A Scoping Review: Reducing Musculoskeletal Injury Risk Factors for Adaptive Sport Athletes through Prevention Programs.

Abstract

The purpose of this scoping review was to identify existing strategies to reduce modifiable risk factors for musculoskeletal injury in adaptive athletes. Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL were searched. Inclusion criteria required studies written in English, samples of adaptive athletes, and evaluation of any injury prevention programs that would reduce risk factors associated with MSK injury. The literature search resulted in 785 unique articles. 32 full text articles were screened for inclusion. Four studies of wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby injury prevention programs were included in the final analysis, and these studies demonstrated increase in shoulder range of motion, decreased shoulder pain, and decreased cumulative traumatic disorders; all of which was proposed to reduce risk of shoulder injury. However, these studies were small and did not include control groups. Future research is needed to implement programs that reduce risk factors of MSK injuries and reduce health disparities for adaptive athletes.