Sports Injury Patterns and Economic Consequences Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Norwegian Studyโ (2017-2020)
This โขstudy investigated sports-related injury incidence, associated costs, and the impact โof the โCOVID-19 pandemic on these metrics across five popular Norwegian sports.โฃ Analyzingโ insurance data from โlicensedโข athletes aged 13-50 yearsโข between โฃ2017 and 2020,researchers examined injury rates,affected body regions,and economic burdens in football,handball,athletics,gymnastics,and โswimming.
theโ four-year analysis revealed significant variations in injury rates between sports. Athletics and handball demonstrated the โhighest incidence โrates, exceeding those observed in football, gymnastics, and swimming. Across all sports studied,lower extremity injuries were the most frequent and contributed the largest proportion of overall injury costs. Notably, surgical โฃinterventions accounted for over halfโ of โฃthe total โขcosts associatedโ with injuries in both handball โขand football.
A particularly concerning finding was the high โขrate of permanent medical impairment following injuriesโฃ in gymnastics, affecting more โthan 20% of cases.
The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020) brought changes to sports participation and injury patterns. โwhile the number of licensed athletes andโข overall injury โคincidence โdecreased in most sports, athletics โexperienced an โขincrease in both athlete numbersโ and injury rates.
These findings underscore the importance of developing targeted injury prevention strategies. Specific focus should be placed on athletics due to its high overall injury rate, and on lower extremity injuries โin handball and football โคgiven โฃtheir โฃsignificant economic impact. The elevated risk of long-term medical impairmentโฃ in gymnastics also warrants focused attention. The study highlights how external โfactors, such as a global pandemic, can significantly influence sports โขparticipation and injury trends.
Keywords: athleticโ injuries; athletics; โfootball; gymnastics; handball; injury costs; swimming.