Injury and illness in aquatic sport: how high is the risk? A comparison of results from three FINA World Championships.
BACKGROUND
Epidemiological information on injury/illness is required to develop effective injury prevention strategies.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the frequency and characteristics of injuries/illnesses (1) in the 4 weeks prior to and (2) during the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) World Championships 2015 compared with 2013 and 2009.


METHODS
(1) Athletes answered a retrospective questionnaire, and (2) the medical staff reported injuries/illnesses prospectively during the championships.


RESULTS
(1) A quarter of responding athletes reported symptoms in the 4 weeks prior to the championships. More than half of all affected athletes presented with substantial severity, 80% took medication, 70% had overuse injuries and 30% did not modify their training regime despite symptoms. At the start of the championships, 70% of affected participants were still symptomatic. (2) During the championships, injury and illness incidence was 12.9 per 100 athletes. The most common injuries were shoulder sprains (5.7%) and muscle cramps of the lower back (5.7%). The most common illnesses were infections of the respiratory (33.9%) and gastrointestinal tract (23.5%). Risk factors included discipline and age, but not gender. Incidence was highest in athletes competing in high diving (HD), water polo (WP) and diving (DIV) for injuries, and WP and swimming (SW) for illnesses. The significantly higher incidence of injuries and illnesses at the FINA World Championships 2015 compared with 2013 and 2009 was most probably due to a similarly improved response rate of the medical staff.


CONCLUSIONS
In aquatic sports, surveillance and health promotion should focus on prevention of out-of-competition overuse injuries and athlete education.
Medical School Hamburg (MSH), Hamburg, Germany.
Annika
A
Prien
Department of Family Medicine, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.|Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) Sports Medicine Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.|International Olympic Committee (IOC), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Margo
M
Mountjoy
Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) Sports Medicine Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.|Medicine Department, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
Jim
J
Miller
Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) Sports Medicine Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Kevin
K
Boyd
Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) Sports Medicine Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Cees
C
van den Hoogenband
Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) Sports Medicine Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.
David
D
Gerrard
Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) Sports Medicine Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Mohamed Yahia
MY
Cherif
Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) Sports Medicine Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Yifan
Y
Lu
Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) Sports Medicine Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Kyriakos
K
Nanousis
Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) Sports Medicine Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Edgar Ivan
EI
Ortiz Liscano
Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) Sports Medicine Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Farhad Moradi
FM
Shahpar
Medical School Hamburg (MSH), Hamburg, Germany.|FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC), Zurich, Switzerland.|Schulthess Clinic, Zurich, Switzerland.
Astrid
A
Junge
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D012090:Cumulative Trauma Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004242:Diving / Q000293:injuries*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009120:Muscle Cramp / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013180:Sprains and Strains / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013550:Swimming / Q000293:injuries*; D055815:Young Adult
Aquatic sports; Athlete; Surveillance; Swimming