This document summarizes musculoskeletal injuries in boxing and wrestling players in the Hisar region of India. It reports that the one-year prevalence of injuries in boxing players was 46% and in wrestling players was 44%. The most common injury sites in boxing were the wrist/hand and knee/leg, while in wrestling they were the knee/leg, upper back, and lower back. Males had a slightly higher reported injury prevalence than females in both sports. Upper limb injuries were more common in boxing, while lower limb injuries were more frequent in wrestling. The study had some limitations but provides an initial overview of injury patterns.

1. MUSCULOSKELETAL INJURIES IN
BOXING AND WRESTLING PLAYERS
IN HISAR REGION
Dr KULANDAIVELAN S, MSPT, PhD,
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR (SELECTION GRADE),
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOTHERAPY,
GURU JAMBHESHWAR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
HISAR- 125001. HARYANA. INDIA
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
THIS PRESENTATION HAS BEEN UPLOADED AS A PART OF ASSIGNMENT GIVEN BY UGC-SWAYAM
COURSE “ACADEMIC WRITING” BY DR AJAY SEMALTY AND HIS TEAM, HNB GARHWAL UNIVERSITY,
SRINAGAR, GARHWAL.
DISCLAIMER: THIS PRESENTATION HAS BEEN DELIVERED IN 3RD IHFA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
SPORTS INJURIES AND REHABILITATION AT BANGALORE ON 9TH JUNE 2019.
PART OF THIS PRESENTATION PUBLISHED AS
KUMAR V, KULANDAIVELAN S, SINGH V, CHATURVEDI R, DHAKA MS, PUNIA S, KUMAR S. 2015. ONE
YEAR PREVALENCE OF MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS DURING TRAINING AMONG BOXING PLAYERS IN

2. HARYANA’S CONTRIBUTION IN CWG 2018,
GOLD COAST

3. HARYANA’S CONTRIBUTION IN ASIAN GAMES
2018, PALEMBANG
Boxing:
Amit Panghal (Gold)
Vikas Krishan Yadav (Bronze)
Wrestling:
Bajrang Punia (Gold)
Vinesh Phogat (Gold)

4. HARYANA’S CONTRIBUTION IN OLYMPICS
INDIVIDUAL MEDALS (N=17)
Name Medal Game Category Place
2008 Olympics
Vijender Singh Bronze Boxing Middle Weight Bhiwani
Sushil Kumar Bronze Wrestling Men’s Freestyle 66 Kg Sonipat
2012 Olympics
Sushil Kumar Silver Wrestling Men’s Freestyle 66 Kg Sonipat
Sania Nehwal Bronze Badminton Women Single Hisar
Gagan Narang Bronze Shooting Men 10m Air Rifle Panipat
Yogeshwar Dutt Bronze Wrestling Men’s Freestyle 60 Kg Sonipat
2016 Olympics
Sakshi Malik Bronze Wrestling Women’s Freestyle 58 Kg Rohtak

5. OBJECTIVES
• To see the one year prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in Boxing and
Wrestling players in Hisar region
• To see the gender difference in musculoskeletal pain in Boxing and Wrestling
players in Hisar region
• To see the pattern of injuries in Boxing and Wrestling players in Hisar region
• To see the diagnosis pattern in top two/three sites in Boxing and Wrestling
players in Hisar region

6. METHODOLOGY
Study Type: Cross sectional Survey study, Retrospective model
Selected Games: Boxing and Wrestling players
Sample Size: the total number of players selected was 207, in which Boxing players were
105 (both male and female) and Wrestling players were 102 (both male and female).
Data collection sites:
data was collected from
SAI Giri Center, HAU, Hisar;
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Stadium, Umra;
Seth. Chhaju Ram Law College, Hisar (Boxing only)
Mahavir Stadium, Hisar (Wrestling only)

7. METHODOLOGY (CON…)
Questionnaire:
Modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire contains one full body diagram
in order to understand by illiterate players. Injury information was collected as:
Anatomical Site of Injury (Head, Neck, Shoulder and Arm, Elbow and Forearm, Wrist and
Hand, Back, Hip and Thigh, Knee and Leg, Ankle and Foot) and Category of Injury
(Sprain, Strain, Fracture, Dislocation and other injuries); whether player contacted
physician or physiotherapist for treatment.
Operational definition:
Injury was defined as “Any pain that prevents the player to stop playing/practicing,
prevent them to practice or play games in subsequent days (at least 3 days); it may also
lead the players to contact physician or physiotherapists for getting treatment for that
pain”.
Statistical analysis:
All results were analyzed manually using MS Office 2011 (microsoft excel) and were
expressed as prevalence rate of injury, type of injury

8. Sports Gender Anthropometric Character Range (Minimum-Maximum) Mean ± SD
Boxing
(n=105)
Males
(n=73)
Age (in years) 13.0 to 31.0 16.26±3.13
Height (in cm) 140.0 to 184.0 164.58±11.90
Weight (in Kg) 38.0 to 89.5 56.05±9.93
BMI 16.61 to 27.02 20.65±2.46
Females
(n=32)
Age (in years) 13.0 to 31.0 18.38±4.69
Height (in cm) 152.0 to 176.0 159.81±7.24
Weight (in Kg) 45.0 to 82.0 56.91±9.40
BMI 16.79 to 34.15 22.47±4.62
Wrestlin
g
(n=102)
Males
(n=88)
Age (in years) 12.0 to 40.0 17.79±3.86
Height (in cm) 147.0 to 182.0 168.18±8.01
Weight (in Kg) 42.0 to 96.0 61.05±10.98
BMI 14.4 to 29.0 21.50±2.98
Females
(n=14)
Age (in years) 13.0 to 25.0 17.39±3.35
Height (in cm) 150.0 to 165.0 159.28±4.06
Weight (in Kg) 42.0 to 72.0 52.86±6.92
BMI 16.4 to 27.43 20.82±2.52

9. GENDER ON SITE SPECIFIC PREVALENCE OF
INJURIES IN BOXING (N=105)
Joints Male (73) Female (32) Overall (105)
Overall 34 (46.58%) 14 (43.75%) 48 (45.71%) 95% CI 36.71%-55.23%
Head 2 (5.88%) 0 2 (4.17%)
Neck 0 (0%) 0 0
Shoulder/Arm 1 (2.94%) 2 (14.29%) OR 5.50NS
3 (6.25%) Upper Limb Injuries
26 (54.17%)Elbow/Forearm 2 (5.88%) 1 (7.15%) 3 (6.25%)
Wrist/Hand 10 (29.41%) 8 (57.14%) OR 3.20NS
18 (37.5%)
Back 5 (14.71%) OR 2.24NS 1 (7.15%) 6 (12.5%)
Hip/Thigh 2 (5.88%) 0 2 (4.17%) Lower Limb Injuries
16 (33.33%)Knee/Leg 6 (17.65%) 2 (14.29%) 8 (16.67%)
Ankle/Foot 6 (17.65%) 0 6 (12.5%)

10. GENDER DIFFERENCE IN TYPE OF INJURY
AMONG BOXING PLAYERS (N=48)
Type of Injury Males (n=34) Females (n=14) Overall (n=48)
Sprain 13 (38.24%) 6 (42.86%) 19 (39.58%)
Strain 17 (50%) 8 (57.14%) 25 (52.08%)
Fracture/Dislocation 2 (5.88%) 0 2 (4.17%)
Other Injuries 2 (5.88%) 0 2 (4.17%)

11. GENDER ON SITE SPECIFIC PREVALENCE OF
INJURY IN WRESTLING (N=102)
Joints Male (88) Female (14) Overall (102)
Overall 38 (43.18%) 7 (50%) 45 (44.12%) 95% CI 34.87%-53.79%
Head 0 (0%) 1 (14.29%) 1 (2.22%)
Neck 1 (2.63%) 0 1 (2.22%)
Shoulder/Arm 4 (10.53%) 1 (14.29%) 5 (11.11%) Upper Limb Injuries
10 (22.22%)Elbow/Forearm 2 (5.26%) 0 2 (4.44%)
Wrist/Hand 3 (7.89%) 0 3 (6.67%)
Back 12 (31.58%) 2 (28.57%) 14 (31.11%)
Hip/Thigh 2 (5.26%) 0 2 (4.44%) Lower Limb Injuries
19 (42.22%)Knee/Leg 10 (26.32%) 3 (42.86%) OR 2.10NS
13 (28.89%)
Ankle/Foot 4 (10.53%) 0 4 (8.89%)

12. GENDER SPECIFIC PREVALENCE OF TYPE OF
INJURY IN WRESTLING PLAYERS (N=45)
Type of Injury Male (38) Female (7) Overall (45)
Sprain 9 (23.68%) 3 (42.86%) 12 (26.67%)
Strain 21 (55.26%) 2 (28.57%) 23 (51.11%)
Fracture/Dislocation 6 (15.79%) 2 (28.57%) 8 (17.78%)
Others 2 (5.26%) 0 2 (4.44%)

13. TOP TWO SITES WITH CLASSIFICATION OF
INJURIES IN BOXING PLAYERS
Wrist/Hand Injuries (n=18)
Sprain (n=11) Strain (n=6) Fracture (n=1)
Knuckle Injury (7) Wrist Injury (3) Right Thumb
MCP Joint Injury (3) Left Thumb Pain (2)
Right Wrist Sprain (1) Left Middle Finger Pain (1)
Knee/Leg Injuries (n=8)
Strain (n=4) Sprain (n=3) Patellofemoral Pain (n=1)
Shin Pain (2) Medial Meniscal Injury (2) Left Side
Hamstring Strain (2) Bilateral ACL Strain (1)

14. TOP THREE SITES WITH CLASSIFICATION OF
INJURIES IN WRESTLING PLAYERS
Knee/Leg Injuries (n=13)
Sprain (n=8) Strain (n=2) Patello-femoral Pain (n=2) Knee Infection (n=1)
Meniscal Injury (5) Hamstring Injury (2)
MCL Injury (3)
Upper Back/Chest Injuries (n=8)
Fracture (n=5) Dislocation (n=3)
Clavicle (3) Rib Dislocation (3)
Rib (2)
Low Back Injuries (n=6)
Low Back Pain (n=5) Sacroiliac Joint Pain (n=1)

15. LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE SUGGESTIONS
• Present study lacks methodological rigor- it used convenient sampling technique where
investigator selected sample according to his ease of data collection. Males, females ratio is
skewed (boxing 2.5:1 and wrestling 7:1)
• Sample heterogeneity- Age, level of play, experience in training are not standardized leading
to data contamination.
• Retrospective study like this has ‘recall bias’- where subject may forget minor but significant
injuries.
• Musculoskeletal injuries were assessed at the end of year and therapist might have
misdiagnosed and classify the type of injury wrongly.
• Future research should be done in prospective manner so that type of injury can be classified
more correctly.
• Future research is needed into the mechanism of injury, situations that lead to injury, and the
effectiveness of protective equipment.
• Future research can differentiate injury acquired in training and match/competition and their
relation to return to play

16. CONCLUSIONS
• Overall one year prevalence of injuries in boxing is 46% and in wrestling it is
44%.
• Wrist/hand, knee/leg and ankle/foot are three the most common site of injury
in boxing.
• Knee/leg, upper back and lower back are the three common site of injury in
wrestling.
• According to gender, prevalence is marginally higher among males in boxing,
whereas marginally higher among females in wrestling.
• Comparing boxing and wrestling, upper limb injuries are common in boxing,
whereas lower limb injuries are common in wrestling.

17. SUGGESTED READINGS
• Bromley SJ, Drew MK, Talpey S, et al. A systematic review of
prospective epidemiological research into injury and illness in
Olympic combat sport. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(1):8-16.
doi:10.1136/ bjsports-2016-097313
• Roger E. Thomas & Kamran Zamanpour. lnjuries in wrestling:
systematic review. The Physician and Sportsmedicine.
2018;46(2):168-96. DOI: 10.1080/00913847.2018.1445406
•

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