Can AI Predict Sports Injuries Before They Happen?

Sports massage Maidenhead

There are many benefits associated with keeping fit and active, enjoying playing sports of all varieties, everything from improving cardiovascular health and flexibility to building muscle, supporting bone health and reducing the risk of serious health conditions like cancer, diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

Unfortunately, however, all sports carry an inherent risk of physical injury, whether that’s through an incident while playing, poor form, overuse or not warming up properly.

Being mindful of the potential for injury is important, but they can be very difficult to predict and prevent… until now, perhaps.

New research by a team of experts at Bangor University is now ongoing into the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and injury prevention in rugby, a sport in which non-contact leg injuries account for almost 50 per cent of all player absences in rugby union.

For this study, over 1,700 weekly data points were collected from full-time male rugby players over two seasons, including body weight, strength and cardio fitness, past injuries, changes in training intensity and muscle/joint performance, The Conversation reports.

This data was then fed into an AI system to identify complex patterns and find risk factor combinations associated with players sustaining leg injuries. The end result? The model predicted severe non-contact injuries with 82 per cent accuracy. It also predicted less severe leg injuries with 74 per cent accuracy.

It was concluded that an early-warning AI system could prove particularly useful for coaches, providing them with vital insights as to which players might be particularly at risk… and the model could apply to all other sports where data is collected, as well.

Already got a sports injury?

If you’ve already hurt yourself on the rugby pitch or, indeed, anywhere else, get in touch with the Clear Physio team today to find out how we can help get you back to fighting fit and doing what you love once more.