What is the number one predictor of injury?

• A. Age
• B. Fatigue
• C. Previous injury
• D. Poor technique

Answer: (C)

Prior injury history is the strongest predictor of future injury. When a tissue has been injured before, it often remains more vulnerable due to lingering weakness, stiffness, or altered movement patterns. Scar tissue and changes in neuromuscular control can persist, so the same load or stress that didn’t cause a problem before may provoke a re-injury now. Because these factors reliably recur across different joints, sports, and levels of play, a person’s past injuries consistently forecast higher risk.

Other factors influence risk too, but not as strongly. Age can affect susceptibility, and fatigue raises risk during activity, especially late in a session. Poor technique can contribute to injury, but it’s often intertwined with conditioning and control issues that are already captured by a history of injury. The takeaway is to treat past injuries as a major warning sign and emphasize thorough rehabilitation and proper return-to-sport criteria to reduce recurrence.