Injuries in German national short-track speed skating athletes

Objectives: Short-Track Speed Skating (STSS) is a high-intensity ice sport characterized by fast-paced races and proximity among athletes, which inherently poses a risk for falls and injuries. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of orthopedic-traumatological injuries in German national STSS...

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Main Authors: Jan Ziegler, Heidrun Beck, Roland L. Bell, Dominik Matzner, Xinggui Tian, Stefan Zwingenberger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:JSAMS Plus
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772696724000292
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author Jan Ziegler
Heidrun Beck
Roland L. Bell
Dominik Matzner
Xinggui Tian
Stefan Zwingenberger
author_facet Jan Ziegler
Heidrun Beck
Roland L. Bell
Dominik Matzner
Xinggui Tian
Stefan Zwingenberger
author_sort Jan Ziegler
collection DOAJ
description Objectives: Short-Track Speed Skating (STSS) is a high-intensity ice sport characterized by fast-paced races and proximity among athletes, which inherently poses a risk for falls and injuries. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of orthopedic-traumatological injuries in German national STSS athletes with comparisons to previous studies. Design: Retrospective analysis. Methods: Medical records of 69 athletes (30 females, 39 males) who were part of the German national team between 2009 and 2020 were analyzed retrospectively based on a new standardized injury surveillance system published by the International Olympic Committee in 2020. Results: The average career duration of athletes on the German STSS national team was 10.9 ​± ​4.4 years, with each athlete accumulating 10,116 ​± ​4326 ​h of exposure to risk during training. A total of 371 orthopedic-traumatological injuries requiring medical consultation (IRMCs) were recorded, with an estimated incidence of 0.53 per 1000 ​h of exposure. 69.8 ​% of the observed injuries affected the lower extremities, primarily involving the knee and ankle. Joint injuries were the leading cause of IRMCs, accounting for 16.3 ​% of cases. The majority of IRMCs occurred during on-ice training (45.0 ​%), followed by off-ice training (30.0 ​%), and competitions (25.0 ​%). Conclusion: This was the first implementation based on a standardized injury surveillance system in STSS. Important information about career-related injuries and injury patterns resulted from the analyses. However, further prospective research is needed to support the prevention of health issues in STSS.
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spelling doaj-art-64d253d02b224ff6aa120dc3c60055bd2025-08-20T03:20:56ZengElsevierJSAMS Plus2772-69672025-06-01510008010.1016/j.jsampl.2024.100080Injuries in German national short-track speed skating athletesJan Ziegler0Heidrun Beck1Roland L. Bell2Dominik Matzner3Xinggui Tian4Stefan Zwingenberger5Department of Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery, Sports Traumatology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at Dresden University of Technology, Fetscherstreet 74/2, House 30, 01307 Dresden, Saxony, Germany; Corresponding author.Department of Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery, Sports Traumatology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at Dresden University of Technology, Fetscherstreet 74/2, House 30, 01307 Dresden, Saxony, GermanyDepartment of Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery, University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire, Clifford Bridge Rd, Coventry, CV2 2DX, United KingdomIndependent Researcher, GermanyDepartment of Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery, Sports Traumatology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at Dresden University of Technology, Fetscherstreet 74/2, House 30, 01307 Dresden, Saxony, GermanyDepartment of Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery, Sports Traumatology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at Dresden University of Technology, Fetscherstreet 74/2, House 30, 01307 Dresden, Saxony, GermanyObjectives: Short-Track Speed Skating (STSS) is a high-intensity ice sport characterized by fast-paced races and proximity among athletes, which inherently poses a risk for falls and injuries. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of orthopedic-traumatological injuries in German national STSS athletes with comparisons to previous studies. Design: Retrospective analysis. Methods: Medical records of 69 athletes (30 females, 39 males) who were part of the German national team between 2009 and 2020 were analyzed retrospectively based on a new standardized injury surveillance system published by the International Olympic Committee in 2020. Results: The average career duration of athletes on the German STSS national team was 10.9 ​± ​4.4 years, with each athlete accumulating 10,116 ​± ​4326 ​h of exposure to risk during training. A total of 371 orthopedic-traumatological injuries requiring medical consultation (IRMCs) were recorded, with an estimated incidence of 0.53 per 1000 ​h of exposure. 69.8 ​% of the observed injuries affected the lower extremities, primarily involving the knee and ankle. Joint injuries were the leading cause of IRMCs, accounting for 16.3 ​% of cases. The majority of IRMCs occurred during on-ice training (45.0 ​%), followed by off-ice training (30.0 ​%), and competitions (25.0 ​%). Conclusion: This was the first implementation based on a standardized injury surveillance system in STSS. Important information about career-related injuries and injury patterns resulted from the analyses. However, further prospective research is needed to support the prevention of health issues in STSS.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772696724000292Short-track speed skatingSports injuryReporting of epidemiological data on injury and illness in sport
spellingShingle Jan Ziegler
Heidrun Beck
Roland L. Bell
Dominik Matzner
Xinggui Tian
Stefan Zwingenberger
Injuries in German national short-track speed skating athletes
JSAMS Plus
Short-track speed skating
Sports injury
Reporting of epidemiological data on injury and illness in sport
title Injuries in German national short-track speed skating athletes
title_full Injuries in German national short-track speed skating athletes
title_fullStr Injuries in German national short-track speed skating athletes
title_full_unstemmed Injuries in German national short-track speed skating athletes
title_short Injuries in German national short-track speed skating athletes
title_sort injuries in german national short track speed skating athletes
topic Short-track speed skating
Sports injury
Reporting of epidemiological data on injury and illness in sport
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772696724000292
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AT dominikmatzner injuriesingermannationalshorttrackspeedskatingathletes
AT xingguitian injuriesingermannationalshorttrackspeedskatingathletes
AT stefanzwingenberger injuriesingermannationalshorttrackspeedskatingathletes