A lockdown can lead to an increase in the number of injuries

Injury rates at an NCAA Division I institution following the COVID-19 lockdown.

Angileri HS, Rosenberg SI, Tanenbaum JE, Terry MA, Tjong VK. Orthop J Sport Med. 2023;11(8). doi:10.1177/23259671231187917.
Full text freely available

Take home message

Injury rates at one NCAA Division I institution have increased by more than 10% following the return of athletes from the COVID-19 pandemic. While the number of injuries increased, the total time lost due to injury decreased.

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented event that dramatically impacted sports at all levels, causing athletic competitions and training to be suspended. Professional athletic organizations experienced an increase in injuries during the first season after the pandemic. Unfortunately, we know little about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected injury rates among college athletes.

Study aim

The researchers completed an epidemiological study to evaluate injury rates in collegiate athletics at a single NCAA Division I institution following the COVID-19 pandemic using data collected from the institution’s injury surveillance database.

Methods

The authors extracted injury data from 18 sports during the three seasons before the pandemic (2017-2020) and one season after (2020-2021). The researchers defined an injury as an event that causes an athlete to miss practice or competition time or a problem that persists for more than 3 days. The total number of days the patient was unavailable and the anatomic area of ​​the injury were also recorded. The authors ruled out non-sports-related medical problems.

Results

Post-pandemic athletes experienced an 11% increase in overall injury incidence compared to pre-pandemic. While the overall injury rate increased, the reported number of days off work dropped from pre-pandemic to 21% post-pandemic.

Viewpoints

Overall, these findings among college athletes are consistent with previous evidence among professional athletes that more injuries occurred in the post-pandemic season. Other SMR posts have suggested that testing positive for COVID-19 increases an athlete’s risk of injury. Moreover, another explanation is that healthcare professionals were more vigilant in monitoring athletes after the pandemic, as they suspected that problems might arise when resuming sports after a long break. More studies with data from multiple institutions should investigate why athletes may experience more injuries post-pandemic (e.g., deconditioning, COVID-19 infections, better monitoring). Interestingly, athletes missed fewer days due to injuries after the pandemic, indicating that less severe injuries were driving the increase in injuries.

Clinical implications

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic may not be the last time we have to suspend sporting activities. The growing evidence suggests that we need to be cautious when returning to exercise after long-term exercise restrictions. During this time, it may be valuable to adapt current warm-up programs to include key components of injury prevention warm-up programs.

Questions for discussion

What changes have you made as a result of the pandemic? What was your reason for continuing these services years later?

Written by Kyle Harris
Reviewed by Jeffrey Driban

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