Int J Sports Med 2004; 25(3): 209-216
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-819935
Physiology & Biochemistry

© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Active Living and Injury Risk

J. Parkkari1 , P. Kannus2 , A. Natri4 , I. Lapinleimu1 , M. Palvanen2 , M. Heiskanen3 , I. Vuori1 , M. Järvinen4
  • 1Tampere Research Center of Sports Medicine, UKK Institute, Tampere, Finland
  • 2Accident & Trauma Research Center, UKK Institute, Tampere, Finland
  • 3Statistics Finland, Helsinki, Finland
  • 4Department of Surgery, Tampere University Medical School, and University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
Further Information

Publication History

Accepted after revision: June 23, 2003

Publication Date:
15 April 2004 (online)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to get reliable insight into injury risk in various commuting and lifestyle activities, as well as recreational and competitive sports. A cohort of 3 657 persons was randomly selected from the 15- to 74-year-old Finnish population. Ninety-two percent (n = 3 363) of the subjects accepted to participate the one-year follow-up, record all their physical activities that lasted 15 min or more, and register all acute and overuse injuries that occurred during these activities. To collect the information, the study subjects were interviewed by phone by the trained personnel of the Statistics Finland three times in four-month intervals. The individual injury risk per exposure time was relatively low, ranging from 0.19 to 1.5 per 1 000 hours of participation, in commuting and lifestyle activities including walking and cycling to work, gardening, home repair, hunting and fishing, and, in sports such as golf, dancing, swimming, walking, and rowing. The risk was clearly higher in squash, orienteering, and contact and team sports, such as judo, wrestling, karate, rinkball, floorball, basketball, soccer, ice hockey, volleyball, and Finnish baseball ranging from 6.6 to 18.3 per 1 000 hours of participation. However, the highest absolute number of injuries occurred in low-risk activities, such as gardening, walking, home-repair, and cycling, because they are performed so often. In conclusion, individual injury risk per exposure hours is relatively low in commuting and lifestyle activities compared to many recreational and competitive sports. However, at a population level, these low-to-moderate intensity activities are widely practised producing a rather high absolute number of injuries, and thus, preventive efforts are needed in these activities, too.

References

  • 1 Baxter-Jones A, Maffulli N, Helms P. Low injury rates in elite athletes.  Arch Dis Childhood. 1993;  68 130-132
  • 2 Berlin J A, Colditz G A. A meta-analysis of physical activity in the prevention of coronary heart disease.  Am J Epidemiol. 1990;  132 612-628
  • 3 deLoës M. Medical treatment and costs of sports-related injuries in total population.  Int J Sports Med. 1990;  11 66-72
  • 4 de Loës M, Goldie I. Incidence rate of injuries during sport activity and physical exercise in a rural Swedish municipality: incidence rates in 17 sports.  Int J Sports Med. 1988;  9 461-467
  • 5 Ekelund L G, Haskell W L, Johnson J L, Whaley F S, Criqui M H, Sheps D S. Physical fitness as a predictor of cardiovascular mortality in asymptomatic North American men: the Lipid Research Clinics Mortality Follow-up Study.  N Engl J Med. 1988;  319 1379-1384
  • 6 Ekstrand J, Gillquist J, Liljedahl S O. Prevention of soccer injuries. Supervision by doctor and physiotherapist.  Am J Sports Med. 1983;  11 116-120
  • 7 Haapanen N, Miilunpalo S, Vuori I, Oja P, Pasanen M. Characteristics of leisure time physical activity associated with decreased risk of premature all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in middle-aged men.  Am J Epidemiol. 1996;  143 870-880
  • 8 Hayes D. An injury profile for hockey.  Can J Appl Sport Sci. 1978;  3 61-64
  • 9 Helmrich S P, Ragland D R, Leung R W, Paffenbarger R S Jr. Physical activity and reduced occurrence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.  N Engl J Med. 1991;  325 147-152
  • 10 Inklaar H. Soccer Injuries. I. Incidence and severity.  Sports Med. 1994;  18 55-73
  • 11 Jørgensen U. The epidemiology of sport injuries in Denmark: a prospective individual injury registration.  Acta Orthop Scand. 1986;  57 474
  • 12 Kraus J F, Burg F D. Injury reporting and recording: some essential elements in the collection and retrieval of sports injury information.  JAMA. 1970;  213 438-447
  • 13 Kujala U M, Kaprio J, Sarna S, Koskenvuo M. Relationship of leisure-time physical activity and mortality. The Finnish Twin Cohort.  JAMA. 1998;  279 440-444
  • 14 Kujala U M, Taimela S, Antti-Poika I, Orava S, Tuominen R, Myllynen P. Acute injuries in soccer, ice hockey, volleyball, basketball, judo, and karate: analysis of national registry data.  BMJ . 1995;  311 1465-1468
  • 15 Meeuwisse W H, Love E J. Athletic injury reporting. Development of universal systems.  Sports Med. 1997;  24 184-204
  • 16 Mölsä J, Kujala U, Näsman O, Lehtipuu T-P, Airaksinen O. Injury profile in ice hockey from 1970s through the 1990s in Finland.  Am J Sports Med. 2000;  28 322-327
  • 17 Nelson M E, Fiatarone M A, Morganti C M, Trice I, Greenberg R A, Evans W J. Effects of high-intensity strength training on multiple risk factors for osteoporotic fractures.  JAMA. 1994;  272 1909-1914
  • 18 Nilsson S, Roos A. Soccer injuries in adolescents.  Am J Sports Med. 1978;  6 358-361
  • 19 Paffenbarger R S Jr, Hyde R T, Wing A L, Lee I-M, Jung D L, Kampert J B. The association of changes in physical-activity level and other life-style characteristics with mortality among men.  N Engl J Med. 1993;  328 538-545
  • 20 Parkkari J, Kujala U M, Kannus P. Is it possible to prevent sports injuries? Review of controlled clinical trials and recommendations for future work.  Sports Med. 2001;  31 985-995
  • 21 Parkkari J, Natri A, Kannus P, Mänttäri A, Laukkanen R, Haapasalo H, Nenonen A, Pasanen M, Oja P, Vuori I. A controlled trial of the health benefits of regular walking on a golf course.  Am J Med. 2000;  109 102-108
  • 22 Phillips L H. Sports injury incidence.  Br J Sports Med. 2000;  34 133-136
  • 23 Regnier G, Goulet C. The Quebec Sports Safety Board: a governmental agency dedicated to the prevention of sports and recreational injuries.  Injury Prevention. 1995;  1 141-145
  • 24 Requa R K, Garrick J G. Adult Recreational Fitness. In: Caine DJ, Caine CG and Lindner KJ (eds) Epidemiology of Sports Injuries. 1st ed. Champaign (IL); Human Kinetics 1996: 14-28
  • 25 Sandelin J, Santavirta S, Lättilä R, Vuolle P, Sarna S. Sport injuries in a large urban population: occurrence and epidemiologic aspects.  Int J Sports Med. 1987;  8 61-66
  • 26 Snellman K, Parkkari J, Kannus P, Leppälä J, Vuori I, Järvinen M. Sports injuries in floorball. A prospective one-year follow-up study.  Int J Sports Med . 2001;  22 531-536
  • 27 Suni J H, Oja P, Miilunpalo S I, Pasanen M E, Vuori I, Bös K. Health-related fitness test battery for middle-aged adults: associations with physical activity pattern.  Int J Sports Med. 1999;  20 183-191
  • 28 Torg J S, Vegso J J, Sennelt B, Das M. The national football head and neck injury registery. 14-year report on cervical quadriplegia, 1971 through 1984.  JAMA. 1985;  254 3439-3443
  • 29 Tuomilehto J, Lindström J, Eriksson J G, Valle T T, Hämälainen H, Ilanne-Parikka P, Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi S, Laakso M, Louheranta A, Rastas M, Salminen V, Uusitupa M. Prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus by changes in lifestyle among subjects with impaired glucose tolerance.  N Engl J Med. 2001;  344 1390-1392
  • 30 van Mechelen W. Aetiology and Prevention of Running Injuries. Academic Dissertation. Amsterdam; Free University of Amsterdam 1992: 1-165

J. Parkkari, MD, Ph D

Tampere Research Center of Sport Medicine · UKK Institute

P.O. Box 30 · 33501 Tampere · Finland

Phone: +358-3-282-9111

Fax: +358-3-282-9200

Email: jari.parkkari@uta.fi

    >