RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Health protection of the Olympic athlete
JF British Journal of Sports Medicine
JO Br J Sports Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine
SP 466
OP 470
DO 10.1136/bjsports-2012-091168
VO 46
IS 7
A1 Kathrin Steffen
A1 Torbjørn Soligard
A1 Lars Engebretsen
YR 2012
UL http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/46/7/466.abstract
AB Protection of the athletes' health is a clearly articulated objective of the International Olympic Committee. Longitudinal surveillance of injuries and illnesses can provide valuable data that may identify high-risk sports and disciplines. This is a foundation for introducing tailored preventive measures. During the XXIX Summer and XXI Winter Games, comprehensive injury and illness recording through the medical staff of the participating National Olympic Committees and the sports medicine clinics revealed that between 7% and 11% of all athletes incurred an injury or suffered from at least one occurrence of illness during the Games. The incidence of injuries and illnesses varied substantially between sports. In the future, risk factor and injury mechanism analyses in high-risk Olympic sports are essential to better direct injury-prevention strategies. Concomitantly, periodic health evaluations of athletes will be instrumental to optimise health protection.