The Epidemiology of Injuries Across the Weight-Training Sports

Abstract

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.

A content analysis of the high-intensity functional training literature: a look at the past and directions for the future

“…Moreover, the authors suggested that males were more likely to report an injury than females, and those engaging in the modality less than 3 days per week and with less than 1 year of experience were at greatest risks of reporting an injury. In summary, the currently available evidence supports Feito et al's claim that crossFit training is relatively safe; the injury rates, ranging between 2 and 3 injuries per 1000 hours of training [32,40,69,87,91,103], are similar to traditional training programs.…”

“…one of the most frequently studied topics seen in our review was the prevalence and incidence of injuries related to HIFt. A total of 14 studies either reported collected data to calculate prevalence and incidence rates or reviewed the available literature related to HIFt and injuries [31,32,40,54,69,74,86,87,91,93,94,107,109,116]. In addition, several more case studies exist describing injuries occurring within this training modality, which are not included here as they did not meet the inclusion criteria for this study.…”

Crossfit, musculação e corrida: vício, lesões e vulnerabilidade imunológica

“…Os achados do presente estudo quanto à frequência de lesões estão em concordância com uma recente revisão sistemática (19). Os autores apontam que as lesões em modalidades que utilizam exercícios de força (crossfit e musculação) ocorrem na proporção de uma a sete lesões em mil horas de treinamento.…”

“…Estudo recente de revisão integrativa sugere que a frequência de lesões musculoesqueléticas entre modalidades que utilizam exercícios de força predominantemente, como, por exemplo, o levantamento de peso olímpico, fisiculturismo e crossfit, é menor em relação a esportes coletivos como o rugby e futebol (uma a sete lesões contra 15 a 81, respectivamente, para 1.000 horas de treinamento) (19). A literatura também sugere que a corrida apresenta um risco maior de desenvolvimento de lesões quando comparada às modalidades que envolvem a força enquanto componente da aptidão física predominante (20,21).…”

Strength-Endurance Training Classes

“…HIIT and HIFT are established approaches to exercise training for the general public and no longer considered fitness fads; appropriate injury mitigation strategies should be developed. Batterson et al 11 and previous studies 14 show that: (1) injuries occur during HIIT and HIFT programs at a higher rate than previously reported; and (2) the proximal lower limb joints (hips and knees) and back are the most frequently injured anatomical locations. The primary injury-inciting movements are reported to be squats, bench presses, and burpees.…”