| Summary: | <p>A prospective study on club-level Rhythmic Gymnastics injuries was
conducted over a six-month period on Australian rhythmic gymnasts ranging
in age from 13 to 20 years. Complete responses were returned from ten
gymnasts. The following data were analyzed: the number of hours trained per
week, anatomical location of injury, side of body, nature of injury, type of
injury, timing of injury, cause of injury, missed training, and current health
status. A total of 38 injuries were reported, 10 of which were sustained by the
lower-level gymnasts (1.89 injuries per 100 hours) and the remaining 28 were
sustained by the higher-level gymnasts (1.65 injuries per 100 hours). Of the
38 injuries, 24 were chronic and 14 were acute. Most injuries occurred to the
leg. The most common injury classification was strains. The majority of all
injuries occurred during a training session versus competition and while
gymnasts were practicing skills rather than practicing routines. Gymnasts
sustained more injuries during warm-up than during any other segment of
training and perceived the primary cause of their injuries to be due to overuse
or fatigue.</p>
<p>Although the sample size was too small to allow statistical conclusions to be
reached, the trends were evident in the data. It appears that club-level
rhythmic gymnasts who are most at risk of injury are characterized as being: (1) at a high-level of club gymnastics, (2) warming up, (3) training in a
session three hours in length, and (4) training when fatigued.</p>
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