# Developing a Model of Risk Factors of Injury in Track and Field Athletes
###### Abstract  
This work aimed to develop a model to assess the likelihood of injury in track and field athletes, and to establish which factors have the greatest impact. Tests verifying their significance were also reviewed, as well as the method for selecting variables. The key element was to confirm the quality of the classification system and to test the impact of individual factors on the likelihood of injury. The survey was carried out among physically active participants who take part in track and field sporting disciplines. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.73, which can be considered an acceptable value for the survey. The seven most important factors influencing the risk of injury were selected from a group of twenty-four and were used to create the model. The [PERSON]'s R2 reached 0.630 for the logit model, which indicates a good effect of the independent variables. The data suggested that the largest factor influencing the risk of injury was the number of prior injuries. risk factors; injury risk; survey data; athletics; training; health; modeling +
Footnote †: journal: Medical  
and depends on many factors [12]. The risk of injury can, however, be assessed, and the most critical factors with the most significant influence can be determined. Injury modeling in sports was the objective of this study. According to [PERSON] et al. [13], considering injury risk factors is essential to identify injury-prone athletes and to develop injury-prevention strategies. As injury causation is usually complex, risk factors must be known by earlier intervention. There is extensive literature on the subject. Numerous studies have evaluated sports injury safety management in different types of sport [14; 15]. These studies have assessed several factors such as type of sport, gender, age, type of movement structure, and fatalities. For example, [PERSON] [16] reviewed measures useful in analyzing the risk of injuries. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [10] determined injury risk factors. In both types of research, the authors focused more on methods, which are quite similar to those considered in this work, but not on real data. The combination of established methodology and analysis of real data forms the novelty of this paper. The occurrence of injury is a result of multiple factors, which means that their classification is difficult. Some researchers [17] have analyzed injury proportions among runners. They divided the injuries into two important rating divisions: incidence proportions and prevalence rates. It seems that this is an insufficient classification, due to a large discrepancy in the proportion of injuries found between researchers. In athletics, most of the research on the occurrence of injury has been carried out on runners, including sprinters. There is little data regarding injuries in athletes of jumping and throwing events. Despite the health benefits of running [18], injuries are very common, with incidence rates ranging between 18.2% and 92.4% [19; 20; 21]. In turn, [PERSON] [17] claimed that a large differences in time-loss injury proportions exist among various running specialties; 3.2% in cross-country runners to an injury proportion of 84.9% in beginners. Another study [22] stated that about 25% of runners are injured at any given time, and about half experience an injury that takes them out of running for a period during any year. According to [PERSON] [23], higher-quality studies of risk factors for running injuries are required before conclusions can be made. This is due to the very high risk of getting injured in running activities. This high injury rate, he concluded, is between 19% and 79%, and is mainly due to differences in the definition of injury, study populations, and follow-up periods [24]. However, there are few studies that evaluate the risk of injury based on mathematical models concerning track and field events. Some models try to establish a connection between psychological background and the occurrence of sports injuries [13].