Investigation of the relationship between risk of injury and posture in wrestlers

This study was planned to investigate the relationship between the risk of injury and posture in wrestlers.The study included 68 male (30 greco-roman and 38 freestyle) wrestlers with a mean age of 20.2±4.6 years. The spine posture and flexibility of the athletes were measured during standing position with the Idiag M360® brand Spinal Mouse (SM), while the overall body posture was measured from the anterior and lateral sides using the New York Posture Analysis Method (NYPAM). Injury risks of the athletes were evaluated by Functional Movement Screen (FMS) which was consisting of seven basic movement patterns. As a result of the study, there was a weak correlation between deep squat among FMS sub-parameters and lumbar curvature among SM sub-parameters and NYPAY total score (ρ=-0.265 - 0.297; p<0.05). There was a significant relationship between active straight-leg raise which is one of the FMS sub-parameters and thoracic curvature and postural competence which are SM sub-parameters (ρ=-0.316 - 0.354; p<0.05). In addition, there was a significant weak correlation between shoulder mobility and rotation stability that are FMS sub-parameters and SM sub-parameters which are spine mobility and postural competence (ρ=-0.262 - 0.372; p<0.05). We found that there was a weak to moderate correlation between NYPAY sub-parameters that are abdominal, chest, foot, shoulder and head postures and all FMS sub-parameters exclude in the rotation stability (ρ=0.329 - -0.504; p<0.05). There was no relationship between FMS total score and SM and NYPAY total score while the correlation seen between the sub-parameters (p>0.05). Postural deviations in wrestlers especially in the columna vertebralis disrupt the biomechanical alignment of the upper and lower extremities, causing the joints to fail to perform arthrokinematic and osteokinematic movements at the appropriate angles, increasing the risk of injury to the wrestlers. In conclusion, evaluating and monitoring general body postures of wrestlers shows that physiotherapists will play a protective role in the detection and prevention of injuries. Keywords: Functional movement screen, Injury risk, Posture, Wrestling