ABSTRACT
Objectives: Competitive sport climbing has made its way to the Olympic stage. This prestige has brought about route setting and training alterations which presumably affect injury epidemiology. Most of the climbing injury literature contains male climbers and lacks high performing athletes. Studies with both female and male climbers, rarely included separate analyses for performance level or sex. Therefore, injury concerns for elite female competitive climbers are impossible to discern. A former study examined the prevalence of amenorrhea in elite international female climbers (n = 114) and reported that 53.5% had at least one injury in the past 12 months, but injury details were excluded. This study's aim was to report these injury details and their associations with BMI, menstrual status and eating disorders of the cohort. Methods: Online survey was emailed to competitive female climbers recruited through the IFSC database between June and August 2021. Data was analyzed using Mann-Whitney U, χ2 and logistic regression. Results: 229 registered IFSC climbers opened the questionnaire and 114 (49.7%) provided valid responses. Respondents (mean ± SD; age = 22.9 ± 5 year) represented 30 different countries and more than half (53.5%, n = 61) reported an injury in the prior 12 months with the majority in shoulders (37.7%, n = 23) and fingers (34.4%, n = 21). Injury prevalence in climbers with amenorrhea was 55.6% (n = 10). BMI was not a significant predictor of injury risk (OR = 1.082, 95% CI: 0.89, 1.3; p = 0.440) while accounting for current ED over the past 12 months. However, the odds ratio for having an injury was doubled for those with an ED (OR = 2.129, 95% CI: 0.905, 5.010; p = 0.08). Conclusion: With over half reporting recent injuries (<12 months) mostly to shoulders and fingers, development of new strategies for injury prevention in competitive female climbers are warranted. In addition, climbers with disordered eating behaviors and/or menstrual disturbances might be more prone to injury. More research in this population is required. Suitable screening to prevent these health issues and proper monitoring of these athletes are paramount to long-term athlete success.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To assess and compare patient perceived quality of osteoarthritis (OA) management in primary healthcare in Denmark, Norway, Portugal and the UK. METHODS: Participants consulting with clinical signs and symptoms of knee OA were identified in 30 general practices and invited to complete a cross-sectional survey including quality indicators (QI) for OA care. A QI was considered as eligible if the participant had checked 'Yes' or 'No', and as achieved if the participant had checked 'Yes' to the indicator. The median percentage (with IQR and range) of eligible QIs achieved by country was determined and compared in negative binominal regression analysis. Achievement of individual QIs by country was determined and compared using logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: A total of 354 participants self-reported QI achievement. The median percentage of eligible QIs achieved (checked 'Yes') was 48% (IQR 28%, 64%; range 0-100%) for the total sample with relatively similar medians across three of four countries. Achievement rates on individual QIs showed a large variation ranging from 11% (referral to services for losing weight) to 67% (information about the importance of exercise) with significant differences in achievement rates between the countries. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated a potential for improvement in OA care in all four countries, but for somewhat different aspects of OA care. By exploring these differences and comparing healthcare services, ideas may be generated on how the quality might be improved across nations. Larger studies are needed to confirm and further explore the findings.
