Common injuries amongst Indian elite archers: A prospective study

Abstract

Introduction: India ranks third in mixed team recurve, it is highly essential to know the sites that the archers are most commonly injured. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the most standard injuries among the archers. This study holds a greater importance to create awareness among the players about the faulty techniques and the varying dynamics during the arrow releasing in archery with the quality of the arrow shot. Materials and Methodology: The survey included both national and International/Olympian players with a varying period of training schedule. The total number of Indian archers included in the study was 138 (compound bow archer 63, recurve bow archer 56, andIndian bow archers 19). The details comprised age, height (cm), weight (kg), training age, training sessions in a week (days), duration of each training session (h), number of bows shot in a single session, bow weight (kg), and draw length (inches). They were also asked whether or not they experienced pain in the last 2 years and a simple questionnaire of injury was filled and these were then calculated and the most common sites where recorded. Results: the most common injuries were the draw arm shoulder with a total percentage of 19.79, followed by blisters on fingers with a percentage of 17.01 and then injuries by the string touch being 15.97%. Conclusion: The draw arm shoulder pain was the most common affecting 19.79% injury followed by blisters on the fingers and string touch.