Survey Finds Injury Affects One in Five Inactive Women in Social Sport

Injury or pain affected about one in five physically inactive women participating in social sport programs, according to a survey led by researchers at La Trobe University. The findings, published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, also identified substantial differences linked to household income and confidence in participating regularly in physical activity.

The researchers surveyed more than 1,330 physically inactive women who had taken part in social sport programs across Victoria, Australia. Social sport was defined as semi-organized, entry-level and noncompetitive sport undertaken during leisure time.

Among participants affected by injury or pain, the knee was the most frequently reported problem, cited by 39% of respondents. Lower-back complaints were reported by 30%, while 25% identified the ankle as an affected area.

Household income was associated with the likelihood of being injury-affected. Women from households earning less than $100,000 had more than three times the odds of being affected compared with women from households earning more than $200,000. Participants who lacked confidence in their ability to take part in physical activity regularly were also significantly more likely to report being affected by injury than those with high confidence.

Kiera Staley, a research fellow at La Trobe’s Center for Sport and Social Impact, said the findings position injury as both a health concern and a participation issue for inactive women entering social sport. She said programs need to account for pain and injury while allowing participants to modify activities and develop confidence.

The survey did not indicate that lower income or reduced confidence caused injury. Instead, it identified differences in how commonly injury-related barriers were reported among the women studied.

The results also suggest that injury did not always lead participants to stop physical activity entirely. More than half of the injury-affected women changed the type of sport or physical activity they undertook. Thirty-nine percent reduced the amount of activity, and 34% modified activities within their existing sport or physical activity.

The researchers linked the findings to the broader challenge of physical inactivity. The source report states that almost eight in 10 Australian adults do not meet the minimum recommended levels of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. It also cites earlier research associating women’s lower leisure-time activity with time and caregiving demands, financial constraints, limited social support and difficulty accessing suitable, inexpensive programs and facilities.

For social sport organizers, the study’s reported implications center on affordability, flexibility and ways for participants affected by pain or injury to adapt their involvement rather than withdraw altogether.