Injury Prevention in Physical Education Teacher Education Students: Lessons from Sports. A Systematic Review

Sports injuries are a considerable problem in physical education teacher education (PETE) students. They have important consequences and might affect the attitude that PETE students have towards sports and physical activity. Up to now, several efficacious injury prevention programmes have been developed for various sports disciplines. There is a high probability that several components of those prevention programmes are transferable to the PETE environment. A systematic review was conducted to identify intrinsic components that are potentially applicable in PETE programmes. The databases PubMed and Web of Science were searched for articles published between 1974 and 1 February 2015. The systematic study selection resulted in the inclusion of 59 studies. Seventeen studies were rated as having a low risk of bias. Efficacy of the applied programme was proven in 11 of these. Analysis led to guidelines for an injury prevention programme for PETE students. A multiple preventive intervention should include an awareness programme, functional strength training, stretching, warm-up, core stability and dynamic stability exercises of the lower limbs. This multiple preventive intervention preferably has a gradual build-up, makes use of no or only simple materials and is executed around three times per week.