Disabled sport game-changer

12 September 2016 - 10:16 By POPPY LOUW

Research into reducing injuries and illness at the Paralympic Games could result in improved performances for athletes. Sports scientists from Stellenbosch University are leading a group of international researchers in Rio de Janeiro to study injuries and illnesses sustained by Paralympian athletes.The university's Institute of Sports and Exercise Medicine has signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Paralympic Committee to gather and analyse data on injuries and illnesses sustained at the current Paralympic Games in Rio.Speaking from Rio, the institute's director, professor Wayne Derman, said the studies were the first to describe accurately the incidence of injury and illness in athletes with impairments at the Paralympics.Derman said the incidence of injury and illness was higher in the Paralympics compared to the Olympic Games."There are injuries that are specific to individuals with a certain impairment, for instance, stump problems in athletes with amputation and even illnesses with higher incidences in certain categories, such as urinary tract infections in athletes with spinal cord injuries," he said.The research is expected to provide valuable insight into the prevalence and patterns of the injuries and illnesses in Paralympic athletes.More than 3500 athletes are competing at the Paralympics in Rio.The research will not record only on sports-related injuries, but all injuries and illnesses sustained during the Games that could affect sporting performance."An injury or illness doesn't have to be related to sport to affect performance."For example, a dental abscess or even influenza can take you from hero to zero in a short space of time and ruin years of preparation."The research will form the basis of preventative strategies or measures to protect athletes' health at major competitions in the future," Derman said.Data is generated by doctors who accompany the athletes logging on to the institute's web-based system and recording injuries and illnesses daily.The study began at the 2012 Paralympics in London and continued at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.The most common illnesses during the 2012 Games in London affected the respiratory, skin and digestive systems.But the winter Games have been identified as being more dangerous for Paralympians."At the Sochi Games there was poor snow quality due to warm environmental conditions, which possibly resulted in the increased incidence of injuries," Derman said...

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