WHO STAYS FIT?

The objective of this study was to describe, from the Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) students' perspective, sports injury prevention practices and map their suggestions for its improvement. In this qualitative study, we conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with PETE students from four different PETE schools in the Netherlands, which were transcribed verbatim and analysed these using the thematic analysis method. Four main themes were extracted from the data, which described the applied preventive strategies, the critical factors for successful injury prevention, motives for injury prevention, and recommendations on prevention. All the participants described using various preventive measures. They described injury prevention as a standard part of daily life and approached it in a multi-faceted and dynamic way. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and balancing load and recovery were consistently described as essential injury prevention strategies. According to the participants, the critical factors to successfully apply injury prevention were: communication, learning what works, self-management, shared responsibilities, and social support. The main motives for injury prevention were to care for the body and perform well (e.g., academic success; sports). Given the participants, injury prevention could be improved, mainly by enhancing the PETE program's load management (e.g., schedules) and offering injury prevention education (e.g., theory; practical skills). This study provided insight into how injury prevention is shaped in practice, identified critical factors for successful injury prevention and motives for injury prevention, and mapped recommendations for its improvement from the target population. These findings support the development of context-driven preventive strategies in the PETE population.

Background Injury risk is high in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) student. Insight in the population’s perspectives on injury prevention supports developing context-driven preventive strategies. Objective The objective was to describe sports injury prevention practices from PETE students’ perspective and map their suggestions for improvement. Design Qualitative study. Setting PETE programs at Dutch Universities of Applied Sciences. Participants Recruitment took place via convenience sampling. Students were invited to participate by e-mail. Participants were informed about the study’s goals and procedures and completed informed consent and a baseline questionnaire (e.g., age, sports participation, injury history). Inclusion criteria for participants were: 1) completed the first three years of the PETE program; 2) understanding of the Dutch language at the native level. In total 21 participants from four different PETE schools were included. Main Outcome Measurements We conducted semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed verbatim and analysed using the thematic analysis method. Results All the participants mentioned applying various preventive measures. They described injury prevention as a standard part of daily life an approached it in a dynamic way. Their primary strategy was to balance load and recovery. The critical factors to apply injury prevention successfully mentioned were: communication, learning what works, self-management, shared responsibilities, and social support. The main motives for injury prevention were to care for the body and perform well (e.g., academic success, sports). Given the participants, injury prevention could be improved in various ways, but mostly by enhancing the PETE program’s load management (e.g., schedules) and offering injury prevention education (e.g., theory, practical skills). Conclusions This study provided insight into how injury prevention is shaped in practice, identified critical factors and motives for injury prevention, and mapped recommendations for its improvement from the target population. The findings support the development of context-driven preventive strategies in the PETE population.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate whether dynamic balance, measured with the anterior component of the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT-ANT), is a risk factor for ankle injuries in physical education teacher education (PETE) students. Design and setting A prospective monocentre study in first-year PETE students. Participants A total of 196 subjects, of which 137 men (70%) and 59 women (30%). Outcome measures This study consisted of measures of the SEBT-ANT at baseline (September 2015) and an injury registration procedure during a follow-up period (September 2015–June 2016). The association between the SEBT-ANT score and subsequent ankle injury was analysed with generalised estimating equations analysis at the leg level. Results Men and women had an average SEBT-ANT score of, respectively, 65.1% and 67.7% of leg length. In 20 (15%) subjects, the first injured body site involved the ankle. Across all participants, a below average SEBT-ANT score was not associated with increased ankle injury odds (OR OR=2.43, 95% CI: 0.94 to 6.29, p=0.07). In men, a below average SEBT-ANT score indicated sevenfold increased odds for ankle injury (OR=7.06, 95% CI: 1.43 to 34.92, p=0.02). In women, this relationship was not significant (OR=0.72, 95% CI: 0.19 to 2.71, p=0.62). Conclusions Below average normalised SEBT-ANT scores were associated with sevenfold likelihood for ankle injuries in men. In contrast, no relationship was found for the SEBT-ANT score and ankle injuries in woman. These results may provide directions for the implementation of screening tools, as part of an injury prevention programme, to identify male PETE students with an increased likelihood for ankle injuries.

The aim of this study was to determine sport‐related injury mechanisms in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) students. This prospective cohort study (40‐weeks) in first‐year PETE students obtained self‐reported characteristics of injuries (body part, injury setting, injury mechanism and movements related to the cause of injury). Students (N=759) from the academic years of 2015‐2016, 2016‐2017 and 2017‐2018 participated in this study. Descriptive data analysis was conducted on the injury characteristics. In total 896 injuries were registered by 489 (64%) students. Large proportions of the injuries resulted from both non‐contact (N=496, 56%) and contact (N=381, 42%) mechanisms. The most common injury mechanism was gradual onset non‐contact (N=275, 31%). High proportions of non‐contact injuries were found in curricular practices (N=120, 44%) and extra‐curricular practices (N=30, 38%). Injuries during extra‐curricular games were mainly contact related (N = 133, 81%). Furthermore, injury onset was most commonly associated with a landing (N=179, 29%), a fall (N=158, 25%), an explosive movement (N=114, 18%). The most common injury mechanism was gradual onset non‐contact. For practices (curricular and extra‐curricular) and extra‐curricular games, the most common injury mechanism were respectively non‐contact and contact with an person. Furthermore, injuries were most commonly associated with landings, falls and explosive movements.

Injuries can have a major impact on the physical performance and academic career of physical education teacher education (PETE) students. To investigate the injury problem, risk factors, and the impact of injuries on academic success, 252 PETE students were followed during their first semester. Risk factor analysis was conducted by means of logistic regression analysis with a differentiation for upper body, lower body, acute, overuse, and severe injuries. An incidence of 1.26 injuries/student/semester was found. Most injuries involved the lower body (61%), were new injuries (76%), occurred acutely (66%), and were sustained during curricular gymnastics (25%) or extracurricular soccer (28%). Significant risk factors for lower body acute injuries were age (OR=2.14; P=.01), previous injury (OR=2.23; P=.01), and an injury at the start of the year (OR=2.56; P=.02). For lower body overuse injuries, gender (OR=2.85; P=.02) and the interval shuttle run test score (OR=2.44; P=.04) were significant risk factors. Previous injury (OR=2.59; P=.04) and injury at the start of the year (upper body: OR=4.57; P=.02; lower body: OR=3.75; P<.01) were risk factors for severe injuries. Injury-related time loss was positively related to total academic success (r=.20; P=.02) and success in theoretical courses (r=.24; P=<.01). No association was found between time loss and academic success for sport courses.