Strength Training Reduces Injury Rates in Athletes.

The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Jeppe Bo Lauersen,1 Ditte Marie Bertelsen,2 Lars Bo Andersen3,4

ABSTRACT
Background Physical activity is important in both prevention and treatment of many common diseases, but sports injuries can pose serious problems.
Objective Todeterminewhetherphysicalactivity exercises can reduce sports injuries and perform stratified analyses of strength training, stretching, proprioception and combinations of these, and provide separate acute and overuse injury estimates.
Material and methods PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and SPORTDiscus were searched and yielded 3462 results. Two independent authors selected relevant randomised, controlled trials and quality assessments were conducted by all authors of this paper using the Cochrane collaboration domain-based quality assessment tool. Twelve studies that neglected to account for clustering effects were adjusted. Quantitative analyses were performed in STATA V.12 and sensitivity analysed by intention-to-treat. Heterogeneity (I2) and publication bias (Harbord’s small-study effects) were formally tested.Results 25 trials, including 26 610 participants with 3464 injuries, were analysed. The overall effect estimate on injury prevention was heterogeneous. Stratified exposure analyses proved no beneficial effect for stretching (RR 0.963 (0.846–1.095)), whereas studies with multiple exposures (RR 0.655 (0.520–0.826)), proprioception training (RR 0.550 (0.347–0.869)), and strength training (RR 0.315 (0.207–0.480)) showed a tendency towards increasing effect. Both acute injuries (RR 0.647 (0.502–0.836)) and overuse injuries (RR 0.527 (0.373–0.746)) could be reduced by physical activity programmes. Intention-to-treat sensitivity analyses consistently revealed even more robust effect estimates.
Conclusions Despite a few outlying studies, consistently favourable estimates were obtained for all injury prevention measures except for stretching. Strength training reduced sports injuries to less than 1/3 and overuse injuries could be almost halved.

Analysis By Dr. Mark Rathjen, PT, DPT, CSCS

What? Does exercise decrease the risk of injuries in Athletes?

Who? 610 participants with 3464 injuries, over 25 trials

What did they Find? Both acute injuries (RR 0.647 (0.502–0.836)) and overuse injuries (RR 0.527 (0.373–0.746)) could be reduced by physical activity programmes. Intention-to-treat sensitivity analyses consistently revealed even more robust effect estimates. Strength training reduced sports injuries to less than 1/3 and overuse injuries could be almost halved.

Why does this matter? In terms of scientific research, a meta analysis report is the highest level of powered study that analyzes dozens of studies pertaining to the subject manner. A summation is garnered from the data, and is well respected to have significant clinic findings. The result is a conjecture that is both powerful and accurate and accepted as fact. This study quantifies the fact that resistance training decreased sports related injuries and overuse injuries by 33/50% respectively.

Is that significant to you? It should be! reducing rates of injuries by 50% is astounding and proper resistance training for sports is the new gold standard for injury reduction. This is much more of any effect of pre exercise stretching and warmups by 2-3x fold. Lifting weights is not just for strength athletes, its for ALL athletes

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