Prevalence of Sports Injury and Its Association with Warm-Up in Males Visiting the Fitness Centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Background and Objective: Regular exercise has a positive effect on the well-being of individuals; however, improper utilization of exercise facilities may result in sports/exercise-related injuries leading to increased burden on the health system. The objective of this study was to measure the prevalence of sports injury and explore its association with warm-up in males visiting the fitness center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 521 males, while they were visiting the fitness/sports center in Riyadh city. The interviews comprised of questions on sociodemographic information, sports/exercise-related injury, warm-up, and its type and duration, medical history, smoking status, height, and weight of the participants. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to measure the association between sports injury and warm-up. Results: The mean age and body mass index (BMI) of the participants was 24.0 (±6.7) years and 25.8 (±5.8) kg/m2, respectively. Regular exercise was reported by 63% (n = 330) of the participants, whereas 43.4% (n = 228) mentioned some kind of sports/exercise-related injury during the last 1 year. Regualr warm-up was reported by 45% (n = 236) of the participants. The multivariate logistic regression analysis found no significant association between sports injury and warm up [0.73 (0.41, 1.31)]; and the age category 31–50 years had 2.06 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15–3.69) times higher odds for the injury in comparison to younger ages (16–25 years). Low income group (10,000 SAR. The participants following the diet plan for weight loss also showed higher odds (1.61 [95% CI: 1.06–2.43]) for reporting sports injury in comparison to those without diet plan. The association was adjusted for BMI. Conclusions: Prevalence of exercise/sports-related injury among fitness club visitors is significantly high. Awareness about sports injury and proper gym training should focus on young adults visiting the fitness center with the purpose of weight loss.