Overuse injuries in triathletes. A study of the 1986 Seafair Triathlon.

A questionnaire was mailed to 600 to 657 finishers in the Seafair Triathlon (July 20, 1986); 45% of those polled returned the questionnaire. Over the preceding year, 49% of the respondents suffered a training-related injury serious enough to cause them to stop training for at least 1 day, seek medical care, or take medicine, Seventy percent of the injuries were due solely or partly to running. The knee, shoulder, and ankle were most frequently affected. Female triathletes and those more than 40 years of age showed a similar injury incidence and distribution. Elite triathletes averaged more miles per week in each sport than the athletes as a whole and showed a higher incidence of injury (60%), although this was not a significant difference. Higher weekly swimming, cycling, and running mileages did not lead to a higher incidence of injury. The likelihood of injury was independent of age, sex, body mass index, mileage per week, or other training factors evaluated in the study.