Injuries in Irish male and female collegiate athletes.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE\nTo understand the incidence and burden of injury of student-athletes in four of the most popular collegiate sports.\n\n\nDESIGN\nProspective cohort study.\n\n\nSETTING\nCollegiate sport.\n\n\nPARTICIPANTS\nGaelic football, hurling/Camogie, soccer and Rugby (n\xa0=\xa0672; male\xa0=\xa0416, female\xa0=\xa0256) student-athletes.\n\n\nMAIN OUTCOME MEASURE\nInjury incidence, burden of injury and total, match and training injury rates, and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated. The frequencies and proportions were also calculated. An injury was defined as any physical condition that prevents a student-athlete from full participation for a period greater than 24\xa0h.\n\n\nRESULTS\nOver a quarter (0.266) of student-athletes sustained an injury in the academic season. Male student-athletes had a higher injury rate than females (21.6 vs 11.3 injuries/1000\xa0h). Rugby (20.8 injuries/1000\xa0h) had the highest injury rates with hurling/Camogie (6.3 injuries/1000\xa0h) the lowest. Lower extremity injuries were predominant (68.8%) with ankle sprains demonstrating a large burden for all sports (20.6-280.2 days absent/1000\xa0h). Hamstring strains (13.7-118.4 days absent/1000\xa0h) had a large burden for all sports except male Rugby. Knee sprains had a large burden on the female Gaelic footballer (84.8 days absent/1000\xa0h). Sprinting (27.4%) and the tackle (20.1%) were the most common mechanism of injury. Injuries were predominantly moderate (8-28 days) or severe (>28 days) (84.7%).\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nInjury reduction needs to be prioritised in the student-athlete, particularly in males. Specific focus is required on the lower extremity, especially in the hamstring muscles and ankle joint owing to the large burden of injury.