Comparison of the effect of injury nature (type, severity, region) on early retirement of Iranian active and inactive elite athletes

Oral Presentation , Page 95-95 (1)
Paper ID : 1326-SPORTCONGR
Authors
1Department of Health and Sport Medicine, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences , University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Sport Medicine, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
3Department of Health and Sport Medicine, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: Compared to the general population, most athletes retire at a young age, which severe sports injuries can be considered as one of the most important reasons that despite medical and paramedical care forces the athlete to retire from sports (Kaul, 2017; Ristolainen, Kettunen, Kujala, & Heinonen, 2012). The present study aimed to compare the effect of injury nature on early retirement of active and inactive Iranian elite athletes who have retired from professional sports due to injury.
Methods: This study was a descriptive design. Forty elite retired Iranian athletes, mainly athletes in skiing, wrestling, and mountaineering with an average age of 64.80 years, height 174.14 cm, weight 76.91 kg participated, and based on the type of current sports activity, they were divided into active(n=18 )and inactive(n=17 )groups. According to the Self-reporting questionnaire, thirty-five people (87.5%) reported injuries. Eighteen people (51.4%) reported non-contact injuries, nine people (25.7%) reported contact injuries and eight people (22.9%) reported ground injuries.
Results: Results in active and inactive groups showed that the lower limb injuries were the most injured (65.7%), sprain (34.3%) was the most injured, and (54.3% )of them were chronic injuries. Comparison of the intragroup results showed that active athletes reported the most injuries ground injuries (22.2%), lower limb injuries (66.7%), sprain (44.4%), and most injuries in the inactive group have been reported as contact injuries (35.3%), lower limb injuries (64.7%), and cartilage and meniscus injuries (29.4%).
Conclusion: Due to the high percentage of lower limb injuries, coaches and sports professionals are recommended to consider appropriate prevention and rehabilitation methods for lower limb injuries.
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