Objective: To determine injury types, natures, anatomical
locations, recommended amount of time missed, and injury
rates during weightlifting training.

Design and Seffing: We collected and analyzed medical
injury records of resident athletes and during numerous training
camps to generate an injury profile.

Subjects: Elite US male weightlifters who were injured
during training at the United States Olympic Training Centers.
Measurements: United States Olympic Training Center
weightlifting injury reports from a 6-year period were analyzed.
Data were expressed as percentages and were analyzed via x2
tests.

Results: The back (primarily low back), knees, and shoulders
accounted for the most significant number of injuries (64.8%).
The types of injuries most prevalent in this study were strains
and tendinitis (68.9%). Injuries of acute (59.6%) or chronic
(30.4%) nature were significantly more common than recurrent
injuries and complications. The recommended number of train-
ing days missed for most injuries was 1 day or fewer (90.5%).
Injuries to the back primarily consisted of strains (74.6%). Most
knee injuries were tendinitis (85.0%). The majority of shoulder
injuries were classified as strains (54.6%). Rates of acute and
recurring injuries were calculated to be 3.3 injuries/1 000 hours
of weightlifting exposure.

Conclusions: The injuries typical of elite weightlifters are
primarily overuse injuries, not traumatic injuries compromising
joint integrity. These injury pattems and rates are similar to
those reported for other sports and activities.

Key Words: snatch, clean and jerk, resistance exercise,
strains, tendinitis

nice, dimas/boevski both have had some serious knee surgeries, they are top echelon elite.. i'd like to see some injury profiles for elite lifters, during career and after.. i mean just from what i've seen, plenty of them are getting knee surgeries.

pc