Mechanisms of sport-related injuries in physical education teacher education students: A descriptive analysis of 896 injuries

The aim of this study was to determine sport-related injury mechanisms in physical education teacher education (PETE) students. This prospective cohort study (40 weeks) in first-year PETE students obtained self-reported characteristics of injuries (body part, injury setting, injury mechanism, and movements related to the cause of injury). Students (N = 759) from the academic years of 2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018 participated in this study. Descriptive data analysis was conducted on the injury characteristics. In total, 896 injuries were registered by 489 (64%) students. Large proportions of the injuries resulted from both non-contact (N = 496, 56%) and contact (N = 381, 42%) mechanisms. The most common injury mechanism was gradual onset non-contact (N = 275, 31%). High proportions of non-contact injuries were found in curricular practices (N = 120, 44%) and extra-curricular practices (N = 30, 38%). Injuries during extra-curricular games were mainly contact related (N = 133, 81%). Furthermore, injury onset was most commonly associated with a landing (N = 179, 29%), a fall (N = 158, 25%), and an explosive movement (N = 114, 18%). The most common injury mechanism was gradual onset non-contact. For practices (curricular and extra-curricular) and extra-curricular games, the most common injury mechanism was, respectively, non-contact and contact with an person. Furthermore, injuries were most commonly associated with landings, falls, and explosive movements.