Verletzungen und Risiken im Bobsport

Altogether the survey consisted of a hundred active athletes being questioned about their injuries during their careers in bobsport. There were numerous olympic, world and national champions among them. Most of them were belonging to the leading countries in competitive bobsledding such as Switzerland, Germany, Canada and USA. On average, the athletes (n=100) were 27.9 years old (±6.7), weighed 86.9 kg (±9.0) and were 182.3 cm tall (±6.3). A total of 186 different kinds of injuries and complains were reported. Acute injuries made up for 85.5% (n=159), whereas the remaining 14.5% (n=27) were cases of complains and damages caused by chronic overuse. 74% (n=118) of all acute injuries happened during bob rides and 26% (n=41) during additional physical exercises. The sum of all injuries and complains involved various body parts in the following way: 62% lower extremities, 15% chest and shoulder girdle, 14% spinal cord, 5% upper extremities and 4% head. Pathologies were noticed as following: Muscle injuries made up for 32%, distorsions of ligaments 21%, 13% fell on tendon inflammations, 12% on open wounds and 7% on fractures. The remaining 15% consisted of various pathologies such as injuries of internal knee structures, commotio cerebri, spondylolysis etc. Surgery was necessary with a percentage of 14.5 (n=27). On average, there was a loss of 3.9 workdays (±12.6) and 23.8 (±42.8) days of exercise per case. 11% of the athletes surveyed had never suffered from serious injuries during their careers.