Development and validation of a new method for the registration of overuse injuries in sports injury epidemiology: the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) Overuse Injury Questionnaire

Abstract

Background Current methods for injury registration in sports injury epidemiology studies may substantially underestimate the true burden of overuse injuries due to a reliance on time-loss injury definitions. Objective To develop and validate a new method for the registration of overuse injuries in sports. Methods A new method, including a new overuse injury questionnaire, was developed and validated in a 13-week prospective study of injuries among 313 athletes from five different sports, cross-country skiing, floorball, handball, road cycling and volleyball. All athletes completed a questionnaire by email each week to register problems in the knee, lower back and shoulder. Standard injury registration methods were also used to record all time-loss injuries that occurred during the study period. Results The new method recorded 419 overuse problems in the knee, lower back and shoulder during the 3-month-study period. Of these, 142 were classified as substantial overuse problems, defined as those leading to moderate or severe reductions in sports performance or participation, or time loss. Each week, an average of 39% of athletes reported having overuse problems and 13% reported having substantial problems. In contrast, standard methods of injury registration registered only 40 overuse injuries located in the same anatomical areas, the majority of which were of minimal or mild severity. Conclusion Standard injury surveillance methods only capture a small percentage of the overuse problems affecting the athletes, largely because few problems led to time loss from training or competition. The new method captured a more complete and nuanced picture of the burden of overuse injuries in this cohort.

Injuries and musculoskeletal pain among Norwegian group fitness instructors

“…However, based on studies from athletes and dancers (Dupont et al, 2010;Garrick et al, 1986;Luke et al, 2011;Montgomery & Hopkins, 2013) it is plausible to hypothesize that high instruction loading leads to increased risk of injuries, and that these instructors might have had higher instruction loading prior to their injuries. Findings from athletes show that they continue training and competition despite overuse injuries and pain, (Bahr, 2009;Clarsen, Myklebust, & Bahr, 2013) this might also be the case among group fitness instructors. Future studies should therefore aim to prospectively monitor occurrence of both acute and overuse injuries, and get trained personnel to classify the injuries according to the injury registration consensus.…”

No association between surface shifts and time-loss overuse injury risk in male professional football

“…15 Still, remarkably 97% of professional players experience that playing on AT results in greater muscle and joint soreness. 16 It should be acknowledged that a time-loss definition may underestimate the burden of overuse injuries substantially, 17 and we may thus have been unable to observe a possible association between frequent surface shifts and non-time loss overuse injury risk.…”

Worse self-reported outcomes but no limitations in performance-based measures in patients with long-standing hip and groin pain compared with healthy controls

“…The majority of hip/groin pain problems in sports are overuse injuries [32], but athletes may play and train despite pain [4]. Therefore, future studies should consider evaluating perceived pain during assessment of PBMs.…”