Breast Injury in USA Female Water Polo Athletes

Abstract

Objective: Water polo is a very physical and aggressive sport and injury data for male water polo athletes is well established. However, the data is scarce for women. Given that a recent study identified that almost half (47.9%) of female collegiate athletes experienced a breast injury during participation in basketball, soccer, volleyball, and softball, it warrants the investigation of the prevalence of female breast injuries during participation in water polo. The purpose of this study was to report the prevalence and reporting of breast injury during participation on the USA Women’s Water Polo Team. Design: Descriptive research design utilizing an anonymous cross-sectional questionnaire consisting of 12 questions about various aspects of any sports related breast injury history. This was emailed to the 18 members of the USA Women’s Water Polo Team. Setting/participants: 18 members of USA Women’s Water Polo Team were emailed a questionnaire, 16 responded. Results: Response rate was 88.9%. Exactly half (8/16) of the athletes reported that they sustained a breast injury, and 62.5% (5/8) of those that had an injury indicated having at least 6 or more injuries to their breast. None of the women informed a medical professional about their breast injury. Conclusions: The prevalence of breast injuries in elite female water polo players in this study (50%) and lack of informing medical professionals about their injuries is consistent with previously published breast injury rates in a study of collegiate athletes. These findings should be used to heighten the awareness of the prevalence of breast injury in female athletes. Continued research into possible sequela of these injuries is warranted.