Medical services for sports injuries and illnesses in the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games

doi:10.5847/wjem.j.1920-8642.2022.106

Abstract

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games was the second Games held amid the COVID-19 pandemic. To a certain extent, it has altered the way sporting activities operate. There is a lack of knowledge on injury risk and illness occurrence in elite winter sport athletes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to describe the incidence of injuries and illnesses sustained during the XXIV Olympic Winter Games in Beijing from February 4 to 20, 2022.

METHODS: We recorded the daily number of injuries and illnesses among athletes reported by Beijing 2022 medical staff in the polyclinic, medical venues, and ambulance. We calculated injury and illness incidence as the number of injuries or illnesses occurring during competition or training, respectively, with incidence presented as injuries/illnesses per 100 athlete-days.

RESULTS: In total, 2,897 athletes from 91 nations experienced injury or illness. Beijing 2022 medical staff reported 326 injuries and 80 illnesses, equaling 11.3 injuries and 2.8 illnesses per 100 athletes over the 17-day period. Altogether, 11% of the athletes incurred at least one injury and nearly 3% incurred at least one illness. The number of injured athletes was highest in the skating sports (n=104), followed by alpine skiing (n=53), ice track (n=37), freestyle skiing (n=36), and ice hockey (n=35), and was the lowest in the Nordic skiing disciplines (n=20). Of the 326 injuries, 14 (4.3%) led to an estimated absence from training or competition of more than 1 week. A total of 52 injured athletes were transferred to hospitals for further care. The number of athletes with illness (n=80) was the highest for skating (n=33) and Nordic skiing (n=22). A total of 50 illnesses (62.5%) were admitted to the department of dentistry/ophthalmology/otolaryngology, and the most common cause of illness was other causes, including preexisting illness and medicine (n=52, 65%).

CONCLUSION: Overall, 11% of athletes incurred at least one injury during the Games, which is similar to the findings during the Olympic Winter Games in 2014 and 2018. Regarding illness, 2% of athletes were affected, which is approximately one-third of the number affected in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Key words: Injuries, Illnesses, Olympic Winter Games, Emergency medical service

Peng-da Han, Ding Gao, Jie Liu, Jing Lou, Si-jia Tian, Hui-xin Lian, Sheng-mei Niu, Lu-xi Zhang, Yong Wang, Jin-jun Zhang. Medical services for sports injuries and illnesses in the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games[J]. World Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2022, 13(6): 459-466.

Figures/Tables 6

Table 1.

Table 2.

The information of injuries in sports scheduled during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games

Injuries	Ice sports			Snow sports				Other (n=13)	Total (n=326)
Injuries	Ice hockey (n=35)	Skating (n=104)	Ice track (n=37)	Alpine skiing (n=53)	Freestyle skiing (n=36)	Snowboarding (n=28)	Nordic skiing (n=20)	Other (n=13)	Total (n=326)
Injury location
Face (including eye, ear, nose)	2	1	1	3	6	-	-	2	15 (4.6)
Head	2	1	-	-	3	3	3	-	12 (3.7)
Neck/cervical spine	1	2	2	1	1	1	-	-	8 (2.5)
Thoracic spine/upper back	-	4	-	1	-	-	-	-	5 (1.5)
Sternum/ribs	2	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	4 (1.2)
Lumbar spine/lower back	-	9	5	9	1	3	5	2	34 (10.4)
Abdomen	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0 (0)
Pelvis/sacrum/buttock	-	1	1	1	-	2	-	-	5 (1.5)
Shoulder/clavicle	12	1	-	1	4	2	1	1	22 (6.8)
Elbow	-	4	-	3	-	2	-	1	10 (3.1)
Arm	2	3	2	2	-	-	-	-	9 (2.8)
Wrist	2	2	-	3	1	3	-	-	11 (3.4)
Hand	3	4	-	3	1	2	-	-	13 (4.0)
Finger	1	-	2	-	3	-	1	1	8 (2.5)
Hip	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1	2 (0.6)
Groin	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	2 (0.6)
Thigh	-	18	3	4	3	-	1	1	30 (9.2)
Knee	4	18	15	17	10	4	1	3	72 (22.1)
Lower leg	-	9	1	4	1	-	-	-	15 (4.6)
Ankle	2	11	-	-	-	5	5	-	23 (7.1)
Foot/toe	2	15	3	1	-	1	3	1	26 (8.0)
Injury type
Concussion	2	1	-	-	2	3	3	-	11 (3.4)
Fracture (trauma, stress, other bone injuries)	1	2	2	7	6	3	4	1	26 (8.0)
Sprain (dislocation, subluxation, ligamentous rupture)	2	6	-	-	5	5	2	1	21 (6.4)
Strain (muscle rupture, tear, tendon rupture)	1	52	13	17	3	2	5	2	95 (29.1)
Meniscus, cartilage	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	3 (0.9)
Contusion, haematoma, brusie	4	8	4	7	9	5	-	4	41 (12.6)
Tendinosis, tendinapathy	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	4 (1.2)
Arthritis, synovitis, brusitis	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	2 (0.6)
Impingement	22	2	2	10	8	7	2	1	54 (16.6)
Laceration, abrasion, skin lesion	3	5	7	8	1	1	2	1	28 (8.6)
Dental injury, broken tooth	-	-	-	1	2	-	-	1	4 (1.2)
Muscle cramps, spasm	-	26	-	3	-	1	1	-	31 (9.5)
Other (nerve, spinal cord, fasciitis)		2	-	-	-	1	1	2	6 (1.8)

Table 2.

Figure 1.

Table 3.

Figure 2.

Table 4.

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Injury types	Sports with the highest number
Concussion	2 in snowboard cross, 1 in skating sports, 1 in snowboarding big air, 1 in ice hockey
Fracture	4 in alpine skiing, 1 in figure skating, 1 in aerials, 1 in other
Sprain (dislocation, subluxation, ligamentous rupture)	2 in ski cross, 1 in figure skating, 1 in short track skating, 1 in freestyle skiing slopestyle, 1 in freestyle skiing big air, 1 in snowboarding halfpipe, 1 in snowboarding slopestyle, 1 in snowboard cross,1 in cross-country skiing, 1 in other, 1 in ice hockey
Strain (muscle rupture, tear, tendon rupture)	2 in speed skating, 1 in short tract skating
Contusion, haematoma, brusie	2 in other, 2 in ice hockey, 1 in snowboarding slopestyle
Impingement	7 in ice hockey, 2 in snowboarding slopestyle, 2 in snowboard cross, 1 in short tract skating, 1 in aerials, 1 in freestyle skiing slopestyle, 1 in ski jumping
Laceration, abrasion, skin lesion	2 in alpine skiing, 1 in short tract skating, 1 in freestyle skiing big air
Other (nerve, spinal cord, fasciitis)	1 in snowboard cross

Illnesses	Ice hockey (n=5)	Skating (n=33)	Ice track (n=10)	Alpine skiing (n=5)	Freestyle skiing (n=2)	Snowboarding (n=2)	Nordic skiing (n=22)	Other (n=1)	Total n (%)
Illness affected system
Gastrointestinal	1	1	1	-	1	-	2	-	6 (7.5)
Respiratory	1	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	3 (3.8)
Allergic, immunologica	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1 (1.3)
Metabolic, endocrinological	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1 (1.3)
Dermatological	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1 (1.3)
Dental	1	12	4	3	1	-	6	1	28 (35.0)
Ophthalmological, otolaryngological	1	17	2	-	-	-	2	-	22 (27.5)
Other (urogenital, gynaecological, cardiovascular, neurological, psychiatric, musculoskeletal)	1	2	3	2	-	1	9	-	18 (22.5)
Illness symptoms
Fever	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Pain	2	7	6	1	1	-	6	-	23 (28.8)
Diarrhoea, vomiting	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1 (1.3)
Dyspnoea, cough	1	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	3 (3.8)
Other (dehydration, anaphylaxis, lethargy, dizziness, asymptomatic)	2	26	3	4	1	2	14	1	53 (66.3)
Illness cause
Infection	3	5	3	3	1	1	6	-	22 (27.5)
Environmental	-	-	-	1	-	1	3	-	5 (6.3)
Exercise-induced	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1 (1.3)
Other (preexisting, medicine)	2	28	7	1	1	-	12	1	52 (65.0)

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