The weight training sports appear to have lower rates of injury than many common team sports.It is however acknowledged that this conclusion may partly reflect some limitations in the weight training sport injury epidemiology literature, primarily study design, diagnosis of injury and changes in risk exposure.Each of the weight training sports tended to have some subtle differences in their injury epidemiology, particularly their proportional injury rates across the various anatomical locations as well as the onset and severity of injury.The intrinsic factors of sex, competitive standard, age and bodyweight class may only have a relatively minor influence on the injury epidemiology of the weight training sports.
Weight training injuries
AbstractBackground: Weight training sports including weightlifting, powerlifting, bodybuilding, strongman, Highland Games and CrossFit are weight training sports that have separate divisions for males and females of a variety of ages, competitive standards and bodyweight classes. These sports may be considered dangerous due to the heavy loads commonly used in training and competition. Objectives: To systematically review the injury epidemiology of these weight training sports; and where possible gain some insight into whether this may be affected by age, sex, competitive standard and bodyweight class. Methods: An electronic search was performed using PubMed, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL and Embase for injury epidemiology studies involving competitive athletes in these weight training sports. Eligible studies included peer-reviewed journal articles only, with no limit placed on date or language of publication. Risk of bias was assessed in all studies using an adaption of musculoskeletal injury review method. Results: Only five of the 20 eligible studies had a risk of bias score ≥75%; meaning the risk of bias in these five studies was considered low. While 14 of the studies had sample sizes greater in 100 participants, only four studies utilized a prospective design. Bodybuilding had the lowest injury rates (0.12 -0.7 injuries per lifter per year; 0.24 -1 injury per 1000 hours), with strongman (4.5 -6.1 injuries per 1000 hours) and Highland Games (7.5 injuries per 1000 hours) reporting the highest rates.The shoulder, lower back, knee, elbow and wrist/hand were generally the most commonly injured anatomical locations; with strains, tendinitis and sprains the most common injury type.Very few significant differences in any of the injury outcomes were observed as a function of age, sex, competitive standard or bodyweight class. Conclusion: While the majority of the research reviewed utilized retrospective designs, the weight training sports appear to have relatively low rates of injury compared to common team sports. Future weight training sport Weight training injuries injury epidemiology research needs to be improved, particularly with regard to the use of prospective designs, diagnosis of injury and changes in risk exposure.