Injuries and illnesses among competitive Norwegian rhythmic gymnasts during preseason: a prospective cohort study of prevalence, incidence and risk factors

Abstract

ObjectivesRhythmic gymnastics is an Olympic sport that demands high training volume from early age. We investigated the extent of, and risk factors for, injuries among competitive Norwegian rhythmic gymnasts.MethodsOne hundred and seven of 133 (80.5%) female rhythmic gymnasts (mean age: 14.5 years (SD 1.6), mean body mass index: 18.9 (SD 2.2)) participated. All gymnasts completed a baseline questionnaire and the ‘Triad-Specific Self-Report Questionnaire’. Injuries, illnesses and training hours were recorded prospectively for 15 weeks during preseason using the ‘Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Questionnaire on Health Problems’ (OSTRC-H2).ResultsResponse rate to OSTRC-H2 was 97%. Mean overuse and acute injury prevalence were 37% (95% CI: 36% to 39%) and 5% (95% CI: 4% to 6%), respectively. Incidence was 4.2 overuse injuries (95% CI: 3.6 to 4.9) and 1.0 acute injuries (95% CI: 0.5 to 1.6) per gymnast per year. Overuse injuries in knees, lower back and hip/groin represented the greatest burdens. Previous injury increased the odds of injury (OR 30.38, (95% CI: 5.04 to 183.25)), while increased age (OR 0.61 per year, (95% CI: 0.39 to 0.97)) and presence of menarche (OR: 0.20, (95% CI: 0.06 to 0.71)) reduced the odds of all injuries and substantial injuries, respectively.ConclusionsOveruse injuries were common among Norwegian rhythmic gymnasts. Younger gymnasts had higher all-injury risk. Gymnasts who were not menstruating had higher substantial injury risk. Injury prevention interventions should start at an early age and focus on preventing knee, lower back and hip/groin injuries.

Prevalence and Burden of Self-Reported Health Problems in Junior Male Elite Ice Hockey Players: A 44-Week Prospective Cohort Study

“…Compared with studies employing the same methodology in other sports, our findings were in line with observations by Pluim et al 21 (average weekly prevalence of health problems, 21%; substantial health problems, 15%) and Clarsen et al 11 (36% and 15%, respectively), but lower than those of Moseid et al 18 (43% and 25%, respectively) and Gram et al 14 (39% and 28%, respectively). However, the participant profile differs substantially between these studies: Clarsen et al 11 monitored adult Olympic athletes from mixed sports; Pluim et al, 21 11-to 14-year-old elite tennis players; Moseid et al, 18 a 15-to 16-year-old mixed group of youth athletes attending sports academy high schools, and Gram et al, 14 female rhythmic gymnasts. In our study, the average weekly prevalence of all acute injuries reported was 10% and the average weekly prevalence of substantial acute injuries was 7%.…”

Methodological implications of adapting and applying a web-based questionnaire on health problems to adolescent football players

“…Regarding prevalence of health problems, we found that at any given time, 40% of the young football players experienced a health problem, and 19% experienced a substantial health problem. These numbers compare well with other studies on adolescent athletes [ 2 , 17 , 18 , 24 , 25 ], which have reported that approximately half of the reported health problems among adolescent athletes are substantial. In terms of response rate, we observed an overall low response rate.…”

The influence of growth and training loads on injury risk in competitive trampoline gymnasts

“…This is also the first study to report the prevalence of injury in trampoline gymnasts. The average weekly prevalence of reported injury was lower than previously reported in competitive, rhythmic gymnasts (Gram et al, 2020). When gymnasts were grouped into growth spurt status (pre, circa & post growth spurt), an injury was more prevalent in gymnasts circa-growth spurt compared to those pre-and post-growth spurt.…”