Risiko von Sportverletzungen in ambulanten Herzsportgruppen im Vergleich zu Freizeitsportgruppen Gesunder

Introduction: Rehabilitation in ambulatory heart groups has become well established in comprehensive cardiac care. The prevention of injuries is critical to the safety and efficiency of the program. Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to the ambulatory heart groups in the state of Hessen, Germany and answered by 1935/13000 (15%) patients (65.9 +/- 7.6 years, 1504/1935 (77.7%) men covering 674,000 patient exercise hours. Results: Seventy-eight of the 106 (73.6%) injuries reported occurred during games encompassing 28/106 (26.4 %) strains, 24/106 (22.6 %) bruises, 17/106 (16.0%) sprains, 11/106 (10.4%) bone fractures, 6/106 (5.7%) ruptured tendons, 8/106 (7.5%) ruptured muscles, 3/106 (2.8%) ruptured ligaments, and 9/106 (8.5%) miscellaneous. The injury risk was neither related to the cardiovascular diagnosis, the prevalence of diabetes, body mass index, previous sport experience, duration of participation in rehabilitation programs, nor to the participant's age. Patients on anticoagulants or after cardiovascular surgery had no excess risk. Gender was the only independent predictor of injuries. In men the overall incidence of injuries was higher (97/1504 [6.4%]) than in women (9/431 [2.1 %]), p < 0.0005) while the severity was higher in women (6/9 = 66.7 % vs. 22/ 97 = 22.7 % p < 0.001). The injuries were treated by elastic bandages or band-aids in 69/106 (65.1 %), by splinting in 4/106 (3.8%), by local injections in 4/106 (3.8%), by massages in 3/106 (2.8%), and by others in 26/106 (24.5%). Five of the 106 (4.7 %) injuries required hospitalization. Conclusion: The traurnatologic risk in the rehabilitation of cardiovascular outpatients is associated with a low incidence of injuries.