The Importance Of Overuse Injuries In Sports
Overuse injuries are speculated to be on the rise in kids. With increased pressure to specialize in a sport and the bar ever-raising to be more competitive and successful in sports, younger kids are specializing in one sport and training more hours per week then ever before. As a result, overuse injuries have been thrust into the public spotlight. Overuse injuries have previously been defined in a variety of ways. For example, Roos et. al described overuse injuries as “injuries that present in a gradual manner and do not have a single definable event associated with their onset” in her paper, Epidemiology of Overuse Injuries in Collegiate and High School Athletics in the United States (Roos et al 2015). Meanwhile DiFiorri et. al defined them
…show more content…
as injuries that can occur “ due to the submaximal loading of the musculoskeletal system when rest is not adequate to allow for structural adaptation to occur (DiFiorri et al 2015). Additionally, overuse injuries are commonly referred to in literature as cumulative trauma disorders, which also implies the repetitive demand on specific tissues. What all definitions have in common is that these injuries are the result of too much stress on a joint over time, resulting in a gradual onset of injury. While overuse injuries can occur in lifetime runners and physically demanding occupations a current area of great concern in in young athletes due to the progressively more training earlier in their lifetime that is occurring. The incidence and prevalence of overuse injuries are relatively hard to identify due to the complex nature of defining and diagnosing this kind of injury and the lack of research into the subject.
These injuries are difficult to define and diagnose because often with overuse injuries there is not a definitive or easy to make diagnosis, so they are often labeled as “pain” or defined as injuries if they resulted in time loss from sport, which not all overuse injuries do. Despite all of this, the incidence of overuse injuries 45.9% and 54% of total injuries in youth sports (DiFiori et. al 2014). The incidence of overuse injury is speculated to be around 3.3% of youth athletes (Powell et. al 1999). However, rates are probably higher now due to a speculated increase The prevalence is probably much higher because many of these injuries are of long duration, however information about prevalence among all overuse injuries in sports is very limited. Smaller studies have been done to establish specific incidence and prevalence among different sports or with different subcategories of overuse injuries. Among athletes in wrist loading sports (ie. Gymnastics, tennis, volleyball, etc.), the prevalence of overuse injuries in these sports ranged from 10-28% and the incidence ranged from .02-26% (Kox et. al 2015). Additionally, incidence and prevalence rate are thought to be underestimated due to many overuse injury definitions in literature including “time loss from sport” which is now known to not be synonymous with all overuse
injuries. Mortality due to overuse injuries is exceedingly rare to none. Morbidity, however, is quite common. The exact rate of morbidity due to overuse injuries is extremely difficult to calculate due to the nature of overuse injuries being slow to heal and long lasting and not having a specific way of monitor the rates of these injuries. However, the morbidity of these overuse injuries can include and range from sore joints to loss of function and tissue destruction. If the overuse injury becomes chronic in nature, significant depression and quality of life issues can occur (Powell et al 1999). Some high-risk overuse injuries such as certain stress fractures and effort thrombosis result in significant time loss from sports participation, commonly causing the youth to drop out of sports altogether, and could possibly hinder lifetime exercise abilities (DiFiori et. al 2014). The economic cost is also significant. Economic costs include many doctor’s visits, lengthy rehabilitation, possibly surgeries, and even loss of sports participation. It is difficult to calculate the exact economic cost of these injuries because the rates of overuse injuries are so difficult to define that calculating the economic cost is very difficult at this stage of research.
as injuries that can occur “ due to the submaximal loading of the musculoskeletal system when rest is not adequate to allow for structural adaptation to occur (DiFiorri et al 2015). Additionally, overuse injuries are commonly referred to in literature as cumulative trauma disorders, which also implies the repetitive demand on specific tissues. What all definitions have in common is that these injuries are the result of too much stress on a joint over time, resulting in a gradual onset of injury. While overuse injuries can occur in lifetime runners and physically demanding occupations a current area of great concern in in young athletes due to the progressively more training earlier in their lifetime that is occurring. The incidence and prevalence of overuse injuries are relatively hard to identify due to the complex nature of defining and diagnosing this kind of injury and the lack of research into the subject.
These injuries are difficult to define and diagnose because often with overuse injuries there is not a definitive or easy to make diagnosis, so they are often labeled as “pain” or defined as injuries if they resulted in time loss from sport, which not all overuse injuries do. Despite all of this, the incidence of overuse injuries 45.9% and 54% of total injuries in youth sports (DiFiori et. al 2014). The incidence of overuse injury is speculated to be around 3.3% of youth athletes (Powell et. al 1999). However, rates are probably higher now due to a speculated increase The prevalence is probably much higher because many of these injuries are of long duration, however information about prevalence among all overuse injuries in sports is very limited. Smaller studies have been done to establish specific incidence and prevalence among different sports or with different subcategories of overuse injuries. Among athletes in wrist loading sports (ie. Gymnastics, tennis, volleyball, etc.), the prevalence of overuse injuries in these sports ranged from 10-28% and the incidence ranged from .02-26% (Kox et. al 2015). Additionally, incidence and prevalence rate are thought to be underestimated due to many overuse injury definitions in literature including “time loss from sport” which is now known to not be synonymous with all overuse
injuries. Mortality due to overuse injuries is exceedingly rare to none. Morbidity, however, is quite common. The exact rate of morbidity due to overuse injuries is extremely difficult to calculate due to the nature of overuse injuries being slow to heal and long lasting and not having a specific way of monitor the rates of these injuries. However, the morbidity of these overuse injuries can include and range from sore joints to loss of function and tissue destruction. If the overuse injury becomes chronic in nature, significant depression and quality of life issues can occur (Powell et al 1999). Some high-risk overuse injuries such as certain stress fractures and effort thrombosis result in significant time loss from sports participation, commonly causing the youth to drop out of sports altogether, and could possibly hinder lifetime exercise abilities (DiFiori et. al 2014). The economic cost is also significant. Economic costs include many doctor’s visits, lengthy rehabilitation, possibly surgeries, and even loss of sports participation. It is difficult to calculate the exact economic cost of these injuries because the rates of overuse injuries are so difficult to define that calculating the economic cost is very difficult at this stage of research.