In light of the Olympics, we like to highlight this descriptive study on injuries and illness in Olympic level waterpolo. Epidemiological data of injuries and illnesses in water polo athletes are limited. To provide well-needed insights to support care and prevention, our team describes in this three-year prospective study the incidence, prevalence, and severity of health problems among a cohort of Olympic waterpolo athletes.
Method
We conducted a prospective cohort study with 24 elite waterpolo athletes over 2.5 years. Health problems were recorded weekly with the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Questionnaire on health problems and subsequently categorized into illnesses and injuries according to the recently published International Olympic Committee guidelines. Based on the ath- lete’s weekly responses, we calculated health problem prevalence, incidence and severity.
Results
A total of 288 health problems were reported, including 76 illnesses and 212 injuries resulting in a weekly prevalence of 30.3% (95% CI: 28.2-32.4) for all health problems. Of these, 115 (39.9%) were categorized as substantial, of which 76 were illnesses, and 39 were injuries. The overall acute injury incidence rate was 1.66 injuries (95% CI: 1.23-2.09) per 1,000 sports exposure hours. The training and competition acute injury incidence rates were, respectively, 1.20 (95%CI: 0.81 – 1.59) per 1,000 training hours and 5.38 (95% CI: 3.18 – 7.58) per 1,000 competition hours.
Conclusion
Our results show that in a cohort of elite water polo athletes, on average, 30% has a health problem during any week. We established that repetitive mechanism injuries are most common and that acute injuries are most severe. We recommend a focus on the development and implementation of measures that prevent or limit the consequences of acute injury, and further research into the onset and prevention of repetitive mechanism injuries.
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Verhagen E, Lang M, Watson R, Moen MH. Injuries and illness in Olympic level water polo athletes; a three-season prospective study.Dtsch Z Sportmed. 2021; 72