The association between overuse and musculoskeletal injuries and the female athlete triad in Division I collegiate athletes.

INTRODUCTION

Although the female athlete triad (Triad) has been associated with increased risk of bone-stress injuries (BSIs), limited research among collegiate athletes has addressed the associations between the Triad and non-BSI injuries.

OBJECTIVE

To elucidate the relationship between Triad and both BSI and non-BSI in female athletes.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

Primary and tertiary care student athlete clinic.

PARTICIPANTS

National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I female athletes at a single institution.

INTERVENTION: Participants completed a pre-participation questionnaire and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, which was used to generate a Triad cumulative risk assessment score (Triad score). The number of overuse musculoskeletal injuries that occurred while the athletes were still competing collegiately were identified through chart review.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: BSI and non-BSI were treated as count variables. The association between BSI, non-BSI, and Triad score was measured using Poisson regression to calculate rate ratios.

RESULTS

Of 239 athletes, 43% of athletes (n = 103) sustained at least one injury. Of those, 40% (n = 95) sustained at least one non-BSI and 10% (n = 24) sustained at least one BSI over an average follow-up 2.5 years. After accounting for sport type (non-lean, runner, other endurance sport, or other lean advantage sport) and baseline age, we found that every additional Triad score risk point was associated with a significant 17% increase in the rate of BSI (rate ratio [RR] 1.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-1.33; p = .016). However, Triad score was unrelated to non-BSI (1.00, 95% CI 0.91-1.11; p = .99). Compared with athletes in non-lean sports (n = 108), athletes in other lean advantage sports (n = 30) had an increased rate of non-BSI (RR: 2.09, p = .004) whereas distance runners (n = 46) had increased rates of BSI (RR: 7.65, p < .001) and non-BSI (RR: 2.25, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Higher Triad score is associated with an increased risk of BSI but not non-BSI in collegiate athletes.