Getting back on your feet: the top summer Olympic sports injuries
Every Olympics Games brings its thrills and spills. It’s to be expected in a such an intensive environment where competitors have intensively trained just to be part of. Competitors and their trainers aim for the optimum performance possible, and that can lead to injuries that end their dreams of competing in Paris. Others come to the Games, only to incur injuries that may (or may not) rule them out of competing.
The issue was highlighted when US superstar gymnast Simone Biles sustained an injury, not during a routine but in between rotations. According to Yahoo News:
“During a warm-up tumbling pass ahead of the floor exercise, Biles appeared to injure her left leg. … Biles went on to compete on floor and vault with her left leg taped up … Biles’ coach Cecile Landi told reporters that the soreness in Biles’ left calf was something she had been dealing with for a few weeks, but that she exacerbated it during the warm-up.”
Three most common summer Olympic injuries
According to a systematic review of “Patterns and Trends of Foot and Ankle Injuries in Olympic Athletes”, 16% of all Summer Olympics injuries are to the foot and ankle.
The top three injuries were:
- tendon injuries (44%)
- ligament injuries (24%)
- stress fractures (21%)
Acute fractures only accounted for 4% of the total.
For specific summer Olympics studied, Taekwondo accounted for the highest rate of foot and ankle injuries (52.1%), with the next highest being Gymnastics (42%).
Interestingly the Summer Olympics featured a higher percentage of foot and ankle injuries than the Winter Olympics, probably due to the specialised equipment and protective boots worn in the winter events.
Also,
“Many summer Olympics sports such as Taekwondo and Rugby are contact sports, which involve direct injury to the unprotected foot and ankle, thereby accounting for higher injury rates. Summer Olympics include a number of track and field sports, which are associated with higher rates of foot and ankle injuries.”
Good news for feet
The good news is that since 2008:
“The rates and burden of foot and ankle injuries in Olympics showed a steady decline. Although it is hard to pin point, the reasons for this trend, we believe that this may be attributable to advances in protective gear, advancements in our understanding in injury patho-mechanics implementation of injury prevention protocols.”
Injured playing sports?
Here at Hunt Footcare we can help diagnose your sports injury, be a foot or ankle strain, muscle sprain or unexplained foot pain. Our team will carefully examine you and recommend a wide range of treatments and therapies.
It’s important that treatment and recovery don’t push your injury too far, too soon, so we also carefully plan your recovery and rehabilitation. Our expertise and experience will soon put you on the right road to a return to the sport you love, from athletics to wrestling!
Simply call us and make an appointment:
