Injury in the Australian sport of calisthenics: a prospective study

The aims of this study were to determine the rate, anatomical regions, onset, severity, and type of injury in the sport of calisthenics and compare injuries reported by elite and non-elite participants. Prospective reports of injuries were collected over a 12-month period from 550 elite and non-elite calisthenics participants. The participants recorded the number of training sessions, competition, and performances per week, hours of training, and information on any injuries sustained each week during the survey period. Five hundred and fifty participants reported 190 injuries during the survey period, 0.4 injuries per participant year or 0.3 injured participants per participant year. The odds ratio of injury in the elite to the non-elite group was 2.0 (95% CI 1.3 to 2.9). Injuries to the lower back (32.4% of all injuries), hip thigh and groin (25.4% of all injuries) were most common. Activities involving lumbar extension (29.8% of all injuries and 61.0% of lower back injuries) were perceived by participants to have led to injury. In general, injuries were minor and mainly involved soft tissue structures (95.6% of all injuries). Participants had difficulty in identifying why their injuries had occurred. Calisthenics participants did not report high injury rates, but activities that involve lumbar extension are implicated in low back injuries and warrant further attention