Prevalence, Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies of Injuries Among Amateur Athletes in India

Background: Amateur sports participation has grown substantially across India over the past two decades, coinciding with a rise in sports-related injuries. Unlike professional athletes, amateur players frequently lack access to qualified coaching, appropriate protective equipment, and sports medicine facilities, placing them at disproportionate risk. Objectives: This systematic review synthesises evidence from five peer-reviewed Indian studies to examine the prevalence, anatomical distribution, risk factors, and prevention strategies of injuries among amateur athletes in India. Methods: A structured search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar and the Cochrane Library was conducted. Studies published from 2016 to 2025, focusing on sports injuries in Indian amateur, recreational or student athletes, were included. Results: Sports injury prevalence among Indian amateurs ranged from 18.4% to 73.4%, with lower limb injuries accounting for 57%–61% of all injuries. Key risk factors included inadequate warm-up, poor technique, absence of formal training, previous injury, age, gender and sport type. Contact sports such as football, kabaddi and wrestling demonstrated the highest injury rates. Conclusions: Comprehensive, population-specific injury prevention programs, structured warm-up protocols, improved sports medicine infrastructure and regionalised surveillance systems are urgently needed to protect amateur athletes across India.