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. 2019 Nov 6;5(1):e000615.
doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000615. eCollection 2019.

Injury trend analysis in the Japan national swim team from 2002 to 2016: effect of the lumbar injury prevention project

Yuiko Matsuura  1   2 , Mika Hangai  2   3 , Keisuke Koizumi  2 , Koji Ueno  4   5 , Norimasa Hirai  5   6 , Hiroshi Akuzawa  1 , Koji Kaneoka  1   2
Affiliations

Injury trend analysis in the Japan national swim team from 2002 to 2016: effect of the lumbar injury prevention project

Yuiko Matsuura et al. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. .

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to clarify the trends of injury occurrence in the Japan national swim team for 15 years and to evaluate the effectiveness of the lumbar injury prevention project. It also aimed to verify the incidence of swimming-related injuries among swimmers by sex, age and swimming style.

Methods: The target group comprised 488 swimmers who participated in the Olympics, Asian Games and Universiade from 2002 to 2016; we compiled data for the total number of injuries in each body part. The lumbar injury prevention project started in 2008 and included two components (deep trunk muscle exercises and evaluation of lumbar disc degeneration using MRI). We analysed the prevalence of lumbar injury before (2002-2008) and after (2009-2016) implementation of the lumbar injury prevention project by χ2 test. We compared age, sex and swim strokes between the injured and non-injured groups by χ2 test and unpaired t-test.

Results: The most common injury site was the lower back, followed by the shoulder and knee. The lumbar injury prevalence was significantly lower after implementation of the prevention project (23.5% vs 14.8%; p<0.05). Shoulder injuries were common in backstroke swimmers. The injury rate was significantly higher in female than in male swimmers. The injured group was significantly older than the non-injured group.

Conclusions: Lumbar injury prevention intervention might be effective to prevent lower back injury in swimmers. Injury risk factors included female and old age; younger female athletes should prevent the development of injuries as they mature.

Keywords: Olympics; injury; prevention; swimming.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Examples of lumbar injury prevention exercises.A: Front bridge keeping, B:Front bridge with raising the upper limbs, C: Front bridge with hip extensions on an unstable surface, D: Normal hip lift, E: Hip lift that raises one leg with a ball in the thigh, F: Hip lift moving the lifting leg up and down, G: Side draw-in, H: Side brige keeping, I: Insaide-bridge, raise the trunk and lower the legs by placing the upper leg on the supporter's knee in a side bredge position.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The incidence rates of the top four injuries from 2002 to 2016.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Prevalence of lumbar injuries before and after the start of the project.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Prevalence of lumbar, shoulder, knee and ankle joint injury by type of stroke. NS, not significant.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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