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Diving Into the Health Problems of Competitive Divers: A Systematic Review of Injuries and Illnesses in Pre-elite and
Benjamin M Currie1,2,3, Michael K Drew1,4, Michael Hetherington2
1University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), Canberra, Australia.
Context:
The Olympic sport of diving involves the competitive disciplines of 3 m springboard and 10 m platform. Although it is generally accepted that lumbar spine injuries are common in diving athletes, the existing literature of health problems in diving athletes remains scarce.
Objective:
To identify the incidence, prevalence, and type of health problems that occur in competitive diving athletes.
Data Sources:
Medline, EMBASE, SportsDiscus, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar.
Study Selection:
Studies written in English investigating elite or pre-elite competitive diving (springboard, platform) injuries and/or illnesses were eligible. Two independent reviewers screened for inclusion by title, abstract, and full text in accordance with the eligibility criteria.
Study Design:
Systematic review.
Level Of Evidence:
Level 4.
Data Extraction:
Data extraction was completed by 1 author using a structured form. A second author then independently reviewed and verified the extracted data, any discrepancies were resolved through consensus.
Results:
The search identified 2554 potential articles, with 28 studies meeting eligibility criteria. The surveillance setting of most studies was restricted to competition-based events, with the reported injury incidence proportion ranging from 2.1% to 22.2%. The reported injury incidence rate ranged from 1.9 to 15.5 per 1000 athlete-exposures. Injuries to the shoulder, lower back/lumbar spine, trunk, and wrist/hand were reported most frequently. The prevalence of low back pain was reported as high as 89% (lifetime), 43.1% (period), and 37.3% (point). The illness incidence proportion ranged from 0.0% to 22.2%, with respiratory and gastrointestinal illness reported most frequently.
Conclusion:
Up to 1 in 5 diving athletes sustain an injury and/or illness during periods of competition. A reporting bias was observed, with most cohort studies limiting surveillance to short competition-based periods only. This limits the current understanding of the health problems experienced by diving athletes to competition periods only and requires expansion to whole-of-year surveillance.
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