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Abstract
The number of athletes over the age of 50 is increasing and the future will likely see a greater demand for means of prolonging their careers. The purpose of this review was to investigate injury prevention in older athletes by examining age-related musculoskeletal changes, the nature of sports injuries in aged people, and injury prevention methods in the general athletic population. Results have indicated that ageing leads to decreased bone density, connective tissue elasticity, and muscle mass, volume and strength. Many of these changes may be reversible to some degree with exercise. Older athletes most commonly suffer chronic overuse injuries of the knee and shoulder. Injury prevention involves minimizing the intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors specific to the individual. In conclusion, it seems reasonable that modified injury prevention methods would be effective for the older athlete. A prevention model specific to older athletes is provided.