| Description |
Purpose: Risk of injury, when participating in an exercise program, is always present; however when the exercise program is poorly designed or not designed for the individual, the risk of injury increases significantly. Poorly designed exercise programs stem from individuals seeking advice for exercise from nonprofessional sources that are unable to personalize programs and monitor the individual throughout their exercise progression. Currently, the literature exploring the connection between nonprofessional exercise advice and the rate of injury sustained from exercising is scarce. The purpose of this study was to see if there is a correlation between exercise advice coming from professional (professionally certified trainers and research based media) or nonprofessional (non-research based media and uncertified nonprofessionals) sources and injuries that are sustained from exercising. Hypothesis: Higher rates of injury will result for individuals who seek out exercise advice from nonprofessional sources. Methods: Exercisers (n=280) from the University of Utah Student Life Center were surveyed. Data analysis was performed to analyze the correlations between injuries sustained in a gym setting, and nonprofessional or professional exercise advice received prior to injury, as well as descriptive statistics regarding the population. Results: Population consisted of 55 freshmen, 40 sophomores, 50 juniors, 73 seniors, 41 graduate students, 5 post-graduate students, and 11 staff or faculty members, with average age being 21.1+/-8.2 years, and the average BMI 24.2+/-3.8. Participants sought out advice from the following sources: 39.6% friends or other exercisers (8.2% injury rate), 31.7% self-programmed exercise (11.8% injury rate), 16.4% media sources (7.1% injury rate), and 12.3% from personal trainers (4.7% injury rate). |
