The following study was an 8-year retrospective study that investigated and compared injury patterns presented at injury clinics for squash, badminton and tennis. Similar to other studies involving multiple sports, only the information presented that is relevant to squash will be presented. For details on the full report, click the source reference below.
Method – How did the authors conduct the test:
Records for patients attending the sports injury clinic at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge over an 8-year period were analyzed.
For each individual case, the sport, age, sex and diagnosis were recorded. If an individual presented at the clinic again over the year, additional details were further documented (duration of injury, relevant past history, standard of game played, playing frequency, time of onset of injury during a game and onset in relation to starting the sport); it is important to note that individuals whom presented multiple different injuries over this time period were included in separate cases in the analysis.
The treatment of all injuries were recorded.
Results – What did the authors find:
631 injuries related to participating in racquet sports were recorded in the sports injury clinic at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge over an 8-year period. Note: this was only 12% of the total injuries that reported to the clinic over the 8-year time span. Of the 631 injuries reported to the injury clinic, 372 of them were related to squash. This was 59% of the total injuries recorded.
The distribution of injuries between sex and injury site can be seen presented in the bar graph below. As it can be seen in the sex distribution graph, two males presented at the clinic for every one female.
Sex Distribution of Injuries
Site of Injury
Injuries most commonly occurred with players over the age of 26 (n=219) and decreased in the younger age groups with the 16 to 25 year age group recording 150 injuries and the 15 years and younger age category only reporting 3 injuries.
Majority of injuries occurred in the lower limbs (58%) with the knee being the most frequently effected region. Of the lower limb injuries males were typically more prone to knee injuries whilst females were more prone to calf muscle injuries.
The upper limbs were the next most effected (22%) area with shoulder issues predominating. Of the upper limb injuries males were typically more prone to injuries surrounding the acromioclavicular joint whilst females were more prone to rotator cuff injuries.
Of all of the injuries recorded, 80% were listed as acute traumatic, whilst the remaining 20% were made up of chronic injuries.
Distribution of Injuries %
Knee injuries were the most common injury in all three sports; the most common in squash being injuries to the collateral ligament, patellofemoral joint and meniscus. Injuries to these sites made up 33%, 23% and 17% of the all knee injuries incurred by squash players. The next most common region to be injured was the lumbar region. The specific breakdown of the lumbar injuries in squash was not reported, though it was noted that lumbar strains predominated in squash and badminton comparative to tennis.
Players whom participated less than once a week made up 25% of the total injuries recorded, another 50% were sustained by competitive players whilst playing at a club level or collegiate level. The authors associated the greater number of squash injuries comparative to tennis and badminton to the higher levels and stress involved in playing the game along with the increased risk in physical contact between players. The increased stress of squash was also suggested to explain the predominance of injuries that occurred in older squash players due to decreased tissue tolerance due to aging. Lastly, injuries often occurred with players whom were either new to the sport or whom participating socially. This would suggest that education and general levels of preparedness need to increase through graded exposure in order to reduce the risk of acute injury.
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Dominic Benacquista - Global Squash Coach
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Reference:
Chard, M. D., & Lachmann, S. M. (1987). Racquet sports--patterns of injury presenting to a sports injury clinic. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 21(4), 150-153.