Epidemiology of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Adult Athletes: A Scoping Review
Francesca Gimigliano,
Giuseppina Resmini,
Antimo Moretti,
Milena Aulicino,
Fiorinda Gargiulo,
Alessandra Gimigliano,
Sara Liguori,
Marco Paoletta,
Giovanni Iolascon
Affiliations
Francesca Gimigliano
Department of Mental and Physical Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 81100 Naples, Italy
Giuseppina Resmini
Centre for the Study of Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Disease, Section of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, Treviglio-Caravaggio Hospital, 24047 Bergamo, Italy
Antimo Moretti
Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties and Dentistry, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 81100 Naples, Italy
Milena Aulicino
Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties and Dentistry, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 81100 Naples, Italy
Fiorinda Gargiulo
Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties and Dentistry, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 81100 Naples, Italy
Alessandra Gimigliano
Medical Direction, ASST Fatebenefratelli-Sacco, 20157 Milan, Italy
Sara Liguori
Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties and Dentistry, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 81100 Naples, Italy
Marco Paoletta
Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties and Dentistry, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 81100 Naples, Italy
Giovanni Iolascon
Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties and Dentistry, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 81100 Naples, Italy
Background and Objectives: Sport-related musculoskeletal injuries (MSK-Is) are a common health issue in athletes that can lead to reduced performance. The aim of this scoping review was to synthetize available evidence on injury incidence rates (IIRs), types, and sites that affect the musculoskeletal (MSK) system of adult athletes. Materials and Methods: We performed a scoping review on the Pubmed database limiting our search to 33 Olympic sports. Results: We identified a total of 1022 papers, and of these 162 were examined in full for the purpose of this review. Archery was the sport with the highest risk of injuries to the upper extremities, marathons for the lower extremities, and triathlon and weightlifting for the body bust. In the majority of the sports examined, muscle/tendon strain and ligament sprain were the most common MSK-Is diagnoses, while athletics, karate, and football were the sports with the highest IIRs, depending on the methods used for their calculations. Conclusions: Our scoping review highlighted the general lack and dishomogeneity in the collection of data on MSK-Is in athletes.
