Introducing a new method to record injuries during military training: a prospective study among 296 young Norwegian conscripts.

INTRODUCTION: Most epidemiological studies in the field of military medicine have been based on data from medical records and registries. The aims of this study were to test a self-reporting injury surveillance system commonly used in sports medicine in a military setting, and to describe the injury pattern among Norwegian army conscripts during a period of military training. METHOD: A total of 296 conscripts in His Majesty the King's Guard were asked to report all injuries each week for 12 weeks, using a modification of the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Questionnaire on Health Problems (OSTRC-H2). We recorded all injuries irrespective of their need for medical attention or consequences for military participation. In addition, we retrieved data on injuries recorded by military physicians in the medical record from the Norwegian Armed Forces Health Register. RESULTS: The mean weekly response rate was 74%. A total of 357 injuries were recorded, of which 82% were only captured through the OSTRC-H2 and 3% only in the medical records. The average weekly prevalence of injury was 28% (95% CI: 25% to 31%), and 10% (95% CI: 8% to 12%) experienced injuries with a substantial negative impact on training and performance. The greatest injury burden was caused by lower limb injuries, with knee and foot injuries as the predominant injury locations. CONCLUSION: The OSTRC-H2 is suitable for use in a military setting and records substantially more injuries than the standard medical record. The prevalence of injuries among conscripts is high and comparable with many elite sports.

The prevalence and severity of health problems in youth elite sports: A 6-month prospective cohort study of 320 athletes.

Little is known regarding the overall health of youth elite athletes. Our aim was to describe the prevalence and severity of health problems in a cohort of youth elite athletes representing a variety of endurance, team, and technical sports. Elite sport athletes (N = 260, 16.2 years) from different Sport Academy High Schools in Norway, and a group of their teammates (N = 60, 16.4 years) attending regular high schools, were included in the study. The Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) questionnaire on health problems was used to self-report injuries and illnesses for 26 weeks. At any given time, an average of 43% [95% CI: 37%-49%] of the elite sport athletes had some form of health problem and 25% [20%-31%] had substantial health problems. The prevalence of health problems was similar between the elite team sport athletes and their teammates, except for substantial injuries (22% [16%-30%] vs 10% [5%-20%]). Endurance sport athletes reported more illnesses (23% [15%-35%]) than technical and team sport athletes (10% [5%-20%] and 8% [4%-14%]). In contrast, technical and team sport athletes reported more injuries (36% [95% CI: 25-48] and 37% [95% CI 29-45]) compared to endurance sport athletes (15% [8%-25%]). The total impact of health problems was roughly split in thirds between overuse injuries (37%), acute injuries (34%), and illnesses (30%). This is the first prospective study to present self-reported injury and illness data in a large heterogeneous group of youth elite athletes, documenting a substantial impact of both injuries and illnesses on the health of this population.

High prevalence of self-reported injuries and illnesses in talented female athletes.

BACKGROUND: A thorough knowledge of the epidemiology and severity of injuries and illness in youth female elite sports is lacking due to the methodological challenges involved in recording them. In this study, the prevalence and incidence of injuries and illness are assessed among youth female elite athletes. Instead of solely focusing on time-loss injuries, our study included all substantial and non-substantial health problems (ie, injuries, mental problems and illnesses). METHODS: Sixty young elite Dutch female athletes (age: 16.6 years (SD: 2.3), weight: 58.3 kg (SD: 15.1), height: 154.1 cm (SD: 44.2)) participating in soccer (n=23), basketball (n=22) and gymnastic (n=15) talent development programmes were prospectively followed during one season (September 2014 to April 2015). To collect health problem data, all athletes completed the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Questionnaire on Health Problems every other week. Main outcome measures were average prevalence of injury and incidence density of injury. RESULTS: At any given time, 47.9% of the athletes reported an injury (95% CI 43.6% to 52.6%) and 9.1% reported an illness (95% CI 5.1 to 19.0). The average injury incidence density was 8.6 per 1000 hours of athlete exposure. The average number of self-reported injuries per athlete per season was significantly higher in soccer athletes (4.3±2.7) than in basketball athletes (2.6±2.0) (p=0.03) and not significantly higher than in the gymnastic squad. The knee and the ankle were two of the most common injury locations for all squads. Knee injuries in basketball and soccer and heel injuries in the gymnastic squad had the highest impact on sports participation. CONCLUSION: High prevalence of self-reported injuries among talented female athletes suggests that future efforts towards their prevention are warranted.

German translation and content validation of the OSTRC Questionnaire on overuse injuries and health problems.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to translate, culturally adapt and validate the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) Questionnaire on Health Problems into the German context. METHODS: A slightly modified back-translation method was used to translate the questionnaire. Validation was done in 24 high-level Paralympic athletes followed over 20 consecutive weeks. RESULTS: The translated version of the questionnaire showed a very high internal consistency and good test-retest reliability (Cronbach's α 0.92, intraclass correlation coefficient 0.91). Additionally, we observed high acceptance and compliance from our cohort of athletes, whose mean weekly response rate was 91.5%. Overall, 114 training days were lost because of illness or injury within the 20 weeks and, on average, 5 athletes per week (20.8%) reported health problems. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the translated German version of the OSTRC Questionnaire is a reliable and valid tool with high internal consistency for the medical monitoring of German athletes. The OSTRC-G now offers the opportunity for a continued surveillance of high-level German athletes.

Consensus statement on the methodology of injury and illness surveillance in FINA (aquatic sports).

BACKGROUND: Injury and illness surveillance in the aquatic disciplines has been conducted during the FINA World Championships and Olympic Games. The development of an aquatic-specific injury and illness surveillance system will improve the quality of the data collected and the development of preventive measures. Our ultimate objective is to enhance aquatic athlete health and performance. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to refine the injury and illness surveillance protocols to develop aquatic-specific definitions of injury and illness; define aquatic-specific injury location and causation; better describe overuse injuries; regard pre-existing and recurrent injuries; more accurately define aquatic athlete exposures and develop a protocol to capture out-of-competition aquatic athlete health parameters. METHODS: FINA compiled an Injury and Illness Surveillance Expert Working Group comprised of international experts to review the scientific literature in the field. A consensus meeting was convened to provide an opportunity for debate, following which recommendations were collated. RESULTS: Aquatic-specific injury and illness surveillance protocols covering both the in-competition and out-of-competition time periods were developed. Definitions for all relevant variables were outlined, and documentation forms for athletes and for clinicians were proposed. Recommendations for the implementation of an injury and illness surveillance system for FINA are presented. CONCLUSION: The FINA consensus authors recommend ongoing in-competition and out-of-competition surveillance to determine injury and illness trends over time. The implementation of the definitions and methodology outlined in this paper will improve the accuracy and value of injury and illness surveillance, and provide important information for injury prevention.

A one-season prospective study of injuries and illness in elite junior tennis.

The objective of this study was to estimate the incidence and prevalence of injury and illness among elite junior tennis players. A cohort of 73 players (11-14 years) in the 2012-2013 Dutch national high-performance program was followed for 32 weeks; all participants completed the study. The OSTRC Questionnaire on Health Problems was used to record self-reported injuries and illnesses and to record training and match exposure. Main outcome measures were average prevalence of overuse injury and illness and incidence density of acute injury. On average, players practiced 9.1 h/week (SD 0.6; range 2.3-12.0) and had 2.2 h of match play (SD 0.6; range 2.3-12.0). During the course of the study, 67 players reported a total of 187 health problems. The average weekly prevalence of all health problems was 21.3% (95% CI: 19.2-22.9), of which 12.1% (95% CI: 10.9-13.3) constituted overuse injuries and 5.8% (95% CI: 4.6-6.9) illnesses. The incidence of acute injuries was 1.2/1000 h of tennis play (95% CI: 0.7-1.7). The high occurrence of overuse injuries among elite junior tennis players suggests that an early focus on preventative measures is warranted, with a particular focus on the monitoring and management of workload.

The prevalence and impact of overuse injuries in five Norwegian sports: Application of a new surveillance method.

Little is known about the true extent and severity of overuse injuries in sport, largely because of methodological challenges involved in recording them. This study assessed the prevalence of overuse injuries among Norwegian athletes from five sports using a newly developed method designed specifically for this purpose. The Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Overuse Injury Questionnaire was distributed weekly by e-mail to 45 cross-country skiers, 98 cyclists, 50 floorball players, 55 handball players, and 65 volleyball players for 13 weeks. The prevalence of overuse problems at the shoulder, lower back, knee, and anterior thigh was monitored throughout the study and summary measures of an injury severity score derived from athletes' questionnaire responses were used to gauge the relative impact of overuse problems in each area. The area where overuse injuries had the greatest impact was the knee in volleyball where, on average, 36% of players had some form of complaint (95% CI 32-39%). Other prevalent areas included the shoulder in handball (22%, 95% CI 16-27%) the knee in cycling (23%, 95% CI 17-28%), and the knee and lower back in floorball (27%, 95% CI 24-31% and 29%, 95% CI 25-33%, respectively).