Self-reported sports injuries and later-life health status in 3357 retired Olympians from 131 countries: a cross-sectional survey among those competing in the games between London 1948 and PyeongChang 2018

Palmer, Debbie; Cooper, Dale J.; Emery, Carolyn; Batt, Mark E.; Engebretsen, Lars; Scammell, Brigitte E.; Schamasch, Patrick; Shroff, Malav; Soligard, Torbjorn; Steffen, Kathrin; Whittaker, Jackie L.; Budgett, Richard

Abstract

Objective: Describe the self-reported prevalence and nature of Olympic-career injury and general health and current residual symptoms in a self-selected sample of retired Olympians.

Methods: 3357 retired Olympians from 131 countries completed a cross-sectional online survey, distributed by direct email through World Olympians Association and National Olympian Associations databases. The survey captured Olympic sport exposure, significant training and competition injury history (lasting >1 month), general health (eg, depression) during the athlete’s career, and current musculoskeletal pain and functional limitations.

Results: 55% were men (44% women, 1% unknown), representing 57 sports (42 Summer, 15 Winter), aged 44.7 years (range 16–97). A total of 3746 injuries were self-reported by 2116 Olympians. This equated, 63.0% (women 68.1%, men 59.2%) reporting at least one significant injury during their Olympic career. Injury prevalence was highest in handball (82.2%) and lowest in shooting (40.0%) for Summer Olympians; and highest in alpine skiing (82.4%) and lowest in biathlon (40.0%) for Winter Olympians. The knee was the most frequently injured anatomical region (20.6%, 120 median days severity), followed by the lumbar spine (13.1%, 100 days) and shoulder/clavicle (12.9%, 92 days). 6.6% of Olympians said they had experienced depression during their career. One-third of retired Olympians reported current pain (32.4%) and functional limitations (35.9%).

Conclusions: Almost two-thirds of Olympians who completed the survey reported at least one Olympic-career significant injury. The knee, lumbar spine and shoulder/clavicle were the most commonly injured anatomical locations. One-third of this sample of Olympians attributed current pain and functional limitations to Olympic-career injury.

Citation

Palmer, D., Cooper, D. J., Emery, C., Batt, M. E., Engebretsen, L., Scammell, B. E., Schamasch, P., Shroff, M., Soligard, T., Steffen, K., Whittaker, J. L., & Budgett, R. (2020). Self-reported sports injuries and later-life health status in 3357 retired Olympians from 131 countries: a cross-sectional survey among those competing in the games between London 1948 and PyeongChang 2018. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 55(1), 46-53. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101772

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 25, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Nov 9, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Deposit Date: May 1, 2020
• Print ISSN: 0306-3674
• Electronic ISSN: 1473-0480
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 55
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 46-53
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101772
• Keywords: Olympian, retired, Olympic-career, sport, injury, pain, health
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2657313