We are fresh into 2023, but we already have this new manuscript to share with you. One of the last of the Ph.D. work by Maarten Barendrecht. In this study, we set out to understand the high injury risk in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) students. Insights into specific injury locations per sex, setting, sports, and curriculum year are needed to develop preventive measures. This study set out to compare injury distributions by body locations in PETE students and how these distributions differ by sex, type, onset, curriculum year, settings, or sports.
Methods
In a historical cohort study over 14 years, data from 2899 students (male 76.2%, n = 1947) enlisted in the first three years of a PETE curriculum were analyzed. Injuries reported at the institution’s medical facility were categorized per sex, body location, onset, type, setting, sports, and curriculum year.
Prevalence of injury locations by onset in percentage (and 95% confdence intervals) of all injuries per sex per curriculum year. ∗For 110 injuries, the onset was unknown.
Results
Forty-three percent (n = 1,247) of all students (female 54.9%, n = 523, male 37.2%, and n = 429) reported a total of 2,129 injuries (freshmen 56.4%; 2nd year 28.2%; 3rd year 15.5%). The most prevalent sudden onset injury locations (63.4% of all injuries) were the ankle (32.5%) and knee (16.6). The most prevalent gradual onset injuries were the lower leg (27.8%) and knee (25.2%). Joint/ligament injuries (45.8%) and muscle/tendon injuries (23.4%) were the most prevalent injury types. Proportions for injury locations and injury types differed significantly between curriculum years. Injury prevalence per setting and sport differed significantly between the sexes. Injury locations differed significantly between sports and between the sexes per sport.
Conclusion
A differential approach per injury location, onset, type, sex, setting, sports, and curriculum year is needed to develop adequate preventive measures in PETE studies. The engagement of pre-curricular, intra-curricular, and extra-curricular stakeholders is needed in the development of these measures.
The full article can be found here (Open Access)
Maarten Barendrecht, Carl C. Barten, Willem van Mechelen, Evert Verhagen, Bouwien C. M. Smits-Engelsman, "Injuries in Physical Education Teacher Students: Differences between Sex, Curriculum Year, Setting, and Sports", Translational Sports Medicine, vol. 2023, Article ID 8643402, 11 pages, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/8643402