October 2

Experience in wrestling can be a pain

Research suggests that the incidence and severity of wrestling injuries increase with age and experience. No wonder U.S. 97-kg freestyle wrestler Melvin Douglas had to think long and hard before coming out of retirement for an Olympic comeback at age 37.

Injuries to high school wrestlers occur at a rate of about six per 1000 exposures, according to research from the Cincinnati Sportsmedicine Research and Education Foundation, which also found that injured wrestlers were on average five months older and had a 32% higher level of experience than noninjured wrestlers. In their series of 458 male wrestlers from 14 different high schools, injuries occurred most often in the shoulder (24%) and knee (17%). The findings were published in the July-August issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

More than half of the injuries occurred during practice rather than competition, with 68% of practice injuries taking place during hard wrestling (not surprisingly, only 9% occurred during conditioning). This wouldn't come as news to Sammie Henson, Douglas's diminutive teammate. Henson, a gold-medal contender in the 54-kg class, tore a groin muscle in practice four weeks before the 1999 World Trials. He still competed in the trials but lost in the semifinals.

As athletes progress through college, the incidence of injury increases further, according to a 1998 study from the University of Wisconsin, which found a rate of 9.6 injuries per 1000 exposures using National Collegiate Athletic Association data for more than 800,000 athlete-exposures. Only football had a higher injury rate.

Consistent with the Cincinnati study, the Wisconsin researchers found that the most common sites of injury were the knee, shoulder, and ankle. Sprains, strains, and contusions were seen most often. Only 6.3% of injuries needed surgery, but 37.6% required the athlete to take at least a week off from wrestling. The group's findings were published in 1998 in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Douglas's years and experience are catching up with him. Two weeks before the Olympic Trials he aggravated a knee injury from a childhood bicycling accident, and research from Sweden suggests that he may have even more pain in his future.

In a study of 32 retired wrestlers and 13 retired heavyweight lifters, investigators from Gothenburg University found that the lifetime incidence of low back pain was higher among the wrestlers (59%) than the weight lifters (23%) or a control group (31%). They also found that old fractures -- associated with higher levels of pain -- were more common in the wrestling group. The results were published in 1988 in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

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