[Statistical deviations in high-performance athletes]

Between 1978 and 1984, 1323 high level athletes were tested at the Sports sciences institute of the Swiss federal sports school. During these investigations, several characteristic variations of body statics were measured. Analysis of the pooled data reveal a link of statistical significance between certain sports and several abnormalities of lower limbs static. As it was a retrospective investigation, we cannot be sure of a causal relationship between the reported effects. Our principal aim however was to publish this somewhat extensive set of data, in view of the general dearth of such scientific results. In addition to the type of movement the athletes perform during their sports activity, it is the duration of the exertion which seems to be an important determinant for the presence of an increased number of static abnormalities in certain sports. Endurance running presents an elevated risk of developing both flat foot and splay foot. For football (soccer) and tennis players however, only a subnormal transverse foot arch appears frequently. Alpine skiers on the other hand have an increased risk of longitudinal foot arch insufficiency. The knowledge as to which abnormalities are increasingly present in a given sport is instrumental to enabling an early detection and prophylaxis of these ailments.