Illness and injury in athletes during the competition period at the London 2012 Paralympic Games: development and implementation of a web-based surveillance system (WEB-IISS) for team medical staff

Abstract

Background In this study we describe (1) the implementation of a novel web-based injury and illness surveillance system (WEB-IISS) for use by a team of physicians at multisport events and (2) the incidence and characteristics of injuries and illness in athletes during the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Methods Overall, 3565 athletes from 160 of the 164 participating countries were followed daily over a 14-day period, consisting of a precompetition period (3 days), and a competition period (11 days) (49 910 athletedays). Daily injury and illness data were obtained from teams with their own medical support (78 teams, 3329 athletes) via the WEB-IISS, and without their own medical support through the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games database (82 teams and 236 athletes). Results There were no differences between incidence rates (IR) of injury and illness, or between the precompetition and competition periods. The IR of injury during the competition period was 12.1/1000 athlete-days, with an incidence proportion (IP) of 11.6% (95% CI 11.0% to 13.3%). Upper limb injuries (35%), particularly of the shoulder (17%) were most common. The IR of illness during the competition period was 12.8/1000 athlete-days (95% CI 12.18 to 1421), with an IP of 10.2%. The IP was highest in the respiratory system (27.4%), skin (18.3%) and the gastrointestinal (14.5%) systems. Conclusions During the competition period, the IR and IP of illness and injury at the Games were similar and comparable to the observed rates in other elite competitions. In Paralympic athletes, the IP of upper limb injuries is higher than that of lower limb injuries and non-respiratory illnesses are more common.

Putting the Athlete First: a Comprehensive Assessment of Elite Para Athlete Well-Being

“…The significantly lower physical well-being scores of Para athletes have implications for health professionals and sport practitioners. Previous studies show Para athletes incur higher rates of injury compared to Olympic sport athletes (Derman et al 2013). Thus, the Bno pain no gain^culture can be costly to athletes' physical health (Coakley 1998).…”

“…The importance of physical well-being for athletes with physical impairments, and that physical pain negatively affects subjective and psychological well-being has also been highlighted (Macdougall et al 2016). Also with respect to physical well-being, there has been mixed evidence of whether the injury rate for Para athletes is comparable (Fagher and Lexell 2014;Webborn and Emery 2014;Weiler et al 2016) or higher in able bodied athletes (Blauwet et al 2016;Derman et al 2013). Regardless of whether the rate is the same or higher, injuries are a potential threat to Para athlete physical well-being and functionality.…”

The effects of bovine colostrum supplementation on in vivo immunity following prolonged exercise: a randomised controlled trial

“…Upper respiratory tract symptoms (URS) are the most common ailment reported by athletes to medicine clinics at major sporting events [1][2][3]. It has long been considered that transient perturbations in host immunity following strenuous training and/or competition increase susceptibility to infectious (pathogenic) causes of URS [4].…”

Sports Injuries and Illnesses in the Lillehammer 2016 Youth Olympic Winter Games

“…10 Systematic monitoring of injury and illness trends over time provides epidemiologic data that are invaluable to protect the health of the athletes. Both the IOC, [11][12][13][14] International Paralympic Committee (IPC) [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] and several International Sports Federations (FIFA, IAAF, FINA, FIS, FIVB, IHF, IIHF, IRF) have instituted comprehensive injury and illness surveillance systems longitudinally or in their main events to detect risk factors and mechanisms. [44][45][46][47][48] Some of these have later on informed prevention measures in sport.…”