Obstacle course racing (OCR): Is it Safe?
May 28, 2023Obstacle course racing (OCR) has become a popular sport in recent years as it challenges participants' mental and physical endurance through a combination of trail running and obstacles.
There is currently only a limited amount of published work reporting injury types or rates at these events. A study by Coleby et al aimed to build on the current literature by analyzing injury rates and patterns at OCR events. The authors performed a secondary data analysis of deidentified medical charts from 33 OCR events in Canada from 2015 to 2017 was conducted. The scope of on-site care was first aid.
What did the authors learn?
A total of 1782 injuries occurred over 3 seasons from 73,366 participants, with an overall average injury rate of 2.4%; 1.0% (n = 17) of injuries required emergency medical services transport to a local emergency department, and the majority of these injuries were musculoskeletal in nature.
The most common injuries treated were lacerations and musculoskeletal-related injuries; 93.9% of the injuries were able to be treated on site.
These findings, in conjunction with the published literature, suggest that OCR medical teams should anticipate injury rates of up to 5.0% and a transportation rate of approximately 4.5% of those injuries to local emergency departments.
What does this mean for you?
The majority of injuries may be treated on site (lacerations, etc), but there is still a serious potential for life-threatening emergencies to occur. Train well and invest in appropriate attire and equipment.
