BACKGROUND Achilles injuries are devastating injuries, especially for competitive athletes. No studies have examined the outcomes of Achilles injuries in NCAA athletes. Therefore, a better characterization and understanding of the epidemiology is crucial. METHODS Achilles injuries across 16 sports among NCAA men and women during the 2004-2005 to 2013-2014 academic years were analyzed using the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program (NCAA-ISP). Achilles tendon injury rate (IR) per 100,000 athlete-exposures (AEs), operative rate, annual injury rate trends, reinjury rates, mechanism of injury, in-season status (pre/regular/post season), and time loss distributions were compiled and calculated. A sub-analysis of comparing gender and injury mechanism was also performed for both all injuries and severe injuries. RESULTS Overall, N = 255 Achilles injuries were identified with an injury rate (IR) of 2.17 (per 100,000 AEs). These injuries occurred most often in women's gymnastics (IR = 16.73), men's basketball (IR = 4.26), and women's basketball (IR = 3.32), respectively. N = 52 injuries were classified as severe injuries which have higher median time loss (48 days) and higher operative rate (65.4%). For severe Achilles injuries, female athletes had higher operative (77.8% vs. 58.8%) and higher time loss compared to male athletes (96 days vs. 48 days). Contact mechanisms were associated with a higher season-ending injury rate. CONCLUSION Overall, 20.4% of Achilles injuries were considered severe with 65.6% operative rate. About 73.1% were season-ending injuries, and the remaining athletes have a median time loss of 48 days. Severe Achilles injuries create significant impact on playing time and career for NCAA athletes.

中文翻译：

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美国大学运动员跟腱损伤的流行病学。


背景技术跟腱损伤是毁灭性的损伤，尤其是对于竞技运动员而言。尚无研究检验 NCAA 运动员跟腱损伤的后果。因此，更好地描述和理解流行病学至关重要。方法 使用 NCAA 损伤监测计划 (NCAA-ISP) 对 2004-2005 学年至 2013-2014 学年 NCAA 男女 16 项运动项目的跟腱损伤进行了分析。编制了每 100,000 名运动员暴露 (AE) 中的跟腱损伤率 (IR)、手术率、年度损伤率趋势、再损伤率、损伤机制、赛季中状态（赛季前/常规/赛季后）和时间损失分布并计算。还对所有伤害和严重伤害进行了比较性别和伤害机制的子分析。结果 总体而言，N = 255 例跟腱损伤被确定，损伤率 (IR) 为 2.17（每 100,000 例 AE）。这些损伤最常发生在女子体操（IR = 16.73）、男子篮球（IR = 4.26）和女子篮球（IR = 3.32）中。 N = 52 例损伤被归类为严重损伤，其中位时间损失较高（48 天），手术率较高（65.4%）。对于严重的跟腱损伤，与男运动员相比，女运动员的手术时间更高（77.8% vs. 58.8%），时间损失也更高（96 天 vs. 48 天）。接触机制与较高的赛季结束受伤率相关。结论 总体而言，20.4% 的跟腱损伤被认为是严重的，手术率为 65.6%。大约 73.1% 的运动员因伤而导致赛季报销，其余运动员的平均缺勤时间为 48 天。严重的跟腱损伤会对 NCAA 运动员的上场时间和职业生涯产生重大影响。