Prevalence and Incidence of Injury during Olympic-style Shooting Events: A Systematic Review.
Mica R Harr, Cody J Mansfield, Bailey Urbach and 3 others
PMID 34631244WHAT IT FOUND
Injury rates in Olympic shooting are low, but this likely misses chronic pain.
Biathlon has higher injury rates than summer events. Women had more injuries in summer shooting, while men had more in winter biathlon.
Key findings
01Overall prevalence and incidence of injury for athletes in shooting events was low, with most data equal to or below 10%.
02The average prevalence of injuries was higher in winter Olympics (3.47%) compared to summer Olympics (1.53-2.53%).
03Females suffered a higher average percentage of injuries in the summer Olympics, while males had a higher average percentage in the winter Olympics.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Most included studies defined injury as acute only, excluding chronic pain. Many studies combined all shooting events into one category, masking specific risks for rifle, pistol, or shotgun. Only five databases were searched, and non-English studies were excluded. Six studies classified pain as an injury without diagnosing the underlying cause.
Declared interests
The authors report no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume shooting sports are safe based on the low acute injury rates reported in Olympic surveillance. These figures likely miss the high prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain, such as low back pain, which is common in this population.