Gym and Fitness Injuries amongst those Aged 16–64 in New Zealand: Analysis of Ten Years of Accident Compensation Corporation Injury Claim Data

Type of content
Journal Article
Thesis discipline
Degree name
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
eng
Date
2024
Authors
Cuthbertson-Moon M
Hume PA
Wyatt, Hannah
Carlson I
Hastings B
Abstract

Background: To provide epidemiological data for minor and moderate-to-serious injury claims for gym and fitness related injuries amongst those aged 16–64 in New Zealand, to inform the development of an injury prevention program. Methods: Retrospective analytical review of gym and fitness related injury entitlement minor and moderate- to-serious Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) claims from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2020. Data were analysed by cause of injury, geographical region, sex, age, body site and injury type. Qualitative analysis of free text describing the activity causing the injury was conducted. Results: Over the ten-year period, 16–64 year olds made 345,254 injury claims, costing ACC NZ$241,298,275 in treatment charges. Soft tissue injuries were the most prevalent making up 96% (331,343) of all claims and 88% (NZ$213,049,197) of the total charges. Strenuous movement with lifting (n = 154,467, 47%), strenuous movement without lifting (n = 84,469, 25%), impact/contact with object (n = 39,610, 12%) and impact/contact with ground (n = 25,351, 8%) were the top four mechanisms resulting in injury, accounting for 92% of soft tissue injuries. Males and females aged 21 to 30 years old were most frequently injured. The four most injured body sites (lower back/spine, shoulder, knee, neck/back of head) accounted for 63% of injuries in females, and 65% in males. Conclusions: The most common cause of injury from gym and fitness activity claims in 16–64 year olds in New Zealand was lifting/carrying/strain resulting in lower back/spine and shoulder (including clavicle/blade) soft tissue injuries. Soft tissue injuries accounted for 96% of the total claims. Males and females aged 21 to 30 years old were most frequently injured age group.

Description
Citation
Cuthbertson-Moon M, Hume PA, Wyatt HE, Carlson I, Hastings B (2024). Gym and Fitness Injuries amongst those Aged 16–64 in New Zealand: Analysis of Ten Years of Accident Compensation Corporation Injury Claim Data. Sports Medicine - Open. 10(1). 53-.
Keywords
fitness, injury, soft tissue injury, sports, gym
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
42 - Health sciences::4206 - Public health::420604 - Injury prevention
35 - Commerce, management, tourism and services::3502 - Banking, finance and investment::350206 - Insurance studies
32 - Biomedical and clinical sciences::3202 - Clinical sciences::320225 - Sports medicine
42 - Health sciences::4202 - Epidemiology::420299 - Epidemiology not elsewhere classified
Rights
© The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.