International Olympic Committee consensus statement: methods for recording and reporting of epidemiological data on injury and illness in sport 2020 (including STROBE Extension for Sport Injury and Illness Surveillance (STROBE-SIIS))

Abstract

Injury and illness surveillance, and epidemiological studies, are fundamental elements of concerted efforts to protect the health of the athlete. To encourage consistency in the definitions and methodology used, and to enable data across studies to be compared, research groups have published 11 sport-specific or setting-specific consensus statements on sports injury (and, eventually, illness) epidemiology to date. Our objective was to further strengthen consistency in data collection, injury definitions and research reporting through an updated set of recommendations for sports injury and illness studies, including a new Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist extension. The IOC invited a working group of international experts to review relevant literature and provide recommendations. The procedure included an open online survey, several stages of text drafting and consultation by working groups and a 3-day consensus meeting in October 2019. This statement includes recommendations for data collection and research reporting covering key components: defining and classifying health problems; severity of health problems; capturing and reporting athlete exposure; expressing risk; burden of health problems; study population characteristics and data collection methods. Based on these, we also developed a new reporting guideline as a STROBE Extension-the STROBE Sports Injury and Illness Surveillance (STROBE-SIIS). The IOC encourages ongoing in-and out-ofcompetition surveillance programmes and studies to describe injury and illness trends and patterns, understand their causes and develop measures to protect the health of the athlete. Implementation of the methods outlined in this statement will advance consistency in data collection and research reporting.

Does an Optimal Relationship Between Injury Risk and Workload Represented by the “Sweet Spot” Really Exist? An Example From Elite French Soccer Players and Pentathletes

“…The small number of injuries observed in the present study could be explained by the definition used, which requires time-loss. This definition does not take into account periods where athletes are still training (e.g., in shooting) while injured (e.g., in a leg) ( Bahr et al, 2020 ). In pentathlon, the multidisciplinary nature of the sport makes it possible to continue training despite injuries.…”

“…Injuries were self-reported by athletes and cross-checked with the medical staff. Various criteria exist for the measurement of severity, but the most widely used in sports medicine is the duration of time lost ( Bahr et al, 2020 ). Previous consensus statements highlighted the simplicity of implementing this method and the potential for collection by non-medical doctors, especially in soccer ( Fuller et al, 2006 ), track and field ( Timpka et al, 2014 ) and swimming ( Mountjoy et al, 2016 ).…”

“…Previous consensus statements highlighted the simplicity of implementing this method and the potential for collection by non-medical doctors, especially in soccer ( Fuller et al, 2006 ), track and field ( Timpka et al, 2014 ) and swimming ( Mountjoy et al, 2016 ). The severity of injuries was recorded according to the time lost, defined as the number of days that the athlete was unavailable for training and competition, from the date of onset until the athlete had resumed training and competition ( Bahr et al, 2020 ). Time loss due to illness episodes was not included.…”

Injuries and Rapid Weight Loss in Elite Adolescent Taekwondo Athletes: A Korean Prospective Cohort Study

“…Match details (weight class, date), athlete characteristics (sex, name), and injury characteristics (body region, site, type, and severity) were recorded using daily injury report forms issued by the IOC [18]. During the study, the athletes were assessed by sports medicine doctors who completed daily injury report forms on site before referring the athletes to the clinic.…”

“…Multiple injuries in a single athlete were classified according to the affected body region; multiple injuries occurring during the same incident were recorded as separate injuries. The injury location and type of injury was classified based on an IOC consensus statement that analyzed injury propensity [18].…”