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Sports Injuries In The Spanish Track & Field Athletics Team. A Retrospective Case Report Series.

2009; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 41; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1249/01.mss.0000353580.26738.d0

1530-0315

Juan Manuel Alonso, Christophe Ramirez, Jorge Sánchez González, Josefina Espejo, Amaia Bilbao, David Badilla López, Esther Vizcaíno, Noemí Mayoral, Borja González, Juan José Montoya,

Injury Epidemiology and Prevention

PURPOSE: Retrospective review of injury incidence, prevalence and distribution per gender, age, discipline, type, aetiology, moment and time-loss in a top level population of track and field athletes from the Spanish National Track and Field Team over a two year period. METHODS: Design: retrospective case report series, level 4 of scientific evidence. Review of medical records registered at the Medical Department of Royal Spanish Track and Field Federation. All data from sport injuries from Athletes of Spanish Track and Field Team were retrieved in a two years period. "Student" T, chi2, Fisher exact and ANOVA tests were used for comparisons among groups of relevant variables (P < 0.05). RESULTS: 2,110 injuries (688-32.61%-women;1,422-67.39%-men) were registered, incurred by 614 athletes (mean age 22.88 years, standard deviation 5.04); 204 female and 410 male. No gender statistical difference were found except in the disciplines distribution with more injuries in female combined events (Student T, P = 0.01). Overall injury frequency per athlete was 3.44. Athletes from 26-30 years had higher rates; athletes less than 20 years had lower frequency with statistical significance (ANOVA alpha = 0.05). Distribution of injury frequency among disciplines was similar although race walkers presented with lower rates than the rest (ANOVA alpha = 0.05). Overuse injuries were predominant (81.23%). Muscle was the most affected tissue followed by tendon and bone. The thigh was predominant location (20.60% injuries) then lower leg and ankle; lower limb overall accounting for 79.16%. The prime location was thigh in male sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers and race walkers (Chi2P < 0.0001); male long-distance runners was the lower leg (Chi2P < 0.0001) and female jumpers was the ankle (Chi2P = 0.03). Three out of four injuries occurred during training sessions. Time-loss was very low or non-existent in 79% of injuries. Thigh Muscle Strain Grade I was diagnosed most frequently (7.91%) followed by low back pain (5.97%). Patellar tendinopathy had a higher prevalence (4.45%) than Achilles Tendinopathy (3.45%). CONCLUSIONS: We found a moderate prevalence of injuries. No gender differences were confirmed. Training, overuse and lower limb injuries were predominant. Muscle injuries were most prevalent, with the thigh muscles most often affected.