Wrestling Injuries During the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Background: Better understanding of the incidence, mechanisms, and characteristics of potential injuries in wrestling helps to implement preventive measures to better care for these athletes. Several studies have investigated the incidence and type of injuries in amateur and intercollegiate wrestling; however, there is a lack of studies that review the incidence and nature of injuries in elite wrestlers during Olympic Games or World Championships. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the injury profile of elite senior wrestlers in Greco-Roman, freestyle, and female wrestling during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiologic study. Methods: Study participants consisted of 343 wrestlers participating in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Standard checkoff forms were used to collect the injury data, including injury type, severity, location, timing, and mechanism. Results: A total of 343 athletes sustained 32 injuries during 406 matches, which is equivalent to an overall incidence of 9.30 injuries per 100 athletes and 7.88 injuries per 100 matches. Among the 3 styles, freestyle had the highest injury rate (10.1%) and female wrestling the lowest (7.5%). In sum, 84.4% of all injuries were categorized as mild. Although the overall injury rate in male athletes was slightly higher than that among female athletes (9.7% versus 7.5%), this difference was not statistically significant (odds ratio = 1.21, 95% confidence interval = 0.46-3.68; P = .40). Conclusion: The rate and severity of wrestling injuries during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games were lower than previous reports. No serious and catastrophic injury was recorded, and most injuries were minor.