Prevention and Management of Physical and Social Environment Risk Factors for Sports-Related Injuries

An understanding of the environmental factors that contribute to injury risk will allow for the optimization of athletic performance and minimize morbidity. The purpose of this review is to discuss the physical and social environments of sport that affect injury risk, and to review the strategies that sports medicine professionals (eg, clinicians, certified athletic trainers) can implement to prevent injury. Searches using the PubMed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases were used to identify injury risk factors pertaining to the physical and social environment of athletics. Physical environmental risk factors identified include weather, air quality, playing surface, and the presence of sports medicine professionals. Social environmental factors include parents, teammates, coaches, media, policy/legislation, and sports medicine professionals. Sports medicine professionals seeking effective prevention and care strategies will benefit from (1) education about the physical and social environmental risk factors that place athletes at risk for injury and (2) a holistic approach that recognizes that physical and social factors are as important as individual risk factors in determining injury risk.