Four-year injury survey in heptathlon and decathlon athletes

Background. - Heptathlon and decathlon may pose a greater risk of injury to athletes than other track and field events due to the number and intensity of events and to the high level of physical and psychological demand. Objective. - To determine frequency, location and type of injuries suffered by international decathletes and heptathletes. Methods. - In this retrospective case-serie study, all injuries were recorded during four seasons (1994-1998) in athletes selected to compete in international heptathlon or decathlon competitions for the French national team. Results. - Among the 69 athletes included in this study, 39 injuries were reported in 14 heptathletes and 47 in 18 decathletes. The injury rate was 32.5 and 30.1 injuries per 100 athletes per season for heptathletes and decathletes, respectively. The majority of injuries were located on the lower extremity (77%); 41% injuries were tendon related and 23% muscle related, and were caused by overuse (49%) or acute trauma (43%). The most common diagnoses were knee tendinopathy (14%), followed by lower leg strain (13%), thigh strain (11%) and Achilles tendinopathy (11%). Conclusions. - Injuries are frequent in high-level heptathletes and decathletes with an injury rate slightly higher than in other track and field events. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.