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Injury Trends in Special Olympics Athletes From the 2018 USA Games
Bram Newman1, Jessie Fudge2, Amy Haskins1
1Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine; and.
Objective:
To categorize injury types and occurrence among athletes participating in the Special Olympics (SO).
Design:
Retrospective cross-sectional cohort study.
Setting:
2018 SO USA Games.
Participants:
Athletes participating in 14 sports at the 2018 SO USA Games (n = 2251).
Independent Variables:
Individual and team sports.
Main Outcome Measures:
Percentage of athletes injured per individual sport, percentage of injury type by sport, rate of injuries per 1000 exposures, and number of injuries per game in team sports.
Results:
In individual sports, the percentage of athletes injured ranged from 38.5% in gymnastics to 12.9% in golf. Musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries occurred in 53.3% of gymnastics injuries and 58.6% of tennis injuries. For stand-up paddleboard, most injuries were non-MSK (66.7%). The highest rate of MSK injuries occurred in gymnastics (25.6/1000 exposures), whereas the highest rates of non-MSK injuries (95.2/1000 exposures) and minor injuries (47.6/1000 exposures) were among stand-up paddleboard athletes. In team sports, the highest number of injuries per game occurred in softball (1.9 per game).
Conclusions:
A high percentage of injuries occurred at the 2018 SO USA Games. The high rate of non-MSK injuries is unique to the SO and should be considered when planning medical coverage for future events.
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