Sports Injury Research

With the increasing focus on tackling obesity and other lifestyle-related illnesses and conditions, participation in sports and physical activity is growing. The consequences are that injuries and unwanted side-effects of healthy activity are becoming major health problems. Prevention is crucial to health gain, both in the short-term (preventing immediate injury), and in the longer term (reducing the risk of recurrence and prolonged periods of impairment). Prevention follows four main steps: 1) the sports injury problem must be described in incidence and severity; 2) the etiological risk factors and mechanisms underlying the occurrence of injury are identified; 3) preventive methods that are likely to work can be developed and introduced; and 4) the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of such measures are evaluated.