BackgroundThe Olympic Movement Medical Code encourages all stakeholders to ensure that sport is practised without danger to the health of the athletes. Systematic surveillance of injuries and illnesses is the foundation for developing preventive measures in sport.AimTo analyse the injuries and illnesses that occurred during the Games of the XXX Olympiad, held in London in 2012.MethodsWe recorded the daily occurrence (or non-occurrence) of injuries and illnesses (1) through the reporting of all National Olympic Committee (NOC) medical teams and (2) in the polyclinic and medical venues by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games’ (LOCOG) medical staff.ResultsIn total, 10 568 athletes (4676 women and 5892 men) from 204 NOCs participated in the study. NOC and LOCOG medical staff reported 1361 injuries and 758 illnesses, equalling incidences of 128.8 injuries and 71.7 illnesses per 1000 athletes. Altogether, 11% and 7% of the athletes incurred at least one injury or illness, respectively. The risk of an athlete being injured was the highest in taekwondo, football, BMX, handball, mountain bike, athletics, weightlifting, hockey and badminton, and the lowest in archery, canoe slalom and sprint, track cycling, rowing, shooting and equestrian. 35% of the injuries were expected to prevent the athlete from participating during competition or training. Women suffered 60% more illnesses than men (86.0 vs 53.3 illnesses per 1000 athletes). The rate of illness was the highest in athletics, beach volleyball, football, sailing, synchronised swimming and taekwondo. A total of 310 illnesses (41%) affected the respiratory system and the most common cause of illness was infection (n=347, 46%).ConclusionsAt least 11% of the athletes incurred an injury during the games and 7% of the athletes’ an illness. The incidence of injuries and illnesses varied substantially among sports. Future initiatives should include the development of preventive measures tailored for each specific sport and the continued focus among sport bodies to institute and further develop scientific injury and illness surveillance systems.

Results: 1055 injuries were reported, resulting in an incidence of 96.1 injuries per 1000 registered athletes. About half of the injuries (49.6%) were expected to prevent the athlete from participating in competition or training. The most prevalent diagnoses were ankle sprains and thigh strains. A quarter of the injuries were incurred during training and 72.5% in competition.One third of the injuries were caused by contact with another athlete, followed by overuse (22%) and non-contact incidences (20%). Injuries were reported from all sports but their incidence and characteristics varied substantially. In relation to the number of registered athletes, the risk of incurring an injury was highest in taekwondo, football, hockey, handball, weightlifting and boxing (all >15% of the athletes), and lowest for sailing, canoe/kayak, rowing, synchronised swimming, diving, fencing and swimming. Conclusion:The data indicate that the injury surveillance system covered almost all of the participating athletes, and the results highlight areas of high risk for sport injury such as the incompetition period, the ankle and thigh, and specific sports. The identification of these factors should stimulate future research and subsequent policy change to prevent injury in elite athletes.

Dette dokumentet er siste tekst-versjon av artikkelen, og den kan inneholde ubetydelige forskjeller fra forlagets pdf-versjon. Forlagets pdf-versjon finner du på bjsm.bmj.com: http://dx.doi. org/10.1136/bjsm.2010.076992 This document is the final text version of the article, and it may contain insignificant differences from the journal's pdf version. The definite version is available at bjsm.bmj.com: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2010.076992 Sports injuries and illnesses during the Winter Olympic Games 2010

Objective To describe the pattern of injuries and illnesses sustained during the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, hosted by Rio de Janeiro from 5 to 21 August 2016. Methods We recorded the daily incidence of athlete injuries and illnesses (1) through the reporting of all National Olympic Committee (NOC) medical teams and (2) in the polyclinic and medical venues by the Rio 2016 medical staff. results In total, 11 274 athletes (5089 women, 45%; 6185 men, 55%) from 207 NOCs participated in the study. NOC and Rio 2016 medical staff reported 1101 injuries and 651 illnesses, equalling 9.8 injuries and 5.4 illnesses per 100 athletes over the 17-day period. Altogether, 8% of the athletes incurred at least one injury and 5% at least one illness. The injury incidence was highest in BMX cycling (38% of the athletes injured), boxing (30%), mountain bike cycling (24%), taekwondo (24%), water polo (19%) and rugby (19%), and lowest in canoe slalom, rowing, shooting, archery, swimming, golf and table tennis (0%-3%). Of the 1101 injuries recorded, 40% and 20% were estimated to lead to ≥1 and >7 days of absence from sport, respectively. Women suffered 40% more illnesses than men. Illness was generally less common than injury, with the highest incidence recorded in diving (12%), open-water marathon (12%), sailing (12%), canoe slalom (11%), equestrian (11%) and synchronised swimming (10%). Illnesses were also less severe; 18% were expected to result in time loss. Of the illnesses, 47% affected the respiratory system and 21% the gastrointestinal system. The anticipated problem of infections in the Rio Olympic Games did not materialise, as the proportion of athletes with infectious diseases mirrored that of recent Olympic Games (3%). Conclusion Overall, 8% of the athletes incurred at least one injury during the Olympic Games, and 5% an illness, which is slightly lower than in the Olympic Summer Games of 2008 and 2012.

The injury surveillance system has been accepted by experienced team physicians and shown to be feasible for single-sport and multi-sport events. It can be modified depending on the specific objectives of a certain sport or research question; however, a standardised use of injury definition, report forms and methodology will ensure the comparability of results.