Abstract
Female collegiate athletes face unique physiological, biomechanical, and socio-cultural factors that may increase their risk of repeated injuries. While first-time injuries have recently been better documented, less is known about whether subsequent injuries involve the same or different types. This gap limits the development of evidence-based prevention strategies that account for injury recurrence patterns in female athletes. PURPOSE: To quantify the prevalence of multiple injuries in female collegiate athletes, assess patterns of injury recurrence versus variation, and examine whether injury accumulation follows a progressive trajectory beyond a single occurrence. METHODS: A retrospective cohort analysis (2021–2024) was conducted using electronic medical records from a convenience sample of Division I NCAA female collegiate basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and volleyball players (N = 171; Mage = 19.85, SD = 1.35). Of these, 145 sustained at least one injury and were included in the analysis. Athletes were classified into single-injury and multiple-injury groups based on injury count, regardless of type. All statistical analyses were performed in MATLAB. RESULTS: Among the injured athletes, 77.2% (112/145) sustained ≥2 injuries, a significantly higher proportion than an expected baseline of 50% (z = 6.56, p < .001, Cohen’s h = 0.59). This suggests that once an athlete sustains more than one injury, the likelihood of accumulating additional injuries increases sharply, supporting a threshold effect. Among those multiple-injury athletes, 66.1% (74/112) sustained different types of injuries, while 33.9% experienced the same injury type multiple times. The most frequent injury types among multiple-injury athletes were illness (37.3%), back injuries (29.4%), contusions (29.0%), and muscle strains (26.2%). CONCLUSION: Most multiple-injury athletes sustain different types of injuries, indicating that injury recurrence is largely driven by overlapping risk factors rather than repeated exposure to a single vulnerable area. Once past a single injury, athletes face a compounding risk of accumulating additional, varied injuries, which complicates recovery and long-term performance sustainability. A comprehensive approach that integrates multiple disciplines (e.g., sports medicine, strength and conditioning, biomechanics, sport science, physical therapy, sport psychology, nutrition) to identify and address interconnected physiological, psychological, and environmental factors may be critical for mitigating injury cycles and supporting long-term athletic success in female collegiate sports.
Recommended Citation
Rivera, Jeffrey; Mentele, Paul; Wells, Nathan; Smith, Xavier; Rimer, Ernest; and Stamatis, Andreas
(2025)
"Breaking the Injury Cycle: The Role of Comprehensive Integration in Injury Recurrence Among Female Collegiate Athletes,"
International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2:
Iss.
17, Article 131.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss17/131
Included in
Health and Physical Education Commons, Medical Education Commons, Sports Sciences Commons
