njury patterns in a large sample of middle-aged and older adults.As a pilot study of activity and injury patterns in middle-aged adults, data were collected monthly for 6 months from 25 regularly exercising adults (19 male, 6 female) aged 43-70 years (mean 54.0 yr). Each subject completed a daily exercise log noting type, duration and intensity of exercise, and distance covered (if appropriate). Any injuries or illnesses causing restriction of normal activity were recorded on separate check-off forms. Reports were received each of the 6 months from all subjects. The subjects accumulated 3209 exercise sessions, totaling 2631 hrs. The predominant activities were running (2128 sessions; 1780 hrs; 19,638 km), weightlifting (357 sessions; 181 hrs), walking (228 sessions; 195 hrs; 1064 km) and cycling (109 sessions; 78 hrs; 1992 km). All other exercise activities (e.g., tennis, swimming, rowing, water running) totaled 388 sessions and 397 hrs. The subjects averaged 4.0 hrs/week of exercise in 4.9 sessions/week of 49 min/session. Two-thirds of the sessions involved running, and 21 subjects ran regularly. These subjects ran an average of 3.9 times/week, 50.2 min/session, 38.2 km/week, 9.3 km/session at 5:24/km pace. While running was the predominant activity in this sample, each subject participated regularly in an average of 2.2 different exercise activities, and participated at least once in an average of 3.4 different activities during the period of this study. There were 30 time-loss injuries attributed to exercise in this sample, 23 involving the lower extremities. One-third of the total injuries involved the knee. There were 9.3 injuries/1,000 exercise sessions or 11.4 injuries/1,000 hrs of exercise. Each injury lasted an average of 10.7 days before return to unrestricted activity. However, many injuries resulted in modification of activity (e.g., decreased frequency, distance, pace, or doing alternative activities) rather than complete r...
