Examining injuries in amateur UK triathletes and the effectiveness of stretching, warm-up and cool-down in overuse injury prevention
Item
- Title
- Examining injuries in amateur UK triathletes and the effectiveness of stretching, warm-up and cool-down in overuse injury prevention
- Title
- Examining injuries in amateur UK triathletes and the effectiveness of stretching, warm-up and cool-down in overuse injury prevention
- Author(s)
- Watt Gareth
- Abstract
- Background: Triathlon is an endurance sport combining sequential swimming, cycling and running. Growing popularity and the high training demands have increased the number of associated musculoskeletal overuse injuries. Stretching is a popular pre-/post-exercise routine and it is a common perception, with inconclusive evidence, that it helps prevent injury. Objectives: A 12 month retrospective survey examined incidence of injuries in amateur UK triathletes and the effectiveness of stretching, warm-up and cool-down in overuse injury prevention. It also explored opinions of the benefits of stretching for injury prevention. Methods: Online questionnaires sent to members of 22 UK triathlon clubs were returned with a response rate of 14% (n = 224). Results: The majority (86%) of participants reported injury (67% overuse). The most frequently reported injuries were muscle (18%), ligament sprain (18%) and tendonopathy (14%), these being most common in the knee (23%) and ankle (22%). No significant association was found between overuse injury and demographic variables. Increased overuse injury was not significantly related to stretching, warm-up or cool-down. Injured triathletes often stretched post-exercise and overuse injuries were more frequent with athletes using static (p=0.00) and ballistic (p=0.01) stretching methods. Content analysis revealed that maintaining appropriate mechanical function and personal experience were dominant reasons to utilise stretching. Conclusions: This study adds to the research suggesting that pre-/post-exercise stretching does not reduce incidence of overuse injury. Although inconclusive, and with limitations, this study may help further the understanding of triathlon related injuries. It also suggests a possible framework for osteopathic intervention, but requires further investigation.
- Abstract
- Background: Triathlon is an endurance sport combining sequential swimming, cycling and running. Growing popularity and the high training demands have increased the number of associated musculoskeletal overuse injuries. Stretching is a popular pre-/post-exercise routine and it is a common perception, with inconclusive evidence, that it helps prevent injury. Objectives: A 12 month retrospective survey examined incidence of injuries in amateur UK triathletes and the effectiveness of stretching, warm-up and cool-down in overuse injury prevention. It also explored opinions of the benefits of stretching for injury prevention. Methods: Online questionnaires sent to members of 22 UK triathlon clubs were returned with a response rate of 14% (n = 224). Results: The majority (86%) of participants reported injury (67% overuse). The most frequently reported injuries were muscle (18%), ligament sprain (18%) and tendonopathy (14%), these being most common in the knee (23%) and ankle (22%). No significant association was found between overuse injury and demographic variables. Increased overuse injury was not significantly related to stretching, warm-up or cool-down. Injured triathletes often stretched post-exercise and overuse injuries were more frequent with athletes using static (p=0.00) and ballistic (p=0.01) stretching methods. Content analysis revealed that maintaining appropriate mechanical function and personal experience were dominant reasons to utilise stretching. Conclusions: This study adds to the research suggesting that pre-/post-exercise stretching does not reduce incidence of overuse injury. Although inconclusive, and with limitations, this study may help further the understanding of triathlon related injuries. It also suggests a possible framework for osteopathic intervention, but requires further investigation.
- presented at
- British School of Osteopathy
- Date Accepted
- 2011
- Date Submitted
- 3.2.2012 00:00:00
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Pub-Identifier
- 15115
- Inst-Identifier
- 780
- Keywords
- Triathlon, injury, overuse, stretching, warm-up, cool-down, osteopathy
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Watt Gareth, “Examining injuries in amateur UK triathletes and the effectiveness of stretching, warm-up and cool-down in overuse injury prevention”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 1, 2025, https://www.osteopathic-research.com/s/orw/item/1725