@article{ref1,
title="Injury and illness surveillance in elite Paralympians - urgent need for suitable illness prevention strategies in para athletes",
journal="American journal of physical medicine and rehabilitation",
year="2020",
author="Hirschmüller, Anja and Fassbender, Katharina and Kubosch, Johanna and Leonhart, Reiner and Steffen, Kathrin",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Longitudinal monitoring data of para athletes is sparse.   OBJECTIVE: To describe the weekly prevalence and incidence of injuries and illnesses among German athletes preparing for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games.   METHODS: Athletes were invited to weekly report on medical problems, their severity/burden and training load, using the OSTRC Questionnaire on Health Problems (OSTRC-H). In case of any health problem, athletes were contacted and medical support offered. Data were analyzed with regard to impairment type. The acceptance of the monitoring program was evaluated.   RESULTS: 58 athletes were followed for 29 weeks, 10.927 athlete-days. At any given time, 28% (95% CI 26-30%) of athletes reported health problems, and 12% (11-14%) substantial health problems. The prevalence of health and illness problems diminished over time by 20.9±4.1% and 16.1±2.9%, P<.001, respectively, based on the means of the first and final five weeks. Paraplegic athletes reported a significantly higher prevalence of all health problems (33%, 29-37%) than non-paraplegic athletes (26%, 23-29%) (P=0.007). Illnesses were in general more severe and resulted in more time loss days. Athletes reported a high satisfaction with the program.   CONCLUSIONS: At any given time, 28% of German Paralympic athletes reported health problems, and 12% suffered from substantial health problems. For a health team, illnesses seem to be more important to handle than injuries. The OSTRC-H is a suitable method for injury and illness surveillance in para athletes.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0894-9115",
doi="10.1097/PHM.0000000000001501",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/PHM.0000000000001501"
}