Text of the study
The diagram is taken from a study conducted by the Sports Clinic in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt and illustrates findings gained from close to 35,000 sports injuries. It displays the injury distribution and damage from strain on the large joints (total of 70.3 per cent) and the relative percentage according to the type of sport. The most frequently occurring injuries to the foot are fractures, torn ligaments, sprains and bruises.
Key: n = Number of cases, of which 29.7 per cent concern other injuries
Further results of the study: The sport where most injuries occurred was football, but cycling and snow sports show significant rates of increase. The legs are affected in over 72 per cent of cases. While men between the ages of 20 and 29 are most likely to suffer from an injury, women in broader age group of ten to 39 years old are most likely to sustain an injury.
Source:
K. Steinbrück: Epidemiologie von Sportverletzungen – 25-Jahres-Analyse einer sportorthopädisch-traumatologischen Ambulanz (Epidemiology of sports injuries – A 25-year analysis of an outpatient department of sports orthopaedics and traumatology). In: Sportverletzungen – Sportschaden 13, 38-52 (1999). Thieme Medical Publishers, Stuttgart, Germany/New York, USA.
Fussgelenksverletzungen: Biomechanische Gründe (Ankle injuries: The biomechanical causes) Muscles develop your strength. Muscular strength, together with the strength of the ligaments and joint capsules, creates internal torque, which enables resistance against strain from the outside (also called external torque). Injuries such as compressions, fractures, torn ligaments and strains occur when internal torque is too small to balance out external torque. The strain on the tissue is too large, which can result in torn ligaments and broken bones. Aids such as tape bandages, splints and high shoes are often used to promote stability in the muscles and ligaments. Muscles and ligaments may lose their resistance if these kinds of aids are used in the long term. This increases the risk of injury. Solution: ‘Use it or lose it’ “I think foot gymnastics or going barefoot more often can significantly minimise the consequences of wearing shoes. Uneven ground in particular forces the small muscles between the front and back of the foot to constantly move, increasing internal strength and reducing the risk of injury. It’s the most efficient kind of ankle training out there!”
Fussgelenksverletzungen: Biomechanische Gründe (Ankle injuries: The biomechanical causes) Muscles develop your strength. Muscular strength, together with the strength of the ligaments and joint capsules, creates internal torque, which enables resistance against strain from the outside (also called external torque). Injuries such as compressions, fractures, torn ligaments and strains occur when internal torque is too small to balance out external torque. The strain on the tissue is too large, which can result in torn ligaments and broken bones. Aids such as tape bandages, splints and high shoes are often used to promote stability in the muscles and ligaments. Muscles and ligaments may lose their resistance if these kinds of aids are used in the long term. This increases the risk of injury. Solution: ‘Use it or lose it’ “I think foot gymnastics or going barefoot more often can significantly minimise the consequences of wearing shoes. Uneven ground in particular forces the small muscles between the front and back of the foot to constantly move, increasing internal strength and reducing the risk of injury. It’s the most efficient kind of ankle training out there!”
Dr Alex Stacoff, PhD in biomechanics (University of Calgary, Canada), qualified gymnastics and PE teacher in Switzerland and head of the ‘Movement analysis group’ at the Institute for Biomechanics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich.
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