Ryan Ford and I published Parkour Strength Training at the beginning of 2016 to ignite a conversation about what it takes to be lifelong practitioner of our sport. Drawing on Ryan’s coaching career, the book discussed the strength, mobility, and joint preparation needed to keep an athlete injury-free.

Yet, besides that writing, there is little published on injury prevention for our community. Finding academic information about parkour injuries, rates, risk factors, or how they occurred is a practice in futility. A study came out of Brazil in 2014, but only 91 individuals were sampled. The conclusions were that age and the duration of a training session were the main variables associated with injuries. It also concluded that more studies were required to develop a more comprehensive prevention strategy.

To that end, perhaps you heard about the survey conducted by Dr. Lafe Harris and myself this past summer. The questionnaire was issued IRB approval and we had a turnout of over 1700 consenting respondents.

From height and weight, number of years training, sex, and prior fitness level, we collected a massive amount of information. Cleaning and organizing the data has taken some time, but we are now in the process of submitting it for academic review. Because the results are still unpublished, we are limited in how much we can disclose at this point.

Nonetheless, we are eager get the results out to everyone as soon as possible. The bullet points below offer a quick summary of our findings. Understand that this is a superficial overview, with more details to follow upon publication.

Survey Summary

• The vast majority of respondents were men, under the age of 35.
• Almost 4/5 of them had an injury that kept them from training parkour in the past year.
• Most injuries resolved in less than 2 weeks, with a much smaller fraction causing impairment that lasted over 6 weeks.
• The injuries were more likely to be sustained while outside or training alone, than indoors or with a group.
• The ankle, knee, and foot were the body regions most frequently injured.
• Sprains/strains and contusion/bruises accounted for the majority of recorded injuries.
• A sprain/strain/tear of the ankle (including the Achilles) was the most common reported injury by individual response count.
• The foot, wrist, and ankle were the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd most common regions to experience a fracture.
• The knee was the most commonly reported bruised/contused body part.
• Landing was the most frequently recorded cause of injuries, followed by falling, and impact with an obstacle.
• Over 1/3 of respondents said that they have experienced a non-traumatic injury, such as a tendonitis or similar syndrome.
• The knee was the most common joint to suffer from a non-acute injury.

Points to Remember

Whether you are a solo practitioner or the coach of many athletes, a few take-homes should jump out:

1. The environment and setting where you practice is important. Training outside or alone presents more risks than indoors or with a group.
2. Landing, falling, and passing obstacles with grace are essential skills. High loads and harsh impacts don’t make for a happy body
3. Parkour athletes need better methods to protect their ankles and Achilles from injury.
4. Like every sport, parkour has its own collection of cumulative and overuse injuries. Prehab work must be part any strength and conditioning program, especially for your knees.

As we dig deeper into the data, new insights are bound surface. Slicing the sample according to age, gender, and experience, should provide a deeper level of understanding.

One theme that stood out was that many people said parkour actually helped them avoid injuries. That is a pretty cool, don’t you think?

Dr. Harris and I are interested to hear your thoughts about this topic. What additional research questions would you like to see addressed? Are our findings congruent with your own experience?

Finally, if you would like to be notified once the official results are published, please add your name to the email list here.

Injuries often seem unavoidable. Yet, when you know what the most common types of injuries are in your sport, you have the power to adjust your risk-taking accordingly.

It was from that mindset that I wanted to create a survey to explore the types of injuries that parkour athletes face.

As of today, 239 people have submitted their responses to the Survey Monkey link I put out on social media.  (I’m grateful to American Parkour, Ryan Ford, Revolution Parkour, and the Portland Parkour Facebook community for helping to spread the word!)

I had a lot of feedback about the design of the survey, with emphasis on the fact that you should have been able to select more than one answer, and that some options weren’t even listed. Chalk it up to my  inexperience with survey design. Given the opportunity to redo it, I would have enabled multiple selections and allowed free text for some of the questions

Here is summary of the responses for each of the 10 questions, followed up with a bit of analysis at the end:

1. Have you experienced a parkour-related injury in the past 12 months?

YES: 85.5 %

NO: 14.5%

2. How would you describe the injury?

Traumatic (resulting from a specific accident/fall, etc.): 74.2%

Cumulative (chronic, developing over time): 25.8%

3. What body part was injured?

Head, neck or upper back: 5.7%

Shoulder: 6.8%

Elbow, wrist or hand: 18.2%

Low back: 6.3%

Hip or pelvis: 3.6%

Knee: 20.8%

Ankle or foot: 38.5%

4. What was the nature of the injury?

Joint sprain: 23.2%

Muscle strain or tear: 19.1%

Fracture: 5.7% (11 people)

Dislocation: 2.6%

Tendonitis or bursitis: 9.8%

Nerve injury: 2.1%

Contusion or bruise: 24.2%

Other: 13.4%

5. What level of medical intervention was required?

None: 72.5%

Emergency Department: 4.7%

Surgery: 1.6% (3 people)

Physical therapy: 10.9%

Chiropractic: 6.2%

Multiple: 4.1%

6. If the injury was traumatic, how did it occur?

While running/sprinting: 2.9%

Fall (during precision jump or vault): 35.8%

Dropping from a height: 16.2%

On bars (lache, brachiating): 3.5%

Performing acrobatics or freerunning: 23.1%

While strength training: 4.6%

Other: 13.9%

7. In your opinion, what could have prevented the injury?

Improved technique: 31.3%

More training: 10.9%

No hesitation: 6.3%

Better strength: 7.8%

More flexibility: 8.3%

Better spatial awareness: 17.7%

Freak accident: 17.7%

8. How have you had to modify your training since the injury?

Not currently training (still recovering): 8.3%

Use of a brace or strap: 10.4%

Shorter training episodes: 1.6%

Less intense movements: 10.9%

Cautious of the injury: 31.1%

Feeling fine (no modification to routine): 37.8%

9. What “tools” have you used to recover?

Pain killers: 5.2%

Icing: 12.5%

Rest: 31.3%

Compression (ace wrap, sleeves): 9.9%

Mobility drills: 7.3%

Stretching: 20.3%

Targeted strength training: 13.5%

10. How would you grade your knowledge of injury prevention and recovery, as it relates to parkour?

Excellent: 12.8%

Very good: 33.5%

Good: 36.9%

Fair: 13.8%

Poor: 3.0%

My Commentary

• Over 85% of respondents reported a parkour-related injury in the past year!  That’s a huge number, and perhaps related to selection bias, meaning that people with an injury were more likely to take the survey than the non-injured. Either way, it should draw attention to the fact that injuries abound in parkour, and we should be mindful of how to avoid getting hurt.
• The majority of injuries were traumatic, involved the leg (knee, ankle, feet), and resulted from a fall or dropping from a height. Not much of a surprise here. Any time high velocity is involved, the risk of tissue damage is greater during an accident. Falls or dropping from a height, by definition involve the acceleration due to gravity, thus they can result in significant tissue disruption, like the sprains, strains and contusions, which were the most frequently reported injuries. This reinforces the need to practice the art of falling, and limit your height drops. I recommend following Amos Rendao’s YouTube channel Parkour Ukemi, for advice on falling and rolling techniques.
• 13% of injury types were described as “other.”  My guess is that people in the “other” category suffered from cuts/lacerations and concussions, but I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments.
• Over 75% of the injuries reported could have been prevented with: improved technique, more training, increased strength, better flexibility, and heightened spatial awareness. This is a really important take-home message. All of the conditioning and training that you do can have a large impact on whether or not you get hurt. It emphasizes the need to dedicate time to strength training, balance work, stretching, and practicing the basic movements as part of your weekly routine. Dedicate too much time to learning new skills and you place yourself at greater risk of injury, than if you had a more balanced training regimen. 
• 15% of respondents noted only “fair” or “poor” awareness of injury prevention and recovery techniques. If you find yourself in this category, it’s essential that you take steps to search out instructors or mentors to help you learn how to avoid getting hurt. By being proactive in your approach to prevention, I’m confident that you can decrease your risk of parkour injuries.

Thanks again to everyone who participated in the survey.

Please leave your comments below.

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