Injury and illness in non-football collegiate athletics: a single university, 8-year descriptive retrospective analysis

This study examines injury and illness incidence across all collegiate sports at a single institution to identify patterns and inform targeted future interventions. Reports from 23 teams from 2012 to 2013 to 2019-2020 were stratified by gender, sport, and anatomic location. A total of 1854 athletes sustained 4937 injuries, with 2444 (49.5%) in female athletes and 2493 (50.5%) in male athletes. Across all sports, injury rates were between 0.50 and 1.65 injuries per athlete per year. When comparing injuries in each body region by gender, women had an 8.76% higher incidence of lower extremity injuries compared with men (p < 0.001). Across all sports, injuries peaked near the beginning of the season, with each week having a 4.3% lower injury rate compared with the previous. Injury severity was not available in these analyses and should be considered when interpreting these data. In summary, injury rates varied significantly between sports but were largely comparable between genders when accounting for sport, body region, and year. The only observed gender difference was the 8.76% higher incidence of lower extremity injuries in women, highlighting the need for continued research in this area. Interestingly, the elevated injury rates at the start of training and competition seasons underscore the need to understand the balance between early-season training workloads and injury risk.