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Updated: Mar 27, 2026
An Inertial Measurement Unit Based Method to Estimate Hip and Knee Joint Kinematics in Team Sport Athletes on the Field
Published on: May 26, 2020
Injuries in German national short-track speed skating athletes
Jan Ziegler1, Heidrun Beck1, Roland L Bell2
1Department of Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery, Sports Traumatology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at Dresden University of Technology, Fetscherstreet 74/2, House 30, 01307 Dresden, Saxony, Germany.
Objectives:
Short-Track Speed Skating (STSS) is a high-intensity ice sport characterized by fast-paced races and proximity among athletes, which inherently poses a risk for falls and injuries. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of orthopedic-traumatological injuries in German national STSS athletes with comparisons to previous studies.
Design:
Retrospective analysis.
Methods:
Medical records of 69 athletes (30 females, 39 males) who were part of the German national team between 2009 and 2020 were analyzed retrospectively based on a new standardized injury surveillance system published by the International Olympic Committee in 2020.
Results:
The average career duration of athletes on the German STSS national team was 10.9 ± 4.4 years, with each athlete accumulating 10,116 ± 4326 h of exposure to risk during training. A total of 371 orthopedic-traumatological injuries requiring medical consultation (IRMCs) were recorded, with an estimated incidence of 0.53 per 1000 h of exposure. 69.8 % of the observed injuries affected the lower extremities, primarily involving the knee and ankle. Joint injuries were the leading cause of IRMCs, accounting for 16.3 % of cases. The majority of IRMCs occurred during on-ice training (45.0 %), followed by off-ice training (30.0 %), and competitions (25.0 %).
Conclusion:
This was the first implementation based on a standardized injury surveillance system in STSS. Important information about career-related injuries and injury patterns resulted from the analyses. However, further prospective research is needed to support the prevention of health issues in STSS.
