Discussion: Injuries in Orienteering

Anyone know a scientific study comparing the incidence of injuries in orienteering and other sports?

Stick through the leg is a common one that a lot of other sports wouldn't encounter.

I've also had a stick in the eye (fortunately it went in along the side of the eye itself and not a puncture, remarkably far, but with virtually no damage), and a stick in the ear (again, remarkably far and a pretty unsettling experience). Pretty amazing, considering the places we go and how fast we are going that there are not more serious injuries. Certainly plenty of scratches. In over 30 years only one injury bad enough to force me to abandon the course. OK, two. I thought of another one, but that was less serious.

I agree about the general absence of serious injuries while orienteering. I also had a stick in the eye...worked its way past the side of my glasses but did not puncture the eyeball. That eyeball must be a lot tougher than we think!

And of course there's the infamous 2" Kansas thorn that pierced the rubber sole, effectively nailing the shoe to this poor guy's foot!

Probably something here.

I think there was an AP discussion on a study about Lyme (and other tick-bornes) and orienteering.

Anecdotal, I know, but it certainly seems clear to me that the incidence of significant Achilles tendon injuries is MUCH higher in elite orienteering than in any other population with which I am familiar. Risk seems to rise with age and how hard you train - worse with "older" elites (30+) who still train "hard".

Achilles injuries are widespread in sports where running is involved. In Australia (also anecdotal, I know) I'd say there is a far higher incidence among runners, footballers, soccer and hockey players than amongst orienteers. On a popular running website (Cool Running Australia) there are over 40,000 views on posts concerning achilles injuries.

Were 39,900 of them from you?

There was an article about this in an old issue of Orienteering World. Anyone knows this?

Apparently you do.

I had a "stick in the eye" that resulted in a torn retina - it was if I was looking into a jar of honey. Like a mug, I kept on going and the retina flipped back into place. Luckily the optometry prof back at the Finish looked at it, said 'Go directly to Eye Hospital, do not pass go etc' (Thanks Barb !). Which I did, got it lasered back on (bloody painful too, I might say) and no real problems since apart from a few 'flashes". Now wear protective glasses religiously, ie every Sunday.

Scratched corneas are not rare - I've done it twice (back in the old days when I ran faster). Barbed wire slices are common; I've even been enmeshed in concertina wire once. But certainly sprained ankles are the most common injury. It seems to me that every event that has several hundred runners will produce at least one ankle sprain. That's why many of us tape, or better, use ankle braces like Active Ankle routinely. Broken bones (and other serious injuries) seem surprisingly rare although my wife broke her ankle at a club meet. All of which does not answer the original question!

A very small study (me) found:
Ankle, Ankle, Ankle, Stick in the forehead, Ankle

Here's a study of 32,509 ankle injuries including Orienteering.

Well done Bryan, your small study is well up to the standard of most of the injury articles in "Scientific Journal of Orienteering".

Can't help referring to an earlier study available at the same series of web pages; this time from the British Journal of Sports Medicine entitled "Orienteering Injuries". The study was done by Dr. Jean Folan, an Ajax Orienteering and Hill Running Club member with very dodgy ankles and featured an event we organised (in 1981).

Well done O-ing, one answer that was useful for the original poster. Unlike tRicky's stimulus-response keyboard blurts.

Your post doesn't contribute much either.

Anyway I'm waiting to hear back whether my latest 'problem' has come about from too many hours in the saddle, then I can compare that to all my orienteering related injuries, of which there seems to be many (mostly impact related).

I was encouraging and supporting O-ing - and teasing you!

Poo to you.

I wonder if there's ever been a study done into the probability of having to wear ankle braces versus your relative height to other orienteers.

For example:
-Fletch is 6' 15", wears ankle braces
-Tooms is 6' 27", wears ankle braces
-tRicky is a short a**e and doesn't wear ankle braces
-Doltboi on the other hand is about my height and wears them

Conclusion: probability of rolling your ankle if you're over 6 foot = 100%

This study probably needs a bit more work and a greater population.

I am 6'3", I don't wear and never wore angle braces nor I ever taped my ankles when racing even back in days when I could run really fast and I have not had an ankle injury that slowed me down.

What is a**e? Let me at least learn something usefull for next time I travel down under.

If it was abbreviated from Russian it would be "ж**а". Literal translation might differ slightly.

It is becoming really entertaining.
Let's put another shrimp on the barbie.

The bit you're missing is that Fletch and Tooms are both scarecrows, and their straw ankles aren't very strong.

New studies have shown that only 66.7% of people over 6 foot will roll their ankles enough to slow them down.

Gosh, it's a good thing we've got science on our side or we'd be totally a**ed.

Nikolay - an a**e is like a donkey but spelt differently and more provocative.

And donkeys are pretty provocative to start with.

Recent studies¹ reveal that 6 out of 10 orienteers have been provoked by a donkey.

¹ of tRicky's a**e.

another good reason for wearing ankle braces while doing orienteering down under

Useful when there are Joe Blakes around too, but not much protection against drop bears.

yurets - awww, he just wants a pat.

Only in Tasmania.

So an a**e is an over 6 feet tall, 30+ years old donkey with an ankle brace for stability, with a scratched cornea (or one eyed if unlucky) and recovering from lime.

Yep - got it in one. Just which one?