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Injuries Affecting Intercollegiate Water Polo Athletes: A Descriptive Epidemiologic Study
Grant G Schroeder1, Daniel J McClintick1, Rishi Trikha2
1David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Collegiate water polo players experience similar injury rates regardless of sex. Shoulder injuries are most common, but concussions have worse return-to-play outcomes and often occur outside of competition.
Area of Science:
- Sports Medicine
- Epidemiology
- Athletic Training
Background:
- Limited data exists on injuries sustained by collegiate water polo athletes.
- Understanding injury patterns is crucial for prevention and management strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the epidemiology of injuries in male and female National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) water polo players.
- Utilize a 5-year injury surveillance dataset to identify injury trends and characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of deidentified injury and illness data from the Pac-12 Sports Injury Research Archive (July 2016-June 2021).
- Inclusion of data from multiple men's and women's NCAA water polo teams over the 5-year period.
Main Results:
- 729 injuries were recorded; overall injury rates did not differ between male and female athletes.
- The shoulder was the most frequently injured body part (20.6%), followed by the head/face (18.8%).
- Concussions were the most common diagnosis (11.4%), with 81.9% occurring outside of competition; femoroacetabular impingement was the primary reason for surgery.
Conclusions:
- Shoulder injuries are prevalent but rarely require surgery or significant time off.
- Concussions are the most common diagnosis with poor return-to-play outcomes, often occurring during non-competition periods.
- Femoroacetabular impingement is the leading indication for surgical intervention in this cohort.
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