Implementation of Injury and Illness Surveillance Protocols in Varsity Athletes

Abstract

This thesis is involves the assessment of a varsity athlete injury and illness surveillance system that will strengthen and standardize the quality of the data collected, and support the development of sport-specific preventative measures for future athletes. Injury and illness information was collected from 14 varsity teams (338 varsity athletes) from the University of Guelph during the Fall 2016 semester season. Descriptive data collected involved weekly summaries of injuries and illnesses and individual reporting on each injury and illness completed by athletes and team trainers. The average compliance from varsity teams was 86% (men: ~96%, women: ~72%). Injury prevalence was 9.0 (95% CI 7.3 to 10.6) injuries per 1000 athlete exposures and illness prevalence was 9.2 illnesses (95% CI 6.1 to 12.3) per 100 participating athletes. Athlete injury and illness surveillance was feasible in Canadian university sports and will help develop prevention strategies in future competitive seasons.