ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: For the 3 Nordic ski disciplines of cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and ski jumping, data on injuries and illnesses during major sporting events only exist from the Winter Olympics of 2010 to 2018. So far, an investigation has not been conducted during the Nordic World Ski Championships. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS) Nordic World Ski Championships 2021 in Oberstdorf, Germany. PARTICIPANTS: Overall, 663 athletes from 65 nations participated in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2021. The study population included 344 athletes from 32 nations. INTERVENTIONS: National medical teams were invited to report daily all newly incurred or exacerbated injuries and illnesses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: All reported injuries and illnesses that occurred during the championships from February 23 until March 7, 2021, were analyzed. Injury and illness rates were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). RESULTS: The 32 reporting nations returned 88.4% of the daily report forms. The incidence of injuries was 4.7 (95% CI, 2.4-6.9) per 100 athletes in the 3 Nordic ski disciplines. The incidence of illness was also 4.7 (95% CI, 2.4-6.9) per 100 athletes with a relative proportion of infection-related illnesses of 31.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Although the incidence of injuries of the Nordic disciplines was comparable with those of the 2010 to 2018 Winter Olympics, the incidence of illnesses was lower than during the previous 3 Winter Olympic Games with a lower rate of infection-related illnesses. This might be caused by the high hygiene measures due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
Subject(s)
Athletic Injuries , COVID-19 , Skiing , Sports , Humans , Athletic Injuries/epidemiology , Athletic Injuries/etiology , Prospective Studies , COVID-19/epidemiology , Athletes , IncidenceABSTRACT
BackgroundNordic skiing consist of cross-country skiing (CC), ski jumping (SJ) and Nordic combined (NC). Only little injury and illness data from elite competitions in these sports are currently available.ObjectiveTo analyse injuries and illnesses during the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2021.DesignProspective cohort study.SettingFIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany, 23rd February to 7th March 2021.ParticipantsAll registered athletes (n=663).Main Outcome MeasureDaily report of newly incurred injuries and illnesses according to the respective IOC consensus statement (2020) by the medical teams.ResultsAbout half of the nations (32/65), covering 51.6% of the registered athletes (n=342), participated in the study and returned 88.4% of the daily report forms. During the 12 championships days, 16 injuries were reported (incidence rate: 4.6%, 95%CI 2.4 to 6.9%), 12 in CC and 2 injuries each in NC and SJ. Six injuries affected the upper and 6 the lower extremities, 2 the lumbar-sacral spine/buttock and 2 the head. Most injuries occurred suddenly (n=13), 3 gradually. Eleven injuries (69%) were non-time-loss, Four injuries resulted in an estimated time-loss of 3–7 days, 1 in an estimated time-loss of 21 days (fracture of metacarpal bone).Out of the 16 illnesses (incidence rate: 4.6%, 95%CI 2.4 to 6.9%), 11 were reported in CC, 3 in NC and 2 in SJ.. Regarding etiology, 5 illnesses were environmental (4 exercise-related and 1 non-exercise related), 4 infectious, 3 allergic, 2 metabolic/nutritional, 1 degenerative/chronic and 1 unknown. Most illness occurred suddenly (n=10), 4 gradually and 2 had a mixed mode of onset. Twelve illnesses (75%) were non-time-loss. Three illnesses resulted in an estimated time-loss of 3 days, 1 in an estimated time-loss of 20 days (COVID-19 infection).ConclusionThe injuries or illnesses incidence rate was lower than in Winter Olympic Games. The low illness rate might be due to COVID-19 hygiene measures.