaining musculoskeletal injuries in youth and adult elite athletics athletes competing at national and international levels.Design: Prospective cohort study conducted during a 52-week period starting in March 2009. A web-based athlete electronic diary was administrated every week by email to athletes for self-reporting of data on training, competition and injuries.Setting: Male and female youth and adult athletics athletes ranked in the top 10 in Sweden (n=292).Results: One-hundred ninety-nine (68%) athletes reported an injury during the study season. The median time to first injury was 101 days (95% confidence interval (CI) 75–127). Univariate log-rank tests revealed risk differences with regard to athlete category (P=0.046), serious injury (>3 weeks time loss) during the previous season (P=0.039) and training load rank index (TLRI) (P=0.019). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses showed that athletes in the third (hazard ratio (HR) 1.79; 95% CI 1.54–2.78) and fourth TLRI quartile (HR 1.79; 95% CI 1.16–2.74) had almost a twofold increased risk of injury compared with their peers in the first quartile and interaction effects between athlete category and previous injury; youth male athletes with a previous serious injury had more than a fourfold increased risk of injury (HR=4.39; 95% CI 2.20–8.77) compared with youth females with no previous injury.Conclusions: A training load index combing hours and intensity and a history of severe injury the previous year are predictors for injury risk among elite athletic athletes. Future studies on measures to quantify training content and protocols for safe return to athletics are warranted.

Keyword

sports injury epidemiology

track and field

injury incidence

previous injury

training load

prevention

MEDICINE

MEDICIN

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

ovr (subject category)