Triathlon is a sport that is growing in popularity and
participation. Triathlon consists of swimming, cycling and running combined in
varying distances.
Injuries usually occur as a result of an individual leg of
the event or due to the physical strain of a combination of the three events.
Over-use injuries are incredibly common due to the immense strain this competition
places on the body.
In various studies, incidence of injuries in triathletes
ranges from 37% to 91%. The majority of the injuries were non-impact in nature
and instead were caused by overuse. The majority of injuries were related to
running due to the high impact, stressful nature of the sport. However, cycling
also reported high levels of injuries due to the highly repetitive training.
The most commonly affected site of injury was the lower
extremity, including the ankle, foot, thigh and knee as the most vulnerable.
Running seemed to create the greatest numbers of injuries in the lower
extremity, cycling caused the majority of low back pain and swimming accounted
for the majority of upper extremity injuries.
Almost 80% of all injuries occurred during training instead
of during the competition itself, but if you compare per hour, there is a
six-fold increase of injury during the competition. This is because people push
themselves harder during the race, increasing the risk of injury.
There are also injuries that result from an accumulation of
the three phases of the sport. These involve overuse musculoskeletal injuries
and exhaustion-related conditions such as dehydration and hyponatremia. These
conditions need to be addressed with the competitor, practitioner and coach.
Understanding the demands of the sport and working within
the body’s limits are two important factors involved with the successful
completion of triathlons.
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