Injuries and illness of athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic summer games visiting outside facilities

Shuji Sakanashi; Hideharu Tanaka; Hiroyuki Yokota; Yasuhiro Otomo; Tomohiko Masuno; Kousuke Nakano; Junichi Inoue; Manabu Sugita; Takahiko Tokunaga; Nagisa Kato; Tomoya Kinoshi; Hironori Inoue; Hiroto Numata; Koshi Nakagawa; Ryo Sagisaka; Shota Tanaka; Tetsuya Miyamoto; Takao Akama

Sports Medicine and Health Science (Mar 2024)

Injuries and illness of athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic summer games visiting outside facilities

Shuji Sakanashi,
Hideharu Tanaka,
Hiroyuki Yokota,
Yasuhiro Otomo,
Tomohiko Masuno,
Kousuke Nakano,
Junichi Inoue,
Manabu Sugita,
Takahiko Tokunaga,
Nagisa Kato,
Tomoya Kinoshi,
Hironori Inoue,
Hiroto Numata,
Koshi Nakagawa,
Ryo Sagisaka,
Shota Tanaka,
Tetsuya Miyamoto,
Takao Akama

Affiliations

Shuji Sakanashi: The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Sports Medicine Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan; Corresponding author. The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan.
Hideharu Tanaka: The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Sports Medicine Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan; Graduate School of Emergency Medical System, Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan; Research Institute of Disaster Management and EMS Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan; Corresponding author. The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan.
Hiroyuki Yokota: The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan; Graduate School of Health and Medical Science, Nippon Sports Science University, Japan
Yasuhiro Otomo: The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan; National Hospital Organization Disaster Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan
Tomohiko Masuno: Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
Kousuke Nakano: Saitama City Hospital, Emergency Department, Saitama, Japan
Junichi Inoue: Nippon Medical School Musashikosugi Hospital, Emergency and Critical Care Center, Knagawa, Japan
Manabu Sugita: Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan
Takahiko Tokunaga: Graduate School of Emergency Medical System, Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan; Emergency Lifesaving Academy Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Nagisa Kato: The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan; Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital, Trauma and Acute Critical Care Center, Tokyo, Japan
Tomoya Kinoshi: The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Sports Medicine Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan; Graduate School of Emergency Medical System, Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan; Research Institute of Disaster Management and EMS Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan
Hironori Inoue: The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan; Graduate School of Emergency Medical System, Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan
Hiroto Numata: The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan; Graduate School of Health and Medical Science, Nippon Sports Science University, Japan
Koshi Nakagawa: Graduate School of Emergency Medical System, Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan
Ryo Sagisaka: Department of Integrated Science and Engineering for Sustaiable Society, Chuo University, Japan
Shota Tanaka: Research Institute of Disaster Management and EMS Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan
Tetsuya Miyamoto: The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan
Takao Akama: The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan; Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, Japan

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 6, no. 1
pp. 48 – 53

Abstract

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This study aimed to identify the reasons for transferring athletes to local medical facilities during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Data on 567 injuries and other illnesses of athletes treated at the on-site clinics were collected from the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee. Of these, 84 athletes who required outpatient care during the Games were registered for this survey. During the Olympic and Paralympic Games, 66 (8.3/1 000) and 18 (7.2/1 000) athletes, respectively, consulted external medical facilities. In the Olympic Games, the reasons for these visits included 48 cases (72.7%) of injuries, 13 (19.7%) cases of illnesses, and 5 (7.6%) cases of heat stroke illness (HSI). Of these patients, 56 (84.9%) were treated as outpatients and 10 (15.1%) were hospitalized, while three of these patients required hospitalization for > 7 days. On the other hand, in the Paralympics Games, there were 7 (38.8%) cases of injuries, 9 (50.0%) other illnesses, 1 (5.6%) case of HSI, and 1 (5.6%) other cases, of which 11 (61.1%) were treated as outpatients and 7 (38.9%) were hospitalized, but none was hospitalized for > 7 days. Injuries accounted for 70% of the total cases at the 2021 Olympic Games, but only three (0.05%) were severe cases that required hospitalization for more than 1 week. In contrast, in the Paralympic Games, other illnesses accounted for approximately half of the total cases. This study provides details on the extent of injuries and other illnesses that were transferred to outside facilities, which has not been documented in previous games.

Published in Sports Medicine and Health Science

ISSN: 2666-3376 (Online)
Publisher: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
Country of publisher: China
LCC subjects: Medicine: Medicine (General)
Website: https://www.keaipublishing.com/en/journals/sports-medicine-and-health-science/

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