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 It’s well known that athletes often re-injure the same part of their
body more than once, researchers note in the British Journal of
Sports Medicine. But their new study shows that physical therapy and
injury prevention efforts need to take into account the risk other
injuries pose for subsequent leg injuries.
The researchers examined data from 12 previously published studies
and found many types of previous injuries, including concussions,
were associated with higher odds of a lower limb injury.
“When we are injured we generally only focus on the body part that
is being rehabilitated, yet it is just as important to keep the
non-injured parts of your body healthy and injury free,” said lead
study author Liam Toohey of La Trobe University in Bundoora,
Australia, and the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.
When athletes miss components of their normal training regimens due
to injury, they may have a reduced fitness level and be in less than
top condition when they resume participation in practices or
competitions, Toohey said by email.
“During rehabilitation, it is common for the injured body site to be
strengthened and conditioned, but often other body sites are not
trained as much as they were before the injury,” Toohey added. “So
when an athlete is ready to return to full training and competition,
the other areas of their body may not be as conditioned as they need
(to be) to withstand the demands of the sport - where they may then
go on to sustain an injury at a different site.”
For example, one of the most common knee injuries, an anterior
cruciate ligament (ACL) sprain or tear, was associated with a more
than doubled risk of a subsequent hamstring injury, Toohey and
colleagues found.
A previous muscle injury in the hamstrings, quadriceps, adductors
and calves was tied to higher odds of a muscle injury in a different
part of the lower limb, the study also found.
Back injuries were also connected to an increased risk of leg
injuries in the future, as was a history of concussion and a variety
of joint injuries.
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One limitation of the analysis is that it examined data from only a
small number of previously published studies, the authors note. It’s
also possible that other things such as the intensity or duration of
play, nutrition, or psychological factors might influence the odds
of lower limb injuries, the authors note.
Even so, the findings add to evidence suggesting that injured
athletes need to consider the potential for future injuries, said
Lauren Fortington of the Australian Centre for Research into Injury
in Sport and its Prevention in Ballarat.
“Many research studies to date have focused on recurrent injuries of
exactly the same type, for example a right ankle sprain followed by
another right ankle sprain,” Fortington, who wasn’t involved in the
study, said by email. “The problem is greater than that - previous
injury of any type may increase the risk for lower limb injuries.”
To minimize the risk of leg injuries in the future, rehabilitation
of other injuries must account for what parts of the body carry most
of the load in an athlete’s particular sport, said Isabel Moore, a
sports and health sciences researcher at Cardiff Metropolitan
University in the UK.
Psychological factors also need to be addressed, Moore, who wasn’t
involved in the study, said by email.
“Stress, anxiety and fear of re-injury are all known to influence
the chances of sustaining an injury,” Moore said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2xywfw6 British Journal of Sports Medicine,
online August 7, 2017.
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