Artificial Intelligence for Sport Injury Prediction

Preventing injury is a core facilitator of success in sport. Thus, vast sums of money are invested into achieving this. However, sport injury is still seen as equal parts “art” and science. Despite the best efforts of individuals, teams, and national bodies to apply scientifically-derived injury prevention strategies, millions of athletes still get injured in sport every year. Evidently, sport injury prediction is a field, which has scope for improvement. One potential way of advancing the field is the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It offers an opportunity to: (1) treat sporting injury as the complex phenomenon it appears to be; (2) consider the non-linear context surrounding athlete injuries; and (3) provide a supplement to practitioner reasoning, to facilitate quicker decisions. The present book chapter evaluates previous research studies’ use of AI for injury prediction, assesses the unique advantages offered by AI-based analyses, and discusses challenges when attempting to utilise AI for injury prediction. Overall, the use of AI for sport injury prediction offers a fascinating opportunity. It may one day create a revolution in the field, improving not only prediction itself but also our understanding of the complex interactive factors, which govern injury in sport.