The prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries in junior elite squash players

Abstract

Background: The dynamics and competitiveness of squash place a high demand on the musculoskeletal system of players, thus increasing the injury risk of youth squash players. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze and report the musculoskeletal injury epidemiology of junior elite squash players. Methods: Twenty-one male adolescent squash players were included in this retrospective analysis of routinely collected data over a period of 6-years. Origin, location, diagnosis and incidence of all injuries are reported. Results: A total of 212 injuries were recorded: 58% of these injuries (n = 124) were squash (on-court) related, 16% (n = 33) were because of other training activities and 26% of these injuries were (n = 55) non-squash related. Most of squash related training injuries were in the lower limbs (67%, n = 105). The most frequently reported diagnosis was “osteochondrosis” (22%, n = 34), followed by “contusion” (13%, n = 20). Time-loss injuries accounted for 103 injuries and the overall injury incidence was 4.78 per 1000 hours of training. Conclusions: It was established that pre-mature squash players are at greater risk of growth related injuries during their peak growth period. A significant number of injuries at junior level are found to occur outside of training time and result in periods of time loss. As a result, skill acquisition is negatively affected which in turn negatively affects development opportunities in junior athletes.