In brief: Over the last decade, an elaborate medical organization has evolved to provide acute care for injured persons at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The medical team consists of physicians, nurses, podiatrists, physical therapists, athletic trainers, and other nonmedical personnel. The team believes that the most important cause of race injuries is fluid volume depletion; therefore, severely symptomatic athletes are treated early with intravenous fluids. In addition to the medical care team, an ancillary group has been established to maintain medical records, which help to define patterns of injury, thus allowing for more precise planning of medical care. The objective of both groups is not only to improve care at the finish line but also to identify ways to prevent injuries.
In brief: Little information is available about medical complaints after marathons held in cool weather. To obtain such information medical records were maintained on every runner requesting medical attention after the Bostonfest Marathon on Oct 30, 1983. One hundred sixty-four (11.5%) of the runners finishing the race requested medical attention at the finish line. Men and women requested attention with equal frequency, but younger (20 to 30 years old) and faster (finishing in less than 3:00) runners sought medical attention more often than the older and slower runners. The complaints and symptoms of runners after the race were similar to those of runners following warm-weather races.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.