The awareness of injury prevention programmes is insufficient among French- and German-speaking sports medicine communities in Europe

Thomas Tischer, Géraldine Martens*, Jan Cabri, Patricia Thoreux, Philippe Tscholl, Pascal Edouard, Suzanne Leclerc, Sébastien Le Garrec, François Delvaux, Jean Louis Croisier, Jean François Kaux, Didier Hannouche, Christoph Lutter, Romain Seil

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose: Evaluate the current state of sports injury prevention perception, knowledge and practice among sports medicine professionals located in Western Europe and involved in injury prevention. Methods: Members of two different sports medicine organizations (GOTS and ReFORM) were invited to complete a web-based questionnaire (in German and in French, respectively) addressing perception, knowledge and implementation of sports injury prevention through 22 questions. Results: 766 participants from a dozen of countries completed the survey. Among them, 43% were surgeons, 23% sport physicians and 18% physiotherapists working mainly in France (38%), Germany (23%) and Belgium (10%). The sample rated the importance of injury prevention as “high” or “very high” in a majority of cases (91%), but only 54% reported to be aware of specific injury prevention programmes. The French-speaking world was characterized by lower levels of reported knowledge, unfamiliarity with existing prevention programmes and less weekly time spent on prevention as compared to their German-speaking counterparts. Injury prevention barriers reported by the respondents included mainly insufficient expertise, absence of staff support from sports organizations and lack of time. Conclusion: There is a lack of awareness regarding injury prevention concepts among sports medicine professionals of the European French- and German-speaking world. This gap varied according to the professional occupation and working country. Relevant future paths for improvement include specific efforts to build awareness around sports injury prevention. Level of evidence: Level IV.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2563-2571
Number of pages9
JournalKnee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy
Volume31
Issue number7
Early online date19 Apr 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Injury prevention
  • Professional practice
  • Sports-related injuries

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