Sports injuries at the 1985 Junior Olympics

Abstract

The XIX Junior Olympic Games, hosted in lowa City, lowa, in August of 1985, involved 3,028 athletes who participated for 7 days in 13 different sports at 8 separate sites. Medical coverage for the Games was provided by the University of lowa Sports Medicine Service. Staffing for the events involved approximately 75 physicians, 60 athletic trainers, and other health care personnel.

A triage protocol was established prior to the Games whereby the athletic trainer would make first contact with the injured athlete and would evaluate and treat the injury based on standing orders. If in the judgment of the trainer, the athlete needed to be referred to a physician, one would be available, either on site or on call.

During the Games, 1,113 medical encounters were recorded, 121 of those being deemed serious enough to withhold an athlete from competition pending further evaluation and treatment. The 121 significant injuries and illnesses involved 116 athletes (66% male, 34% female). Thirty-four percent of the significant injuries only required treatment by the trainer, while 46% were referred to an on site physician and 20% needed a specialty consultant. Seventeen percent of the signifi cant injuries resulted in the athlete being medically disqualified for the remainder of the event.

The most common injuries/illnesses were contusions (26%), sprains (21 %), heat (17%), strains (9%), and other illnesses (12%). According to body region, 44% of the 121 injuries were to the lower extremity, 26% to the head, neck, and trunk, and 12% to the upper extremity. Eighteen percent were heat-related illnesses requiring intravenous administration of fluids. Twenty- six percent of the injuries were to body sites injured prior to competition. Athletes who had a history of previous injury to a body part were much more likely to sustain another injury to that body part than were those athletes with no record of previous injury (relative risk = 9.33).