297401
Descriptive epidemiology of NCAA Women's Gymnastics: 2009/10-2012/13
Methods: Women’s gymnastics data during the 2009/10-2012/13 academic years was analyzed. Ten programs provided 23 seasons of data. Injury rates (IR), injury rate ratios (IRR), injury proportions by body site, diagnosis, and event, and injury proportion ratios (IPR) were reported with 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results: The ISP captured 359 injuries for women’s gymnastics, leading to an IR of 9.4/1,000 athlete-exposures (AE) (95%CI:8.4, 10.4). The IR was higher among Division I (11.6/1,000 AEs) than Division II and III (7.2/1,000 AEs) (IRR=1.6; 95%CI:1.3, 2.0;P<0.001). Common injured body sites included the ankle (18.7%), lower leg (14.8%), trunk (13.7%), and foot (12.5%). Common diagnoses included ligament sprain (19.5%) and muscle/tendon strain (18.7%). Overall, 10.3% of injuries resulted in time loss of over three weeks; 8.8% required surgery. Most injuries occurred during the floor exercise (41.1%) and uneven bars (28.9%). Lower leg injuries comprised a larger proportion of injuries in the floor exercise (30.6%) compared to other events (5.2%; IPR=5.9; 95%CI: 2.8, 12.3; P<0.001). Shoulder injuries comprised a larger proportion of injuries in the uneven bars (17.1%) compared to other events (1.1%; IPR=16.0; 95%CI: 3.7, 69.2; P<0.001).
Conclusions: Lower extremity injuries comprised the largest proportion of injuries in NCAA women’s gymnastics. However, injury distributions varied by event. Sport-related injury surveillance data can help drive the development of targeted injury prevention interventions in women’s gymnastics.
Learning Areas:
EpidemiologyLearning Objectives:
Discuss the incidence and rate of injury in NCAA women’s gymnastics
Identify the differences in injury distributions by event (e.g., balance beam, floor exercise, uneven bars, vault) among NCAA women’s gymnastics
Explain the importance of how data such as the NCAA ISS can help drive policy discussions
Keyword(s): Surveillance, Epidemiology
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked with numerous injury surveillance systems during my tenure as an injury epidemiologist. I have also authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles utilizing this data.
Any relevant financial relationships? Yes
| Name of Organization | Clinical/Research Area | Type of relationship |
|---|---|---|
| Datalys Center | NCAA Injury Surveillance Program | Employment (includes retainer) |
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.