Institute of Sport and Exercise Medicine, Department of Exercise, Sport and Lifestyle Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
International Olympic Committee Research Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.
Br J Sports Med. 2024 Jul 25;58(15):852-859. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2023-107144.
The relationship between sport-related injuries and Para athlete impairment type has not yet been comprehensively studied. This study aimed to describe injury incidence according to athlete impairment type during the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Summer Paralympic Games, by sex, age, Games period, chronicity and anatomical area.
A combined analysis of 7222 athletes was conducted comprising 101 108 athlete days, using pooled data. Internet sources were used to identify impairments of registered athletes. Impairment types: brain disorders (BD), limb deficiency, neuromuscular disorders (NMD), spinal cord-related disorders, visual impairment (VI) and 'all others' (OTH: impaired passive range of movement, intellectual impairment, leg length difference, short stature and unknown impairments). Results by impairment type are reported as univariate unadjusted incidences (injuries/1000 athlete days; 95% CIs). Statistical significance between impairment types was determined when 95% CIs did not overlap.
The overall crude unadjusted incidence of injury was 11.1 (95% CI 10.4 to 11.9), significantly higher in VI (13.7 (95% CI 11.0 to 15.7)) and NMD (13.3 (95% CI 11.1 to 16.1)) compared with BD (9.1 (95% CI 7.7 to 10.8)). Acute (sudden onset) (8.6 (95% CI 7.3 to 10.1)) and lower limb (6.6 (95% CI 5.4 to 8.1)) injuries were higher among athletes with VI, while athletes with NMD had a higher incidence of repetitive (gradual onset) (5.9 (95% CI 4.3 to 8.0)) and upper limb (6.9 (95% CI 5.2 to 9.0)) injuries compared with other impairments.
Incidence and type of injuries differed between athlete impairment types. Athletes with VI or NMD sustained the highest incidence of injury, and athletes with BD had the lowest. Findings of this study can inform the management of competition-related injuries in Para athletes.
运动相关损伤与残疾人运动员损伤类型之间的关系尚未得到全面研究。本研究旨在按性别、年龄、奥运会周期、慢性和解剖区域，描述伦敦 2012 年和里约 2016 年夏季残奥会期间根据运动员损伤类型的损伤发生率。
对 7222 名运动员进行了合并分析，共包括 101108 名运动员日，使用合并数据。互联网资源用于确定注册运动员的损伤类型。损伤类型：脑障碍（BD）、肢体缺陷、神经肌肉疾病（NMD）、脊髓相关疾病、视力障碍（VI）和“其他所有”（OTH：活动受限、智力障碍、肢体长度差异、身材矮小和未知损伤）。按损伤类型报告的结果为单变量未调整发生率（损伤/1000 名运动员日；95%置信区间）。当 95%置信区间不重叠时，确定损伤类型之间的统计学显著性。
总体未经调整的损伤粗发生率为 11.1（95%CI10.4 至 11.9），VI（13.7（95%CI11.0 至 15.7））和 NMD（13.3（95%CI11.1 至 16.1））明显高于 BD（9.1（95%CI7.7 至 10.8））。VI 运动员的急性（突然发作）（8.6（95%CI7.3 至 10.1））和下肢（6.6（95%CI5.4 至 8.1））损伤发生率较高，而 NMD 运动员的重复性（逐渐发作）（5.9（95%CI4.3 至 8.0））和上肢（6.9（95%CI5.2 至 9.0））损伤发生率较高与其他损伤相比。
运动员损伤类型之间的发生率和类型不同。VI 或 NMD 运动员的损伤发生率最高，BD 运动员的损伤发生率最低。本研究的结果可以为残疾人运动员比赛相关损伤的管理提供信息。
