Relationship between incidence and causes of sport injuries and its costs in Iranian premier league weightlifters

Weightlifting can be considered as a resistance sport with common injuries that needs to special skeletalo-muscular adaptation. The aim of this research was to study the relationship between sport injuries incidence and causes and its financial costs in Iranian premier league weightlifters. 100 weightlifters in the 2012 weightlifting league with a mean age 25/54±2/30 years and 8/91±2/26 years of sport background were selected as statistical sample. All weightlifters of the league were selected as statistical sample. Data of research during two last years were collected by researcher through a questionnaire that modified by researcher based on Fuller and et al (2006) injury questionnaire. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire was proved by expertise, and Cronbach›s alpha 0.87 respectively. Information about costs was collected by a check list of cost registration. The data was analyzed by using statistical descriptive and Pearson correlation coefficient at p≤0.05. The results showed that the incidence of the injuries was as: upper extremity %38.92, the lower extremity %0.42 and at head, faceand neck %6.82. Moreover, the lower extremity strain was the most common injury as %24.79, but the highest cost was scored for the knee injury about 11000 dollars. No significant relationship was found between injury cost and incidence of injury in upper extremity and all organs, however, the relationship between injury cost with incidence of injury in lower extremity was significant (r=-0. 57, p=0.0001). The results also showed a significant relationship between injuries incidence with non-using protective belt (r=-0.13, p=0.04), and also with no warming up (r=-0.23, p=0.03) before exercises in the upper extremity. Moreover, the results showed a significant relationship between the injuries incidence and non-using knee pads (r=-0.19, p=0.02), and belt (r= 0.29, p=0.01) and no warming up (r=-0.23, p= 0.04) before exercise in the lower extremities. Applying a preventive strategies including special physical fitness program for weightlifters, adequate warming up, stretching program, use of protective device as belt and knee brace could have a important role to reduce the direct and indirect costs of them.