Inflammatory Conditions in National Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Sports: 2009-2010 Through 2018-2019

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Epidemiology
• Athletic Training

Background:

• Sport-related inflammatory conditions can impair athletic performance and potentially accelerate age-related diseases.
• A notable prevalence of these injuries exists among female collegiate athletes, yet research is limited.
• Understanding the epidemiology is crucial for targeted prevention and management strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the epidemiology of sport-related inflammatory conditions in women's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sports.
• To identify the most common conditions, body parts affected, and sports with the highest incidence rates.
• To provide data to guide future research and interventions for female athletes.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive epidemiology study utilizing data from the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program.
• Examined inflammatory condition frequencies and distributions by sport, body part, competition level, and season segment.
• Estimated incidence rates per 10,000 athlete exposures (AEs) using a Bayesian framework.

Main Results:

• A total of 3595 inflammatory conditions were recorded across women's NCAA sports from 2009-2010 to 2018-2019.
• The lower leg (31.1%) and knee (26.7%) were the most frequently injured body parts.
• Medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints; 14.4%) and patellar tendinitis (12.0%) were the most common conditions, with cross country showing the highest incidence rate (16.20 per 10,000 AEs).

Conclusions:

• Lower leg inflammatory conditions, particularly in long-distance runners, require focused attention in female collegiate athletes.
• Medial tibial stress syndrome and patellar tendinitis are key conditions meriting further investigation.
• These findings can inform future research to better understand the development of inflammatory conditions in this population.