Preventing Falls and Injuries by Using Proper Hurdling Techniques
by Melinda Burris

While recently researching injuries frequently sustained by hurdlers, I was surprised to read a study that found wrist injuries to be prevalent. Further investigation led me to the story of Sally Pearson and her horrific fall at Diamond League in Rome in 2015 and the substantial damage done to her wrist as a result. This article briefly recounts the highlights of Sally’s story and career and then focuses on the need to be mindful of using correct hurdling techniques to avoid the risk of injury. Coach McGill contributed significantly to this article with warnings and recommendations for hurdlers at both amateur and elite levels.

Australian 100-meter hurdler Sally Pearson was already an accomplished athlete in the summer of 2015, having won Olympic gold at London’s 2012 games and having captured the Olympic silver four years earlier in Beijing. She was also a two-time world champion. Sally was little prepared for the injury she sustained in June of that year while competing in Rome. She clipped the fifth hurdle in the middle of the race and her subsequent fall resulted in what doctors categorized as a “bone explosion”, leaving her with traumatic damage to her broken and dislocated wrist.

Sally stated at the time that she’d “never broken a bone…never had stitches or [even] surgery” prior to sustaining this injury. The sight of her mangled hand terrified her. She is on record confirming she feared amputation would be necessary. Sally faced two operations in Italy and a difficult recovery, but according to her coach, Craig Hilliard, she never lost her leadership spirit. Calling Sally being unable to participate in the 2016 Olympics “a big loss” for the Australian team, Hilliard emphasized the importance of her taking the time and care she needed to recuperate both physically and mentally from all that she had been through.

Proper Hurdling Techniques for Avoiding Falls and Hand Injuries

I asked Coach McGill about his experience with hurdlers sustaining hand/wrist injuries and what his recommendations would be to help fellow hurdlers avoid injuries like the one Sally sustained. He shared that none of the hurdlers he has trained over the years have suffered a wrist injury and stated that most injuries occur in the leg or foot.²

Of course, the old adage about “prevention being worth a pound of cure” proves true. Coach McGill stresses, “The best way to avoid wrist injuries is to avoid falling at all. That can most easily be done for non-elite hurdlers by keeping the ankles dorsiflexed [toes pointed upward, toward the shins] because when the toe of the trail leg makes contact with the crossbar, that’s the most dangerous kind of contact because the athlete then has no control of the fall, leading to a face-first crash, which I’m sure will lead the athlete to instinctively put out their hands, which could lead to a wrist injury.”²

Coach McGill advises elite athletes “to consistently take off far enough away so that you have room to extend the lead leg without smashing the foot into the crossbar.” This is because again, contact between the toe of the trail leg and the crossbar can cause a “severe loss of balance that will lead to the instinctive need to brace for impact,” triggering the natural response of extending your arms to use your hands to prevent falling, putting your upper body limbs at risk of injury.²

Common Hurdle Related Injuries

A 2022 research study published in the medical journal, The Physician and Sportsmedicine focused on pediatric hurdle-related injuries, their causes, and common settings. The article commented on the scarcity of research conducted on this subject.³ It has also been noted that there are significantly fewer hurdling-specific scientific investigations in comparison to the research and publication of articles on popular contact/team sports, particularly football.⁴

The methodology used was a descriptive epidemiology study that entailed analysis of information on emergency room visits for the treatment of patients eighteen years old and younger for hurdling-related injuries documented between 2008 to 2017. The study reviewed 749 hurdle-related injuries, and the findings revealed the three most frequent types of injury to be 1) traumatic fracture, 2) joint sprain, and 3) bruising.

Researchers also noted the body parts most commonly injured were the 1) ankle, 2) knee, and wrist. The wrist was injured in 9.2% of the cases reviewed.³ So, although Coach McGill has not witnessed wrist injuries among the hurdlers he has trained, the study showed the wrist was the third most likely part of the body to suffer injury. Tripping over equipment was cited as a factor in the vast majority of injuries (79%) which resulted from falls, not clearing the hurdle, and, “crash” landings.³ These findings support Coach McGill’s comments on the importance of ensuring your lead leg does not “drag behind” making contact with the hurdle and causing you to fail to properly clear it.

Takeaways

Severe injuries like the one Sally Pearson suffered are rare thankfully. Coach McGill equates it to the Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin going into cardiac arrest mid-game last month. You never know when a misstep or unforeseen factor will lead to injury or even a life-threatening emergency. But you can make sure you prioritize safety and proper technique to lessen your risk of injury and increase your ability to turn in a dynamic performance.

Be prepared by being fully present during all training sessions and competitive events. Sometimes accidents just happen, but by being sloppy rather than precise in your execution of movements required to correctly clear the hurdles, you put yourself and others at unnecessary risk of harm.

References:

1. (15 June 2015). Sally Pearson Feared Amputation of Her Lower Arm After Hurdles Fall in Rome.
2. McGill, S. (12 September 2023). Email communication.
3. Radel, L.C., et al. (31 August 2022). Pediatric Hurdle-Related Acute Injuries in Track and Field Presenting to US Emergency Departments: Descriptive Epidemiology Study.
4. Maniero, R. et al. (28 April 2022). Editorial: Advances in Sport Science: Latest Findings and New Scientific Proposals.