Winter Adaptive Sports Participation, Injuries, and Equipment

Lessons from the Winter Paralympic Games disclosing the epidemiology of winter sports injury in paralytic athletes: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

In this study, the incidence rate of the injury in Winter Paralympic Games was summarized. Besides, to testify the underlying factors of injury incidence heterogeneity, the difference of these events incidence between different Paralympic Winter Games was investigated by meta regression analysis.

METHODS

Electronic databases were searched for full-text publications on sports related injury in Winter Paralympic Games. And meta-regression was used to analyze the heterogeneity.

RESULTS

Four studies were included. The incidence of sports related injury was 0.21 (95% CI 0.15-0.31) in all items, 0.22 in female athletes (95% CI 0.12-0.32), and 0.21 in male athletes (95% CI 0.11-0.30), respectively. The incidence of sports related injury was 0.10 (95% CI 0.08-0.12) in alpine skiing, 0.01 (95% CI 0-0.02) in Nordic skiing, and 0.22 in sledge hockey (95% CI 0.05-0.40). Meta-regression suggested the year and the host country couldn't influence the injury incidence.

CONCLUSION

The present study summarized the incidence of sports related injury in Winter Paralympic Games, indicated similar injury risk between female athletes and male athletes, and accentuated the careful protection on sledge hockey. This study pointed out that sledge hockey with the highest risk of sports related injury should draw great attention to improve the corresponding protective measures to decrease its injury probability.

A Machine-Learning-Based Medical Imaging Fast Recognition of Injury Mechanism for Athletes of Winter Sports

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will begin soon, which is mainly focused on winter sports. Athletes from different countries will arrive in Beijing one after another for training and competition. The health protection of athletes of winter sports is very important in training and competition. The occurrence of sports injury is characterized by multiple factors, uncertainty, and accidents. This paper mainly pays attention to the head injury with the highest severity. Athletes' high safety awareness is a part of reducing injury, but safety awareness cannot effectively reduce the occurrence of injury in competition, and timely treatment of injured athletes is particularly important. After athletes are injured, a telemedicine image acquisition system can be built, so that medical experts can identify athletes' injuries in time and provide the basis for further diagnosis and treatment. In order to improve the accuracy of medical image processing, a C-support vector machine (SVM) medical image segmentation method combining the Chan-Vese (CV) model and SVM is proposed in this paper. After segmentation, the edge and detail features of the image are more prominent, which meet the requirements of high precision for medical image segmentation. Meanwhile, a high-precision registration algorithm of brain functional time-series images based on machine learning (ML) is proposed, and the automatic optimization of high-precision registration of brain function time-series images is performed by ML algorithm. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has higher segmentation accuracy above 80% and less registration time below 40 ms, which can provide a reference for doctors to quickly identify the injury and shorten the time.

Wearable Sensors in Sports for Persons with Disability: A Systematic Review

The interest and competitiveness in sports for persons with disabilities has increased significantly in the recent years, creating a demand for technological tools supporting practice. Wearable sensors offer non-invasive, portable and overall convenient ways to monitor sports practice. This systematic review aims at providing current evidence on the application of wearable sensors in sports for persons with disability. A search for articles published in English before May 2020 was performed on Scopus, Web-Of-Science, PubMed and EBSCO databases, searching titles, abstracts and keywords with a search string involving terms regarding wearable sensors, sports and disability. After full paper screening, 39 studies were included. Inertial and EMG sensors were the most commonly adopted wearable technologies, while wheelchair sports were the most investigated. Four main target applications of wearable sensors relevant to sports for people with disability were identified and discussed: athlete classification, injury prevention, performance characterization for training optimization and equipment customization. The collected evidence provides an overview on the application of wearable sensors in sports for persons with disability, providing useful indication for researchers, coaches and trainers. Several gaps in the different target applications are highlighted altogether with recommendation on future directions.

The effect of foot setting on kinematic and kinetic skiing parameters during giant slalom: A single subject study on a Paralympic gold medalist sit skier

OBJECTIVES

Aim was to study the effect of monoski foot adjustment on kinematic and kinetic skiing parameters expressing sit skier's technique.

DESIGN

Independent variable was skier position with respect to bindings, acting on position of monoski foot sole clamp. Front (F), Mid (M) and Rear (R) settings changed with intervals of 20mm. Course time, skiing speed, Ground Reaction Forces (GRFs) magnitude and point of application and damper stroke were dependent variables.

METHOD

A Paralympic monoski was equipped with a dynamometric binding plate measuring GRFs, roll and pitch moments. A Paralympic gold medalist (LW10-1) was involved. Skier trajectory and gates location were measured by a differential global navigation satellite system (GNSS) in steep and medium steep slope portions. The athlete performed two giant slalom runs for each foot setting the same day.

RESULTS

GRFs, center of pressure (COP) and variations with foot settings were measured. Peaks values up to 3.36 times the total weight and damper speed of 675mm/s in compression were found. Fastest runs, highest peak loads and best subjective ratings were recorded with F setting. COP mean values were influenced by foot adjustments. GRFs in left turns were 54% larger than in the right turns with F setting on steep slope.

CONCLUSIONS

The monoski foot adjustment influenced kinematic and kinetic skiing, with F setting showing best results. A skier asymmetric behavior between right and left turning was discovered. Findings can support the design of monoskis for a wider dissemination of Paralympic alpine sit skiing.

The Prevalence of Injuries and Traumas in Elite Goalball Players

Background: The last decade has seen the dynamic development of Paralympic sport, including the development of training facilities and training methods that allow for the achievement of results at the highest level in this group. This may be associated with an increased risk of injury and traumas. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and locations of injuries and the types of trauma suffered by goalball players. Methods: The study covered 43 players (24 women and 19 men) of the Goalball European Championship. A questionnaire survey was conducted. Results: The injuries were reported by 44%. Most often they concerned the upper limbs (92%). Positive correlations were found between age and prevalence of pelvis and knee joint injuries, whereas negative correlations occurred between competitive experience and the prevalence and location of injuries in the area of the upper limb. The highest percentage of trauma was found for epidermal abrasions, contusions, and dislocations. A negative correlation was observed between age and the prevalence of epidermal abrasions, whereas a positive correlation occurred between age and the prevalence of sprains and dislocations. The competitive experience was negatively correlated with the prevalence of abrasions and contusions and positively correlated with the prevalence of sprains and dislocations. A statistically significant correlation was found between body mass (BM) and the prevalence of injuries. In 23% of cases, training was interrupted for more than one month, whereas in 43%, the break was below one month. Conclusions: Playing position in goalball does not affect the prevalence of injuries and traumas, while body mass has a moderate effect on the prevalence of these events. The age of the subjects and their sports experience impact significantly on the prevalence and types of injuries.