Specific Injury Prevention Programs Research Articles

Descriptive analysis of injury types and incidence during futsal preseason across different competitive levels.

This study aimed to verify the typology and incidence of injury by comparing the different competitive levels of futsal during the preseason. The sample consisted of 68 senior male futsal players (24.26 ± 4.63 years). Data were collected using an injury recording grid that examined the affected body part, anatomical region, type of injury, mechanism, and severity. It was found that the elite group has the lowest incidence rate of injury (4.8 injuries per 1,000 h of exposure) compared to the sub-elite (11.8 injuries per 1,000 h of exposure) and amateur groups (13.9 injuries per 1,000 h of exposure). However, at this level, there is the highest percentage of injury occurrence (38.5%), the lower limb was the most affected part of the body (30.8%), and ligament (23.1%) and muscle (15.4%) injuries are the most prevalent. The most frequent mechanism of injury was non-traumatic (30.8%), and the majority were moderate injuries in the elite (23.1%) and sub-elite (17.9%) groups and severe injuries in the amateur group (12.5%). The amateur futsal players had the highest incidence of injury during the preseason period compared to the other competitive levels. Still, it was at the elite level where the highest percentage of injuries occurred, most of them non-traumatic and of ligament origin, primarily affecting the ankle region. The results highlight the importance of adopting specific injury prevention programs for ligament and muscle injuries during the preseason phase, regardless of the competitive level.

Lumbar Multifidus Characteristics in University Level Athletes May be Predictors of Low Back Pain and Lower Limb Injury

Introduction: Low back pain (LBP) is highly prevalent in athletes, with decreased lumbar multifidus (LM) crosssectional area (CSA) reported in athletes with LBP and lower limb injury (LLI) as well as decreased LM thickness in athletes with LLI. Previous research has only investigated connections between LM, LBP, and LLI in small samples of athletes in a single sport at a time. This study aimed to (1) examine LM morphology and function across a general sample of male and female university level varsity athletes; (2) investigate whether LM characteristics were predictors of LBP and LLI. Methods: Ultrasound images of LM at L5 were acquired in prone and standing. Body composition was assessed with DEXA and a self-reported questionnaire provided demographics and history of injury. Paired t-tests and independent t-tests compared LM measurements between the sides and sex, respectively. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess possible LM characteristic predictors of LBP and LLI. Results: 134 university varsity athletes were evaluated. LM CSA was larger on the non-dominant side in prone. Increased LM thickness was associated with decreased odds of LBP in the previous 4-week (OR=0.49 [0.27, 0.88], p=0.02) and 3-month (OR=0.43 [0.21, 0.89], p=0.02) in the multivariable model, while a greater number of years playing at the university level was associated with increased odds of LBP (OR=1.29 [1.01, 1.65], p=0.04). Greater LM CSA asymmetry (OR=1.14 [1.01, 1.28], p=0.03) and sport (OR=1.44 [1.04, 1.96], p=0.02) were significant predictors of LLI in the previous 12 months. Conclusion: Leg dominance may play a role in unilateral differences. LM thickness and LM CSA asymmetry were predictors of injury. Preseason screening of LM morphology and function could help identify athletes at risk of LBP and LLI, allowing coaches, medical staff, and training staff to target these individuals and provide specific injury prevention programs.

The awareness of injury prevention programmes is insufficient among French- and German-speaking sports medicine communities in Europe.

Evaluate the current state of sports injury prevention perception, knowledge and practice among sports medicine professionals located in Western Europe and involved in injury prevention. Members of two different sports medicine organizations (GOTS and ReFORM) were invited to complete a web-based questionnaire (in German and in French, respectively) addressing perception, knowledge and implementation of sports injury prevention through 22 questions. 766 participants from a dozen of countries completed the survey. Among them, 43% were surgeons, 23% sport physicians and 18% physiotherapists working mainly in France (38%), Germany (23%) and Belgium (10%). The sample rated the importance of injury prevention as "high" or "very high" in a majority of cases (91%), but only 54% reported to be aware of specific injury prevention programmes. The French-speaking world was characterized by lower levels of reported knowledge, unfamiliarity with existing prevention programmes and less weekly time spent on prevention as compared to their German-speaking counterparts. Injury prevention barriers reported by the respondents included mainly insufficient expertise, absence of staff support from sports organizations and lack of time. There is a lack of awareness regarding injury prevention concepts among sports medicine professionals of the European French- and German-speaking world. This gap varied according to the professional occupation and working country. Relevant future paths for improvement include specific efforts to build awareness around sports injury prevention. Level IV.

Study on Chest Injuries Due to Blunt Object in Road Accident

In India, people use local transport for travel. Since accidents prevail in these developing countries, India is not exceptional. The number of vehicle increases daily, and road accident occurs every two minutes. Chest injuries are widespread during accidental cases. This significantly contributed to the trauma during unintentional cases. Trauma generally affects young adults. Based on the above facts, the present study aims to determine the pathologies associated with chest injuries due to blunt objects in road accidents and to assess the blunt chest injuries among accident victims traveling in different road transportation modes and furthermore, to observe the injury pattern and its correlation with the victim's position during the road traffic accident. The study was carried out in the Branch of FMT, Raj Rajeswari Medical College and Hospital Bangalore. Data were collected from 100 cases of death caused by a road traffic accident that was presented for medico-legal post-mortem at the mortuary in the FMT department from December 2013 to May 2015. The study reports the maximum number (42%) of chest injuries occurred between the age group of 21-30 years, followed by 24% in the age group 31 � 40, with a maximum (62%) accidental cases in two-wheeler riders. The result showed that 48% of patients had rib fractures, 12% vertebral fractures, 10% sternum fractures, and 4% clavicle fractures during accidental cases, with haemothorax in 56% of cases. The result also showed that death was due to shock and hemorrhage in 92 patients and 6% due to coma. Specific injury prevention programs focusing on road safety should be implemented to limit and control the incidence of such injuries in light of our results.�

Skiing and snowboarding related deep laceration injuries. A five-season cross-sectional analysis from a level-1 trauma centre in the Swiss Alps

ObjectivesLacerations comprise 5.6–33.6% of skiing/snowboarding related injuries. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of injury and the location of these lacerations and propose preventive measures. MethodsAfter our state ethics committee approval, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records and surgical protocols of 46 patients (mean age (±SD) 34.6 (±15.3); 71.4% men) treated for severe skiing/snowboarding lacerations at our level-1 trauma centre between 2016 and 2021. Patients were asked to answer a questionnaire on their skiing experience, equipment used and the circumstances of the accident. ResultsLacerations around the hip, thigh, and knee accounted for 94%. The latter was the most common location (45%). Although 91.3% of patients wore appropriate clothing and full standard protection equipment, it did not offer any extra-resistance against skiing/snowboarding's edges. Skiers were more affected (91.3%) than snowboarders (8.7%). The most common mechanism of injury was inadvertent release of the bindings (52.2%), followed by insufficient ski level for the slope (21.7%) and collisions (17.4%). Long-term trends demonstrated an increasing incidence. ConclusionIdentification of body areas at risk and the mechanisms of injury were the most significant findings of this work. These data encourage the development of specific injury prevention programs as the occurrence of these lesions tended to increase over the last few years. To reduce their incidence, we propose skiers to have their bindings regularly adjusted and manufacturers to develop cut-resistant skiwear. Level of evidenceIV.

"Yeah, I Mean, You're Going to Handball, so You Want to Use Balls as Much as Possible at Training": End-Users' Perspectives of Injury Prevention Training for Youth Handball Players.

Young handball players experience high injury rates. Specific injury prevention programs reduce injury rates but are not well implemented into youth players’ training. The ‘Implementing injury Prevention training ROutines in TEams and Clubs in youth Team handball (I-PROTECT)’ project addresses this challenge. The aim of this study was to investigate how youth handball coaches and players experienced the recently developed I-PROTECT GO pilot program, by focusing on barriers and facilitators. Three focus group interviews were conducted with coaches and players, and their answers were analyzed using a general inductive approach. The participants appreciated the program and found it useful for their context. The participants’ statements about facilitators and barriers centered around the categories of resources, exercises, program design, and learning. Facilitators that emerged were motivating exercises (e.g., handball-specific), a helpful set-up (e.g., variation), having a clear purpose of exercises, the possibility to fulfil basic psychological needs while training, receiving instructions and feedback, and having role models. Barriers that emerged were limited space and material, difficulties with exercises, an unhelpful set-up (e.g., too repetitive), and undisciplined training. It is important to address perceived barriers and facilitators among coaches and players when developing injury prevention training programs to enhance the uptake of such training.

Bicycle lanes: Are we running in circles or cycling in the right direction?

The number of urban bicyclists has grown exponentially across the United States. Bike lanes were created to promote a safe environment for both motorist and cyclists, but few studies have specifically addressed the outcomes of these interventions. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of bike lanes on bicycle usage and safety in a major urban city. A retrospective chart review of consecutive adult trauma patients presenting at an urban Level I trauma center due to motor vehicle versus bicycle collisions from January 1, 2007, to January 28, 2017, was performed. Cohorts were stratified into prebicycle and postbicycle lane implementation for analysis. Bicycle use during the study period increased almost three fold (1,672 vs. 6,060, p < 0.0001). There was also a spike in the percent of yearly bicyclists as trauma patients during the 10-year period (0.7% vs. 1.5%, p < 0.05). A total of 184 patients brought to the trauma center were identified. Significant differences between the prebike lane and postbike lane groups were identified for average Injury Severity Score (12.7 ± 1.7 vs. 8.0 ± 0.6 p = 0.0134), Glasgow Coma Scale score on arrival (12.6 ± 0.7 vs. 13.9 ± 0.2, p = 0.0171), proportion of head and face injuries (59.4% to 38.8%, p = 0.047), and patients requiring surgical intervention (100% to 55.9%, p < 0.0001). As bicycle lanes become increasing popular in US cities, it is important to review the success of this intervention on improving safety. Preliminary results from this study suggest that the implementation of urban bike lanes improved bicyclist safety. Further studies should focus on specific injury prevention programs, which could help to target areas such as helmet use and riding a bicycle while impaired to help improve overall safety. Prognostic and epidemiological, level IV.

The epidemiology of wrist and hand injury in two hospitals in Jerusalem: substantial differences between population subgroups

BackgroundWrist and hand injuries are common and constitute a major economic burden. General injury prevention programs have failed to demonstrate a decrease in injury rates. We hypothesized that there are differences in injury patterns in culturally diverse subpopulations of a metropolitan area treated within the same medical system, which may partly explain the difficulties associated with injury prevention.MethodsWe conducted a survey of patients admitted to emergency departments of two hospitals in Jerusalem for wrist and hand injuries during a 3 month period. Patients were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding demographic data, injury type and mechanism. Injury type and mechanism were then compared for age, gender, level of education and degree of religiosity.ResultsThe questionnaire was completed by 799 patients (response rate 62%; 75% male; average age 27). Thirty-one percent reported they were injured at work, 33% at home and 36% during leisure activities. Data analysis showed that several subpopulations were found to be at risk as compared to their corresponding groups and relative proportion in the overall population of the city. These included contusions after falls in non-ultra-Orthodox Jewish women aged 65 years and over, crush injuries in ultra-Orthodox Jews under the age of 10 (53% vs. 14% for non ultra-Orthodox Jews, respectively) and Muslim teens. Muslims were injured more, especially at work, in comparison to their relative proportion in the population as a whole.ConclusionDifferent subpopulations at risk and different injury patterns of wrist and hand injuries were found in this culturally heterogeneous population. Awareness of these differences may be the first step when designing specific injury prevention programs in a culturally diverse population. A combined effort of community leaders and government agencies is needed to deal with the specific populations at risk, although legislation may be needed to limit some of the risks such as teens and specific work related hazards and exposures.

Incidence and predictors of roller derby injuries among female roller derby athletes

ABSTRACTLittle is known about roller derby injuries. To describe the types of injuries that female roller derby athletes experience, quantify the incidence of injuries and examine the relationship between selected demographic variables and injuries. Women's roller derby leagues were contacted explaining the study and requesting participation. A second message was sent with the link to the electronic questionnaire to collect data from March to June 2015. Of the 1 395 respondents, 48.7% (679) reported having at least one injury in the previous 12 months. The skaters' average age was 32 and have played roller derby for four years. The most common injuries were to the ankles (22.5%), knees (21%) and head (11%). Of the head injuries, 75% were diagnosed with a concussion. This is the first study of woman's roller derby injuries. Understanding injuries that skaters incur may help leagues as they develop policies and specific injury prevention programmes.

Injury rates in martial arts athletes and predictive risk factors for lower limb injuries.

Previous studies attempted to identify possible risk factors for acute and overuse injuries in several sports disciplines such as running, gymnastics or team sports. Given the lack of scientific works focused on risk factors for lower limb injuries in martial arts, the present study was aimed to investigate foot anatomy, anthropometric measures, and other background information as possible risk factors of injury in barefoot athletes practicing judo, karate, kung fu, Thai boxing, or aikido. In addition, the injury rates were evaluated in relation with the different martial art styles. One group of 130 martial artists was retrospectively evaluated. Data of three morphological variables of the foot were collected: navicular height (NH), navicular drop (ND), and the rear foot (RF). In addition, each participant filled an interview questionnaire providing the following information: age, sex, body weight, height, Body Mass Index, hours of training per week, the kind of injury occurred to the lower limbs in the preceding year. Of 130 subjects, 70 (53.8%) did not sustain injuries, 35 (27.0%) suffered an acute injury and the remaining 25 (19.2%) reported an overuse injury. No significant differences were observed in the injury rates in relation to style and kind of martial art. Age, training volume and BMI were found as significant predictors of injury, while NH, ND, and RF were not able to predict acute or overuse injury at lower limbs. The injury rates were similar in karate, judo, kung fu, aikido, and Thai boxing. The foot morphology variables were not related with the presence or absence of acute and overuse injuries. Conversely, older and heavier martial artists, performing more hours of barefoot training, are at higher risk of acute and overuse injury. Athletic trainers should strongly take into account the present information in order to develop more accurate and specific injury prevention programs for martial artists.

Clinical Presentation and Time-Based Mortality in Patients With Chest Injuries Associated With Road Traffic Accidents.

Background:Blunt chest trauma (BCT) poses significant morbidity and mortality worldwide.Objectives:We investigated the clinical presentation and outcome of BCT related to road traffic accidents (RTA).Patients and Methods:A retrospective observational analysis for patients who sustained BCT secondary to RTA in terms of motor vehicle crash (MVC) and pedestrian-motor vehicle accidents (PMVA) who were admitted to the trauma center at Hamad general hospital, Doha, Qatar, between 2008 and 2011.Results:Of 5118 traumatic injury cases, 1004 (20%) were found to have BCT secondary to RTA (77% MVC and 23% PMVA). The majority were males (92%), and expatriates (72%). Among MVCs, 84% reported they did not use protective devices. There was a correlation between chest abbreviated injury score (AIS) and injury severity scoring (ISS) (r = 0.35, r2 = 0.12, P < 0.001). Regardless of mechanism of injury (MOI), multivariate analysis showed that the head injury associated with chest AIS and ISS was a predictor of mortality in BCT. Overall mortality was 15%, and the highest rate was observed within the first 24 hours post-trauma.Conclusions:Blunt chest trauma from RTA represents one-fifth of the total trauma admissions in Qatar, with a high overall mortality. Pedestrians are likely to have more severe injuries and higher fatality rates than MVC victims. Specific injury prevention programs focusing on road safety should be implemented to minimize the incidence of such preventable injuries.

A Quantitative Analysis of the Activities of Designated Safe Communities: the Baseline Assessment in 2005

Purpose: To investigate the activities and performance of designated and active safe communities till 2005. Methods: In this study, the entire 65 designated safe communities being active till 2005, were investigated based on the available virtual data. Data were extracted from the webpages of designated safe communities (saved in 2005) presented at the time in the WHO collaborating center for community safety promotion website. Frequency tables, graphs, Pearson correlation coefficient and chi-square tests were used to analyze the data. Results: The majority of safe communities belonged to Sweden, Norway and Australia respectively. 26.2% of safe communities had started their activities before 1990. Nearly all of the communities had specific injury prevention programs for different age groups and 49 (75.4%) of safe communities had programs for high risk groups. Activities in the field of occupational safety promotion were more frequent in Sweden compared to other countries (P<0.01). 92.3% of safe communities had declared having some kind of injury surveillance. A total of 17 theses, 23 books and 71 journal papers (either local or international) and 542 other types of publications were the result of safety promotion activities reported by different safe communities. All the published journal articles belonged to only 10 safe communities. Conclusion: Safe communities throughout the world have shown to be successful but need more focus on sustainability and improvement of relevant activities. Moreover, vast inconsistency in reporting the activities, approaches and methods seemed to be a barrier against having a reliable efficacy evaluation of the safe communities.

Surface electromyographic analysis of the biceps brachii muscle of cricket bowlers during bowling

Cricket bowling generates forces with torques on the upper limb muscles and makes the biceps brachii (BB) muscle vulnerable to overuse injury. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there are differences in the amplitude of the EMG signal of the BB muscle during fast and spin delivery, during the seven phases of both types of bowling and the kinesiological interpretation of the bowling arm for muscle contraction mechanisms during bowling. A group of 16 male amateur bowlers participated in this study, among them 8 fast bowlers (FB) and 8 spin bowlers (SB). The root mean square (EMGRMS), the average sEMG (EMGAVG), the maximum peak amplitude (EMGpeak), and the variability of the signal were calculated using the coefficient of variance (EMGCV) from the BB muscle of each bowler (FB and SB) during each bowling phase. The results demonstrate that, (i) the BB muscle is more active during FB than during SB, (ii) the point of ball release and follow-through generated higher signals than the other five movements during both bowling categories, (iii) the BB muscle variability is higher during SB compared with FB, (iv) four statistically significant differences (p<0.05) found between the bowling phases in fast bowling and three in spin bowling, and (v) several arm mechanics occurred for muscle contraction. There are possible clinical significances from the outcomes; like, recurring dynamic contractions on BB muscle can facilitate to clarify the maximum occurrence of shoulder pain as well as biceps tendonitis those are medically observed in professional cricket bowlers, and treatment methods with specific injury prevention programmes should focus on the different bowling phases with the maximum muscle effect. Finally, these considerations will be of particular importance in assessing different physical therapy on bowler's muscle which can improve the ball delivery performance and stability of cricket bowlers.

On the Horizon From the ORS

On the Horizon From the ORS

Video Analysis of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Nigerian and English Professional Soccer Leagues: A Comparative Study

A better understanding of the pattern of musculoskeletal injuries and the zones of the playing field where injuries occur is needed in order to device specific injury prevention programmes for the Nigerian premier soccer league (NPL). This study was therefore aimed at determining the causes, frequency, and methods of treatment of injuries sustained in selected matches of NPL compared with the English premier soccer leagues (EPL) during the 2005/2006 season. Fifty matches (25 each from the NPL and EPL) were randomly selected. Video tapes of the selected matches were reviewed. Injuries were recorded with respect to causes, parts of the body injured, outcomes of treatment and zones of the playing field where the injuries occurred. A total of 230 injuries were recorded. NPL matches had the highest occurrence of the injuries (67.83%, 156/230). The knee and the ankle were the most common injured parts. Most injuries were caused by tackling attempts and accidental contacts. The highest number of injuries occurred at the midfield zone and the score box. Injured players in the NPL were not promptly and properly attended to medically. This resulted in a large percentage of these players returning to the field of play with some signs of residua injury. Keywords: Soccer Players, Nigerian Premier League, English Premier League. Musculoskeletal Injuries.Nigerian Journal of Health and Biomedical Sciences Vol. 6 (2) 2007: pp. 85-89

Incidence of acute volleyball injuries: a prospective cohort study of injury mechanisms and risk factors.

The purpose of the study was to examine the incidence and mechanisms of acute volleyball injuries, with particular reference to possible risk factors for ankle injuries. Coaches and players in the top two divisions of the Norwegian Volleyball Federation were asked to keep records of exposure time and all acute volleyball injuries causing a player to miss at least one playing day during one season. We found 89 injuries among 272 players during 51588 player hours, 45837 h of training and 5751 h of match play. The total injury incidence was 1.7 +/- 0.2 per 1000 h of play, 1.5 +/- 0.2 during training and 3.5 +/- 0.8 during match play. The ankle (54%) was the most commonly injured region, followed by the lower back (11%), knee (8%), shoulder (8%) and fingers (7%). Of the ankle injuries, 79% were recurrences, and the relative risk of injury was 3.8 (P < 0.0001) for previously injured ankles (38 of 232) vs. non-injured ankles (10 of the 234). Moreover, a reinjury was observed in 21 of the 50 ankles that had suffered an ankle sprain within the last 6 months (42.0 +/- 7.0%; risk ratio: 9.8 vs. uninjured ankles; P < 0.000001). The data indicate that external supports should be worn for 6-12 months after an ankle sprain and that specific injury prevention programs may be developed for ankle sprains in volleyball.