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. 2021 Oct 1;16(5):1235-1249.
doi: 10.26603/001c.28231. eCollection 2021.

Prevalence and Incidence of Injury during Olympic-style Shooting Events: A Systematic Review

Mica R Harr  1 , Cody J Mansfield  2 , Bailey Urbach  1 , Matt Briggs  3 , James Onate  4 , Laura C Boucher  4
Affiliations

Prevalence and Incidence of Injury during Olympic-style Shooting Events: A Systematic Review

Mica R Harr et al. Int J Sports Phys Ther. .

Abstract

Background: Shooting sports are included in collegiate and Olympic events. However, there is minimal evidence examining injury prevalence and incidence for these athletes.

Hypothesis/purpose: The purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature to examine the available evidence regarding the incidence, prevalence, and types of injuries that affect athletes in Olympic-style shooting events.

Study design: Systematic review.

Methods: The electronic databases PubMed, Cochrane Library, Cinahl, MEDLINE, and SPORTDiscus were searched utilizing terms related to shooting and injuries. Studies were included if they reported prevalence or incidence of injury in collegiate or Olympic shooting events, and were excluded if inclusion criteria were not met, full text was unavailable, or not in English. Two reviewers independently screened articles in two phases: 1) screening of titles/abstracts 2) full text review. A third reviewer resolved conflicts.

Results: Nineteen studies were ultimately included. The sports identified were biathlon, rifle, pistol, and shotgun. Shooting events in both winter and summer Olympics had low percentages of injuries compared to other sports. Winter shooting events had a higher percentage of injuries (6.9%) compared to summer (2.3%). In summer, females demonstrated a higher percentage of injuries (6.9%) compared to males (1.7%). In winter, males had a higher percentage of injuries (8.6%) versus females (5.1%).

Conclusion: Injury incidence and prevalence was low for athletes in shooting sports in the Olympics. Injury rate was higher in the winter Olympic shooting events likely from increased physiological demand. With injury surveillance focusing on acute injuries rather than chronic, the number of injuries may be underestimated. Females had higher injury rates than males in the summer Olympics while the opposite was observed in the winter Olympics, likely from sex differences and differences in physiological demand for each event.

Level of evidence: Level 3.

Keywords: athletic injuries; biathlon; low back pain; shooting sports.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no potential conflicts of interest in the development of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Postures of Athletes in Rifle, Shotgun, and Pistol Events
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Example of Biathlon Athletes
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. PRISMA Diagram
Figure 4.
Figure 4.. Prevalence of Shooting Injuries by Olympic Year
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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