Are you a Triathlete? Do you know your Injury Risk?

By Sports & Olympic Physio, Britt Caling

With the start of the triathlon season underway and all you dedicated triathletes well into established training routines, it’s appropriate at this time to review a little about injury rates in triathletes.
Did you know:
–    50- 75% of competitive triathletes will experience at least 1 injury in a 1 year period

–    The incidence of injury during competition phase is greater than during training phase.  The average triathlete will experience between 2 and 5 injuries per 1000 hours trained during base phase.  During competition period this injury rate increases to between 5 and 17 injuries per 1000 hours trained.

–    There is a “U-shaped” association of injury to time spent training each week. That is, if you train too little or too much you are likely to be at greater risk of injury. The challenge for every triathlete and coach is to determine “what is the optimal amount of training each week for each individual”.  What may be appropriate for one athlete may be too little or too much for another.

–    The majority of triathlon injuries are overuse injuries.  An overuse injury is one that results from repetitive activities and excess use of a body part where cumulative tissue microtrauma occurs.  An overuse injury may be acute (of recent onset) or chronic (present for a long duration).

–    The longer the triathlete has been in the sport and the greater the number of hours trained per week the more likely they are to suffer overuse injury.

–    Most injuries are related to running, with a higher number of running kilometres during pre-competition phase increasing the likelihood of injury during competition.

–    Although the number of male competitors is greater still than female competitors, there is no difference in injury prevalence rates or most common site of injury

–    The most common regions of injury in triathletes are the knee, low back and then shoulder.  Olympic distance athletes tend to experience more knee-related injuries, while Ironman triathletes have a greater incidence of low back injury/pain.

–    The most common injuries I see in triathletes in our Sports Physio clinic are:
o    Running-related injuries:  Iliotibial band friction syndrome (ITBFS); Achilles pathology; Shin pain and Tibial (shank) stress fracture; Plantar (bottom of foot) Heel Pain;
o    Cycle-related injuries: Low back pain; Patello-femoral (knee-cap to thigh joint) knee pain
o    Swim-related injuries: Shoulder pain related to tightness or instability/weakness