Injuries in Functional Fitness: an Updated Systematic Review

This study aimed to analyze injuries of functional fitness participants through a systematic review.A systematic search of the literature was conducted in CINAHL, Embase, Pedro, PubMed, Scopus, SportDiscus, and Web of Science, supplemented by searching in the grey literature, from 2017 to November 2020. This systematic review followed the PRISMA Guidelines and was documented in the PROSPERO Registry (CRD42020201259). Two reviewers independently extracted data including methodological (age, sex, time of practice, location, period, time frame, and completion rate) and injury (definition, diagnosis, prevalence, incidence, severity, mechanism, type, location, risk factors, and treatment) variables, as well as assessing study quality and risk of bias.Twenty-six studies were included (10,967, range: 6-3049, participants). Injury was defined fairly differently across studies. The majority of studies used a retrospective study design and the main variables reported were prevalence, body location, and associated factors of injuries. The mean prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries was 32.8%, ranging from 2.4 to 60.6%, and the injury incidence per 1000 hours ranged from 0.21 to 36. The most affected body location in the studies was the shoulder, followed by lumbar spine, and knee. Muscle, joint, and ligament/tendon injuries were the most frequently reported. The majority of studies were of moderate methodological quality. All studies were considered as high risk of bias.This review broadened the scope of previous reviews on injuries in functional fitness. There have been few investigations regarding severity, mechanism, and treatment of injuries, so further research is warranted.