Prévention des blessures en athlétisme : démarche scientifique par application du modèle de van Mechelen en quatre étapes

Abstract

The prevention of athletic injuries is a major challenge for international and national sports federations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the European Athletics (EAA) and the Federation of French Athletics (FFA). Following the four-step scientific sequence of van Mechelen et al., we described the state of knowledge on athletic injury prevention, particularly on the basis of work carried out and/or promoted by the IAAF, the EAA and the FFA. The vast majority of studies, and thus knowledge, relates to the epidemiology of injuries (step 1), although more studies should be conducted in this area in order to have a more comprehensive knowledge. It shows that athletes mainly suffered from thigh muscle injuries and especially hamstring, Achilles tendinopathies, knee overuse injuries, ankle sprains and low back pain; the risk varied with sex and discipline. Knowledge about the mechanisms and risk factors of athletic injuries is still limited, although a first episode of injury, male gender, increasing age, certain disciplines of athletics, appeared to be injury factors risk. Efforts for understanding the mechanisms and risk factors therefore must be continued and focused primarily on the most frequent and/or severe injury. Various prevention measures and/or strategies have been devised and proposed specific to certain injuries or more general on all injuries, physical conditioning, technical gesture, lifestyle, psychological care, equipment, coordinated care. However, to date and to our knowledge, none of these prevention measures and/or strategies have been scientifically validated for its effectiveness for athletics. This clearly represents a relevant direction to follow and develop in the process of prevention of athletic injuries.