Upper body injuries in Greek kayak flat-water athletes during a season period (2012-2013)

Abstract

Aim: To provide epidemiological data on flat-water kayaking injuries of the upper body in Greece. Specifically, to assess the body part that sustains most injuries, the exact time period that injuries occur during a season, the type of musculoskeletal injury and the total injury rate using a descriptive study. Methods: A retrospective injury surveillance took place during the Greek kayak flatwater 2013 championship from 12th to 14th July at “Schinias” Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre in Athens aiming to collect data of injury caused by sprint kayaking within a season period (dating from August 2012to July 2013). For this reason, a questionnaire, which was designed via the adaptation of previous retrospective questionnaires referring to different forms of kayaking, distributed to participants in order to gather information regarding paddlers’ characteristics and the injury event. Descriptive analysis of the data was performed. Results: 145 paddlers participated in our study. From these samples, 142 athletes responded to the questionnaires. The results are:56 paddlers (39.4%) reported that they had had one or more injuries during the season. The shoulder (21.1%) was the most injured body part followed by the wrist (7.7%) and the lower back (7.7%). Tendinitis (41.9%) was the most frequently reported type of injury followed by strains (25.8%) and sprains (6.5%).According to the research, January (6.3%) and February (6.3%) were the months when most of the injuries had occurred followed by March (4.2%). The total injury rate was 1.96 per 1000 hours of exposure. Conclusions: This study provides valuable epidemiological data concerning the upper body injuries on flat-water kayaking. This could help future investigations on the risk factors and the injury prevention strategies.