ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo analyze the occurrence of sport injury in Paralympic athletes during the Summer or Winter Paralympic Games, as well as the risk factors for sport injuries and possible interventions. MethodsThe literatures related to sport injuries of Paralympic athletes were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO and CNKI from January, 2013 to July, 2022, and a scoping review of the retrieved literature was performed. ResultsFinally, eight English articles from China, Sweden, South Africa, Poland and the United States were included, involving 4 769 atheletes. They included one interview study, five survey studies, one retrospective study and one prospective cohort study, which were mainly from journals in the fields of sport medicine, adaptive sport and sport science, and the publication date was mainly from 2016 to 2022. The types of disability of Paralympic athletes mainly involved physical disability (upper and lower limb amputation, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, poliomyelitis, dysplasia and neuromuscular dystrophy, central nervous system injury, myelomeningocele, etc.), intellectual disability and visual disability. The incidence of sport injury was high in Paralympic athletes, and most of the injury occured during competitions. Acute injury, chronic overuse injury and chronic to acute injury were the three most common types of injury. Sports injuries mainly involved head and neck, upper limbs (shoulders, upper arms/forearms, elbows, wrists and fingers), trunk (abdomen, back and waist), and lower limbs (hips/groin, thighs, knees, calves, ankles and toes). Risk factors for sport injuries in Paralympic athletes mainly included previous injury history, illness, fatigue and decreased physical strength, spasticity and muscle weakness; emotional states of inattention or distraction, excessive anxiety or excitement; improper exercise training methods, lack of knowledge related to sport training and injury prevention, and motor skill deficiencies; weather, competition venues, sport facilities, use of equipment and assistive devices, age factors, etc. Injuries of Paralympic athletes could be prevented by providing rehabilitation services for Paralympic athletes, optimizing training design, conducting collective training for coaches and athletes on various types of injuries, conducting research related to sport injuries of disabled athletes, formulating prevention programs and strategies, improving the physical fitness and sport skills of Paralympic athletes, improving emergency treatment techniques for injuries, and strengthening coordination and governance structures between sport medicine and rehabilitation therapists. ConclusionThe incidence of sport injury is high in Paralympic athletes. Chronic overuse injury is the most common injury type, and the injuries most involve head, neck and upper extremities. The risk factors for sport injuries of Paralympic athletes mainly involve physical function, psychological, activities and participation, environment and other factors. The main intervention strategies include providing emergency treatment intervention and monitoring services, sport medicine treatment and rehabilitation, guidance and specialized support, and health education on sport injury prevention.
ABSTRACT
Objective To design and develop intelligent rehabilitation equipment for administering continuous passive motion (CPM) of a rabbit's knee joint after tibial plateau fracture.Methods The equipment constructed had three main parts:the core machinery,electronic control and a control program designed based on bionics principles.Twenty six-month-old New Zealand White male rabbits were randomly divided into sedentary (SED) and CPM groups after their knees had been fractured.The rabbits in the CPM group were given 30 min of early joint rehabilitation once a day for 4 weeks using the CPM equipment,while those in the SED group were kept in their cages and allowed free activity without any special exercise program.The body weight,range of motion and swelling of the affected knee joint were measured before the fracture and on the 3rd,7th,14th,21st and 28th days after the fracture.On the 28th day after the fracture the pathological structure of the articular cartilage on the operative side was observed under a light microscope.Results The equipment ran safely and reliably,and drove the rabbits to move synchronously.It could accurately and conveniently adjust the knee flexion angle,movement speed and movement time.The intelligence of the equipment met the experimental requirements.On the 3rd day after the operation the average range of motion in the joints of both groups had changed significantly compared to that before the fracture.On the 28th day after the fracture the average degree of swelling and range of motion in the CPM group were significantly different from those of the SED group.On the 28th day,deformity and the smoothness of the fracture line in the CPM group were superior to those in the SED group.Moreover,the dominant tissues in the defect area of the CPM group were mainly hyaline cartilage while those in the SED group were mainly repair fibrocartilage.The defect area and its adjacent articular cartilages,chondrocyte regeneration and arrangement,layers of cells and subchondral tidal line recovery of the CPM group were better than in the SED group on average.Conclusion The equipment for knee joint manipulation is convenient to use,reliable and effective for the early rehabilitation of tibial plateau fracture,at least in rabbits.It promotes remodeling of the fracture and cartilage repair after tibial plateau fracture,and also improves range of motion in the knee and reduces swelling.