Gymnastics injuries: a quantitative profile of athletes in the greater Durban area

Abstract

The aim or purpose of this study is to determine the injury profile of gymnasts in the greater Durban area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; and to compare it with the international data that are available. Factors that should be considered regarding differences in the injury profile of South African gymnasts as compared with international gymnasts include: 1. Difference in standard of gymnastics (Cameron-Smith, 2005) 2. Sudden increase in the standard of South African gymnastics in an attempt to match that of other countries, which may lead to an increase in training hours, and attempts at more risky new manoeuvres. This, in turn, may increase the risk of injury (Cameron-Smith, 2005). For the purpose of this study, the following information was gathered in terms of: - Demographics of South African gymnasts - The participants’ gymnastics history - The presence of any past or current injuries, and - If present, factors relating to these injuries were investigated. This information mentioned above was gathered with the aim of helping to identify any problems that may exist, quantifying the extent of these problems and identifying to some extent the potential risk factors. This would be beneficial to South African gymnasts if recommendations for prevention of potential injuries were made, should any common injuries, or possible risk factors or associations be discovered/identified (Chadwick, 2004).