@article{ref1,
title="Analysis of water polo injuries during 8904 player matches at FINA World Championships and Olympic games to make the sport safer",
journal="British journal of sports medicine",
year="2019",
author="Mountjoy, Margo and Miller, Jim and Junge, Astrid",
volume="53",
number="1",
pages="25-31",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: To analyse injuries of water polo players reported during four Summer Olympic Games (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016) and four Federation Internationale de Natation World Championships (2009, 2013, 2015, 2017). <br><br>METHODS: Injuries during training and matches were reported daily by the team physicians and the local medical staff at the sports venues using an established surveillance system. <br><br>RESULTS: A total of 381 injuries were reported, equivalent to 14.1 injuries per 100 players (95% CI ±1.42). The most frequent diagnoses were laceration (12.7%) and contusion (10.9%) of head, followed by (sub-)luxation/sprain of hand (9.5%) and contusion of trunk (6.5%) or hand (6.2%). More than half of the injuries (57.0%) occurred due to contact with another player. A quarter of the injuries (25.4%) were expected to result in absence from training or match; 10 (2.9%) resulted in an estimated time-loss of 3 or more weeks. About three-quarters of injuries (75.6%) occurred during matches, 86 during training. The incidence of match injuries was on average 56.2 injuries per 1000 match hours (95% CI ±6.74). The incidence of time-loss match injuries (14.7; 95% CI ±3.44) was significantly higher in men than in women. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: A critical review of water polo in-competition rules and the implementation of a Fair Play programme may help to mitigate the high incidence of contact injuries incurred during matches. A water polo-specific concussion education programme including recognition, treatment and return to play is recommended. Finally, a prospective injury surveillance programme would help to better define water polo injuries outside of the competition period.<br><br>© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2018. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0306-3674",
doi="10.1136/bjsports-2018-099349",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2018-099349"
}