TY - JOUR T1 - Competing with injuries: injuries prior to and during the 15th FINA World Championships 2013 (aquatics) JF - British Journal of Sports Medicine JO - Br J Sports Med SP - 37 LP - 43 DO - 10.1136/bjsports-2014-093991 VL - 49 IS - 1 AU - Margo Mountjoy AU - Astrid Junge AU - Sarah Benjamen AU - Kevin Boyd AU - Mohamed Diop AU - David Gerrard AU - Cees-Rein van den Hoogenband AU - Saul Marks AU - Enrique Martinez-Ruiz AU - Jim Miller AU - Kyriakos Nanousis AU - Farhad Moradi Shahpar AU - Jose Veloso AU - William van Mechelen AU - Evert Verhagen Y1 - 2015/01/01 UR - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/49/1/37.abstract N2 - Background Injury and illness surveillance is the foundation for the development of prevention strategies. Objective To examine injuries among the aquatic disciplines in the 4 weeks prior to and during the 2013 FINA World Championships. Methods The study was comprised of two components: (1) a retrospective athlete survey recording injuries in the 4 weeks prior to the Championships and (2) a prospective recording of injuries and illnesses by the medical teams of the participating countries and the local host medical team. Results One-third of the 1116 responding athletes reported an injury/physical complaint in the 4 weeks prior to the Championships. Significantly more women (36.7%) than men (28.6%) reported injuries. Divers reported the highest rate of injury/physical complaints (55.7%). At the start of the Championships, 70% of injured respondents (n=258) were still symptomatic; however, full participation was expected by 76%. During the Championships, 186 new injuries were reported (8.3/100 registered athletes) with the highest injury incidence rate in water polo (15.3/100 registered athletes). The most common injured body part was the shoulder (21%). A total of 199 illnesses were reported during the Championships (9.0/100 registered athletes) with the most common diagnosis of illness being gastrointestinal infection. Environmental exposure (allergy, otitis and jellyfish stings) was responsible for 27% of all illnesses in open water swimming. Conclusions Injuries pose a significant health risk for elite aquatic athletes. A prospective study would improve understanding of out-of-competition injuries. Future injury and illness surveillance at FINA World Championships is required to direct and measure the impact of prevention strategies. ER -