A 12-month prospective cohort study of injury in international rowers

Abstract

Objective: In this study, the injury incidence and association with type and volume of training in international rowers were described. Design: A prospective cohort design was used over a 12-month period. Patients: 20 international rowers who were competing as part of the Irish Amateur Rowing Union squad system. Methods: The rowers were interviewed monthly, and data were collected regarding their training and competition exposure as well as their injury experience. Results: A mean injury rate of 3.67 per 1000 exposure hours was reported with a total of 44 injuries reported in a 12-month period. The mean number of injuries sustained per athlete was 2.2 (1.24) over the 12-month period. The area where the greatest number of injuries were reported was the lumbar spine (31.82% of total injuries, 95% CI 20 to 50) ( fig 2) followed by the knee (15.91% of total injuries, 95% CI 10 to 30) and the cervical spine (11.36% of total injuries, 95% CI 5 to 24). Half of the injuries (22 injuries, 50% of total reported injuries) were to the spine (x 2 = 30.8, df = 9, p = 0.0003). Ergometer training load was the most significantly associated with injury risk (r = 0.68, p = 0.01). Conclusion: International rowers are at higher risk of injury than most non-contact sports and some contact sports. The high risk of lumbar spine injury and the significant association of high volume of ergometer training merit further research to reduce time and competition lost to injury.

Labral Injuries of the Hip in Rowers

“…Traumatic and overuse injuries in rowers have been described in the literature with most studies citing high rates of minor injuries to the lumbar spine, knee, wrist, and ribs [4,15,17]. Injury to the hip has rarely been reported and is typically grouped with muscle strains of the thigh or buttocks.…”

“…Labral tears have been described in golfers, hockey players, dancers, karate practitioners, baseball players, and other sports that require repetitive motion of the hip or place the hip at risk for traumatic injury [2,6,17,18]. In a case series by Philippon and colleagues, the majority of professional athletes presenting with labral pathology were participants in hockey, golf, football, soccer, and dance [10].…”

“…The most commonly cited injuries in rowers are those of the lumbar spine and stress fractures of the ribs [4,9]. A prospective cohort of international rowers illustrated a mean injury rate of 3.67 per 1000 hours with the majority of the injuries being in the lumbar spine (31.8%) followed by the knee (15.9%) and cervical spine (11.4%) [17]. An epidemiologic study examined injuries in elitelevel junior rowers, finding that 74% of the reported injuries were secondary to overuse, whereas the remaining 26% were secondary to a single traumatic event [15].…”

Lesões Músculo-Esqueléticas em Remadores de Competição

“…Bernardes F, et al Lesões em remadores, Acta Med Port 2015 Jul-Aug;28(4): [427][428][429][430][431][432][433][434] sobre atletas de nível olímpico, [2][3][4]6,7 com níveis competitivos superiores aos da generalidade dos atletas portugueses. É o caso do estudo retrospetivo de Hickey et al, que reporta as lesões registadas numa base de dados do Instituto Australiano de Desporto, ocorridas entre atletas de seleção nacional, femininos e masculinos, durante períodos de estágio com a duração média de 18,5 a 18,6 meses.…”

“…[2][3][4][5] Alguns autores reportam riscos de lesão superiores aos de alguns desportos de contacto, tais como o râguebi e o boxe, nomeadamente durante o treino. 6,7 Os estudos sobre o número de lesões acumuladas por atletas de remo ao longo da sua vida desportiva, sobre programas de prevenção e sobre as circunstâncias de ocorrên-cia de lesões são escassos e têm incidido essencialmente Revista Científica da Ordem dos Médicos www.actamedicaportuguesa.com…”