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Active living and injury risk
J Parkkari1, P Kannus, A Natri
1Tampere Research Center of Sports Medicine, UKK Institute, Tampere, Finland. jari.parkkari@uta.fi
International Journal of Sports Medicine
|April 17, 2004
Summary
Injury risk is low per hour in daily activities like walking and cycling, but high in sports like basketball. Despite lower individual risk, common activities cause many injuries, necessitating prevention.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Sports Medicine
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Understanding injury risks across diverse physical activities is crucial for public health.
- Previous research often focuses on high-intensity sports, potentially overlooking common activities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide reliable data on injury risks associated with commuting, lifestyle, recreational, and competitive activities.
- To compare injury incidence rates across different physical activity types.
Main Methods:
- A one-year prospective follow-up study of 3,363 individuals (aged 15-74) from the Finnish population.
- Participants self-recorded physical activities (≥15 min) and all acute/overuse injuries.
- Data collected via phone interviews by trained personnel at three 4-month intervals.
Main Results:
- Low injury risk (0.19-1.5/1000 hours) in commuting/lifestyle activities (e.g., walking, cycling, gardening).
- Higher risk (6.6-18.3/1000 hours) in sports like squash, judo, basketball, and soccer.
- Highest absolute injury numbers occurred in frequent, lower-risk activities (gardening, walking, cycling).
Conclusions:
- Individual injury risk per exposure hour is lower in daily activities than in many sports.
- Despite lower individual risk, widespread participation in low-to-moderate intensity activities results in a significant absolute number of injuries.
- Preventive strategies are needed for both high-risk sports and commonly performed activities.