Injury and illness in short-course triathletes: A systematic review

Sara A Guevara; Melissa L Crunkhorn; Michael Drew; Gordon Waddington; Julien D Périard; Naroa Etxebarria; Liam A Toohey; Paula Charlton

doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2023.03.002

Injury and illness in short-course triathletes: A systematic review

J Sport Health Sci. 2024 Mar;13(2):172-185. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2023.03.002. Epub 2023 Mar 8.

Authors

Sara A Guevara¹, Melissa L Crunkhorn², Michael Drew³, Gordon Waddington⁴, Julien D Périard³, Naroa Etxebarria³, Liam A Toohey⁴, Paula Charlton⁵

Affiliations

¹ University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), Bruce, ACT 2617, Australia; New South Wales Institute of Sport, Sydney, NSW 2127, Australia.
² University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), Bruce, ACT 2617, Australia; Queensland Academy of Sport, Brisbane, QLD 4111, Australia; Triathlon Australia, Gold Coast, QLD 4227, Australia. Electronic address: melissa@crunkhorn.com.
³ University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), Bruce, ACT 2617, Australia.
⁴ University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), Bruce, ACT 2617, Australia; Australian Institute of Sport, Bruce, ACT 2617, Australia.
⁵ University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), Bruce, ACT 2617, Australia; Triathlon Australia, Gold Coast, QLD 4227, Australia.

Abstract

Background: Determining the incidence and prevalence of injury and illness in short-course triathletes would improve understanding of their etiologies and therefore assist in the development and implementation of prevention strategies. This study synthesizes the existing evidence on the incidence and prevalence of injury and illness and summarizes reported injury or illness etiology and risk factors affecting short-course triathletes.

Methods: This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Studies reporting health problems (injury and illness) in triathletes (all sexes, ages, and experience levels) training and/or competing in short-course distances were included. Six electronic databases (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, Embase, APA PsychINFO, Web of Science Core Collection, and SPORTDiscus) were searched. Risk of bias was independently assessed by 2 reviewers using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. Two authors independently completed data extraction.

Results: The search yielded 7998 studies, with 42 studies eligible for inclusion. Twenty-three studies investigated injuries, 24 studies investigated illnesses, and 5 studies investigated both injuries and illnesses. The injury incidence rate ranged 15.7-24.3 per 1000 athlete exposures, and the illness incidence rate ranged 1.8-13.1 per 1000 athlete days. Injury and illness prevalence ranged between 2%-15% and 6%-84%, respectively. Most injuries reported occurred during running (45%-92%), and the most frequently reported illnesses affected the gastrointestinal (7%-70%), cardiovascular (14%-59%), and respiratory systems (5%-60%).

Conclusion: The most frequently reported health problems in short-course triathletes were: overuse and lower limb injuries associated with running; gastrointestinal illnesses and altered cardiac function, primarily attributable to environmental factors; and respiratory illness mostly caused by infection.

Keywords: Athlete illnesses; Athletic injuries; Epidemiology; Triathlon.

Publication types

Systematic Review
Review

MeSH terms

Humans
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Running* / injuries