Nayyer AsghariZamani and Mir Hamid Salehian
The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence rate and some probable causes of sport injuries in Iranian elite competitive gymnast girls.The present descriptive study was retrospectively conducted by an administered sports injuries questionnaire (a=0.83). The statistical available sample is including 75 Iranian elite competitive gymnast girls (12-17 years) who had at least three years championship history in 2008. All data were analyzed by Chi-Square, Kruskal-Wallis, Cochran's Q tests using the SPSS statistical software version 16 and the significance level was set at P<0.05.The prevalence rate of sport injuries (88%) was higher than the expectancy rate in elite competitive gymnast girls (χ 2 = 43.32, P<0.01). In addition, this rate in competitions was higher than in training periods (0.3 versus 2 injuries/sessions, respectively). The prevalence rate of sport injuries in the lower limbs especially ankles (68%) were significantly higher than in the other organs (Q=111.15, P<0.01). Nevertheless, the differences between kinds of injuries (Skin, Tenomuscular, joint-ligament and Skeletal) were not significant (P>0.05). However, the majority of ankle injuries result in from falls on dismounts during floor routines (49.3%, P<0.01). Based on results, the prevalence rate of sport injuries in the lower limbs in particular ankles of Iranian elite competitive gymnast girls are relatively high.
