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 Researchers analyzed injury data from 11 college varsity programs
for five years starting with the 2009 – 2010 school year. Out of 418
injuries, only 164 were serious enough to require the women to stop
participating in gymnastics for more than a day.
Equipment changes, such as shock-absorbing mats to soften landings
and a new vaulting table with a larger, cushioned push-off surface
may have helped limit serious injuries, said lead author Zachary
Kerr of the Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention
in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Athletic trainers can also minimize the risk of serious injuries,
Kerr added.
“By having athletic trainers on site, organizations may be able to
reduce the severity of injury because diagnosis and management of
the injuries occur almost immediately,” Kerr said by email.
By separating out injuries that forced athletes to sit out practices
and competitions, Kerr and colleagues found injury rates that were
lower than earlier data from the National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) might suggest, they report in the Journal of
Athletic Training.
The researchers measured injury rates against what’s known as
athletic exposures (AEs), which occur each time one athlete
participates in one practice or game that has the potential to
result in an injury.
Over the course of the study, the overall injury rate was 9.22 per
1,000 AEs. But looking only at injuries serious enough for women to
miss more than a day of practice, the injury rate fell to 3.62 per
1,000 AEs.
Practices didn’t appear as dangerous as competitions. The practice
injury rate was 8.69 per 1,000 AEs, compared with 14.49 per 1,000
AEs for competitions.
Most injuries involved ankles, lower legs, Achilles tendon, trunk or
foot, the study found.
Floor exercises accounted for about 42 percent of the 291 injuries
reported while athletes were using an apparatus, followed by the
uneven bars, which were tied to 29 percent of these injuries.
The researchers didn't have data on all college teams,
theyacknowledge. They also didn't know the duration of practices and
competitions, making it impossible to determine how the amount of
time doing gymnastics might relate to risk of injury.
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It’s possible that some injuries were averted altogether or less
severe because coaches have gotten smarter about avoiding
overtraining and excessive repetition of the most dangerous skills,
said Dr. John O’Kane, intercollegiate athletics medical director at
the University of Washington in Seattle.
“College gymnastics teams have small rosters and the loss of two or
three key competitors can doom a season,” O’Kane, who wasn’t
involved in the study, said by email. “I think coaches have become
smarter about this and work harder to avoid injuries, particularly
those involving significant time loss.”
Even when injuries don’t require time off, there is a downside to
getting back into the swing of things less than a day after an
injury, said Randy Cohen, an athletic trainer and associate
athletics director for medical services at the University of Arizona
in Tucson.
“Time-loss injuries do prevent athletes from participating in
practice and competitions, however, when they are out they can focus
on rest, treatments, rehabilitation and getting better,” Cohen, who
wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. “When you have non-time
loss injuries they require treatment and rehabilitation while
continuing to practice and compete.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1PoAyvU Journal of Athletic Training, online
July 21, 2015.
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