Injuries in Irish male and female collegiate athletes.

OBJECTIVE

To understand the incidence and burden of injury of student-athletes in four of the most popular collegiate sports.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING

Collegiate sport.

PARTICIPANTS

Gaelic football, hurling/Camogie, soccer and Rugby (n = 672; male = 416, female = 256) student-athletes.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Injury incidence, burden of injury and total, match and training injury rates, and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated. The frequencies and proportions were also calculated. An injury was defined as any physical condition that prevents a student-athlete from full participation for a period greater than 24 h.

RESULTS

Over a quarter (0.266) of student-athletes sustained an injury in the academic season. Male student-athletes had a higher injury rate than females (21.6 vs 11.3 injuries/1000 h). Rugby (20.8 injuries/1000 h) had the highest injury rates with hurling/Camogie (6.3 injuries/1000 h) the lowest. Lower extremity injuries were predominant (68.8%) with ankle sprains demonstrating a large burden for all sports (20.6-280.2 days absent/1000 h). Hamstring strains (13.7-118.4 days absent/1000 h) had a large burden for all sports except male Rugby. Knee sprains had a large burden on the female Gaelic footballer (84.8 days absent/1000 h). Sprinting (27.4%) and the tackle (20.1%) were the most common mechanism of injury. Injuries were predominantly moderate (8-28 days) or severe (>28 days) (84.7%).

CONCLUSION

Injury reduction needs to be prioritised in the student-athlete, particularly in males. Specific focus is required on the lower extremity, especially in the hamstring muscles and ankle joint owing to the large burden of injury.