Understanding the first injury in athletics and its effect on dropout from sport: an online survey on 544 high-level youth and junior athletics (track and field) athletes

Abstract

ObjectiveTo describe the first injury and to investigate whether it plays a role in altering athletics’ sustainable practice.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study using an exploratory survey on the first injury and its consequences on athletics practice. In 2021, we asked all high-level athletes licensed with the French Federation of Athletics (FFA) under 18 years, under 20 years and under 23 years categories between 2007 and 2021.ResultsOut of 6560 emails sent by FFA, 544 athletes responded, and 93.6% (n=510) reported experiencing at least one injury during their career. The first injury occurred at a mean age of 17.5±3.3 years after 6.1±4.1 years of athletics practice. The main locations of the first injury were the posterior thigh (28.9%), the ankle (16.5%) and the knee (12.6%), and the principal reported injury types were muscle (37.7%), tendon (17.5%) and ligament (15.5%). More than a third of injured athletes (36.7%) reported experiencing ongoing symptoms or sequelae after their first injury, and about half (48.5%) experienced recurrences. About 20% had stopped athletics at the time of the survey, with injury problems the primary cause of athletes dropping out (46.2%), including the first injury (9.4%).ConclusionsInjuries played an important role in altering sustainable athletics practice, with injury accounting for about 50% of all reported dropouts and the first injury accounting for about 10% of all reported causes. Our results provide evidence to target the prevention of the first injury, which could be considered the origin of the ‘vicious circle’ of injuries.

Athletes who have already experienced an injury are more prone to adhere to an injury risk reduction approach than those who do not: an online survey of 7870 French athletics (track and field) athletes

“… 12 Injuries are one of the causes of early athletic career endings. 5 6 Therefore, it could also be interesting that younger athletes benefit from the learnings from more experienced athletes who already sustained injuries. 11 Indeed, since some athletes stop their career after an injury, 5 it is not always relevant/possible to wait for them to gain from their own experience of injuries to engage them in an injury risk reduction approach.…”

“… 5 6 Therefore, it could also be interesting that younger athletes benefit from the learnings from more experienced athletes who already sustained injuries. 11 Indeed, since some athletes stop their career after an injury, 5 it is not always relevant/possible to wait for them to gain from their own experience of injuries to engage them in an injury risk reduction approach. 6 It could also be interesting that injured athletes shared their experience and motivation to engage in injury risk reduction with other athletes by, for instance, presenting their story/experience with injuries, their lessons learnt 33 and how they would have made it different.…”

“…Injuries are a negative consequence of athletics (track and field) activity. 1 Injuries physically affect athletes, potentially affecting musculoskeletal function, athletic performance [2][3][4] and athletic career 5 and resulting in long-term sequelae. 6 7 The injury risk associated with athletics supports the need to continue developing and improving injury risk reduction strategies to allow healthy and sustainable athletics activity.…”

Development and implementation of an injury and illness surveillance system for team USA

“…Injury and illness surveillance systems provide valuable data that allows clinicians and researchers to understand the risk factors associated with different sports and activities, which can inform rule changes, equipment improvements, and training protocols aimed at reducing the risk of injury and illness (Bahr et al 2020 ). When an athlete sustains an injury or illness it can lead to a variety of negative outcomes, ranging from missed training and competition opportunities to potential long-term health consequences (Edouard et al 2024 ; Edouard et al 2024 ; Clarsen et al 2024 ). To address this issue, long-term goals for surveillance include establishing standardized reporting systems across sports organizations, enhancing collaboration between medical professionals and sports governing bodies, and implementing evidence-based interventions aimed at preventing injuries and illnesses, with the ultimate goal of creating a safer and healthier environment for athletes at all levels of sport (Bahr et al 2020 ).…”