Fencing injuries in French elite fencers: a retrospective analysis from 2016 to 2023

Fencing is one of the five sports that have been permanent fixtures at the Olympic Games since the first modern Games in 1896. However, the available literature on fencing-related injuries is very scarce, even more so for elite fencers. This study aimed to assess injuries in elite French fencers to more precisely characterize the injury patterns in this Olympic sport.

The study included all elite fencers from the French National Institute for Sport, Expertise and Performance from June 2016 to May 2023. Injuries were recorded using the medical information system, which documents any newly incurred injury. Each injury was specified and then stratified according to weapon category (epee, foil, and saber), sex, injury location, and types of anatomical structures involved.

A total of 117 different fencers (female = 56) were included, and 1,470 injuries were recorded for an overall injury rate of 2.55 injuries/year/fencer (female = 2.61; male = 2.50; NS, non-significant), mostly occurring in the lower limbs (71%). Epee fencers show more knee (p = 0.046) and forearm (p = 0.020) injuries and less thigh injuries (p < 0.005), as well as more injuries involving joints (p = 0.026) but less muscle injuries (p = 0.005). Females showed more injuries located in the pelvis and hip (10% vs. 5.3%; p = 0.001).

Our study confirms a low overall injury rate in elite fencers and highlights some particularities for epee compared with the other two conventional weapons, in addition to sex-specific differences concerning injury location.