Injuries Affecting Intercollegiate Water Polo Athletes: A Descriptive Epidemiologic Study

Abstract

Background: There are few data on injuries suffered by collegiate water polo athletes. Purpose: To describe the epidemiology of injuries suffered by National College Athletic Association (NCAA) male and female water polo players by using injury surveillance data over a 5-year period. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Deidentified data on all water polo injuries and illnesses recorded in the Pac-12 Sports Injury Research Archive from July 2016 through June 2021 were obtained and analyzed. Three men’s and 4 women’s teams were observed for the entire 5-year period, and 1 men’s and 1 women’s team was observed from July 2018 through June 2021. Results: During the observation period, 729 injuries were recorded in the database, with no differences in overall injury rates between male and female athletes (relative risk [RR] = 1.0; 95% CI, 0.9-1.2); 33.7% of injuries required a physician encounter, and 3.6% required surgery. The shoulder was the most injured body part, making up 20.6% of all injuries, followed by the head/face (18.8%) and hand/wrist/forearm (11.7%). Shoulder tendinopathy was the most common shoulder injury diagnosis (4.5% of all injuries). Concussion was the most common injury diagnosis overall, making up 11.4% of injuries, and 81.9% of concussions occurred outside of competition. Male athletes were significantly more likely than female athletes to have a concussion in an off-season practice (RR, 3.25; 95% CI, 1.2-8.8) and via contact with another player (RR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.3-6.4). Half of the 26 surgical procedures occurring over the observation period were for chronic joint trauma of the groin/hip/pelvis/buttock, with 9 of those 13 being for femoroacetabular impingement specifically. Conclusion: Among NCAA water polo athletes, the shoulder was the most injured body part; however, shoulder injuries rarely required missed time from sport or necessitated surgical intervention. Concussions were the most common injury diagnosis, had the worst return-to-play outcomes among common diagnoses, and were mostly sustained outside of competition. Femoroacetabular impingement was found to be the dominant diagnosis for which surgical intervention was required.

Incidence of Concussions in Elite Female Water Polo: A Retrospective Analysis

“…Finally, this study focuses on female players only, and the results cannot be generalized to male players. 36 Nevertheless, Schroeder et al 14 found no significant difference in concussion rates between both sexes in NCAA athletes, and therefore we speculate that rates in elite males may be similar to elite female players.…”

“…More recently, a retrospective chart analysis of 307 NCAA collegiate water polo players (142 males) competing in the western United States between 2016 and 2021 found that concussions were the most prevalent diagnosis among injured players, affecting 63 athletes (20.5% prevalence). 14…”

“…More recently, a retrospective chart analysis of 307 NCAA collegiate water polo players (142 males) competing in the western United States between 2016 and 2021 found that concussions were the most prevalent diagnosis among injured players, affecting 63 athletes (20.5% prevalence). 14 Recent work by Cecchi et al 15 explored the underlying sport-specific mechanisms by describing the frequency and magnitude of impacts to the head in male collegiate water polo players. They conclude that players receive multiple impacts to the head in each game, with mean peak linear accelerations of 36.1 6 12.3 g. In contrast, peak linear accelerations in high school American football, ice hockey, and soccer were respectively measured at 29.2 6 1.0 g, 35.0 6 1.7 g, and 54.7 6 4.1 g. 16 However, no concussions were observed by Cecchi et al (2019) over the competitive season where the study took place.…”

“…They conclude that players receive multiple impacts to the head in each game, with mean peak linear accelerations of 36.1 6 12.3 g. In contrast, peak linear accelerations in high school American football, ice hockey, and soccer were respectively measured at 29.2 6 1.0 g, 35.0 6 1.7 g, and 54.7 6 4.1 g. 16 However, no concussions were observed by Cecchi et al (2019) over the competitive season where the study took place. Conflicting evidence of the presence of concussion in collegiate players is emerging, 14 but there is a gap in studies on this topic at the international competitive level. 17,18 This discrepancy may be rooted in a lack of recognition of this pathology, because a recent study showed that knowledge on concussions can vary across countries and medical professionals.…”

Multicenter Analysis of the Epidemiology of Injury Patterns and Return to Sport in Collegiate Gymnasts

“…After receiving institutional review board approval for the study protocol and given our institution’s membership in the Pac-12, we queried the Pac-12 Sports Injury Research Archive between 2017 and 2020 in the same fashion as prior studies. 34 , 37 Included for analysis were all male and female collegiate gymnasts from Pac-12 universities (2 men’s teams and 8 women’s teams) who had a documented “injury event” as reported by a physician, athletic trainer, or physical therapist during either practice or competition, both in season and out of season. “Athletes affected” was defined as the number of athletes who experienced ≥1 recorded injury during the study period.…”