In light of the Olympics, we like to highlight this descriptive study on injuries and illness in Olympic level equestrian athletes. Epidemiological data of injuries and illnesses in equestrian athletes are limited. To provide well-needed insights to support care and prevention, our team describes in this two-year prospective study the incidence, prevalence, and severity of health problems among a cohort of Olympic equestrian athletes.
Methods
We conducted a prospective cohort study with 38 elite equestrian athletes over a two-year follow-up period. 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 athlete’s weekly responses, we calculated health problem prevalence, incidence and severity.
Results
A total of 93 health problems were reported including 30 illnesses and 63 injuries resulting in a weekly prevalence of 12.1% (95% CI: 10.5-13.7) for all health problems. For acute in- juries, the chest, lumbosacral region, and neck were the most commonly reported body locations. The lumbosacral region was the most commonly reported repetitive injury mechanism body region. Illnesses most often affected the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal body systems.
Weekly cumulative prevalence of health problems reported and the average weekly individual exposure in hours over the 106-week follow-up period.
Conclusion
Our results show that in a cohort of elite equestrian athletes, on average 12% is burdened with a health problem at any given time. We established no differences in the prevalence rates of injuries or illnesses, but we did find that acute injuries have the most severe consequences as shown by average weekly and cumulative severity per injury, as well as the most days lost from participation. We recommend a focus on the 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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Lang M, Moen MH, van Roy T, verhagen E. Injuries and illness in elite equestrian athletes; a two-season prospective study. Dtsch Z Sportmed. 2021; 72