The IOC Centres of Excellence bring prevention to Sports Medicine
- Authors: Engebretsen, Lars , Bahr, Roald , Cook, Jill , Derman, Wayne , Emery, Carolyn , Finch, Caroline , Meeuwisse, Willem , Schwellnus, Martin , Steffen, Kathrin
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 48, no. 17 (2014), p. 1270-1275
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- Description: The protection of an athlete's health and preventing injuries and illnesses in sport are top priorities for the IOC and its Medical Commission. The IOC therefore partners with selected research centres around the world and supports research in the field of sports medicine. This has enabled the IOC to develop an international network of expert scientists and clinicians in sports injury and disease prevention research. The IOC wants to promote injury and disease prevention and the improvement of physical health of the athlete by: (1) establishing long-term research programmes on injury and disease prevention (including studies on basic epidemiology, risk factors, injury mechanisms and intervention), (2) fostering collaborative relationships with individuals, institutions and organisations to improve athletes' health, (3) implementing and collaborating with applied, ongoing and novel research and development within the framework and long-term strategy of the IOC and (4) setting up knowledge translation mechanisms to share scientific research results with the field throughout the Olympic Movement and sports community and converting these results into concrete actions to protect the health of the athletes. In 2009, the IOC also identified four research centres that had an established track record in research, educational and clinical activities to achieve these ambitions: (1) the Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention (ACRISP), Australia; (2) the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre (SIPRC), Canada; (3) the Clinical Sport and Exercise Medicine Research (CSEM), South Africa and (4) the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center (OSTRC), Norway. This paper highlights the work carried out by these four IOC Centres of Excellence over the past 6 years and their contribution to the world of sports medicine.
Towards the reduction of injury and illness in athletes : Defining our research priorities
- Authors: Finch, Caroline , Bahr, Roald , Drezner, Jonathan , Dvorak, Jiri , Engebretsen, Lars , Hewett, Timothy , Junge, Astrid , Khan, Karim , Macauley, Domhnall , Matheson, Gordon , McCrory, Paul , Verhagen, Evert
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 51, no. 16 (2017), p. 1178-1182
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
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Head impact velocities in FIS World Cup snowboarders and freestyle skiers : Do real-life impacts exceed helmet testing standards?
- Authors: Steenstrup, Sophie , Mok, Kam-Ming , McIntosh, Andrew , Bahr, Roald , Krosshaug, Tron
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 52, no. 1 (2018), p. 32-40
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- Description: Introduction Prior to the 2013-2014 season, the International Ski Federation (FIS) increased the helmet testing speed from a minimum requirement of 5.4 to 6.8 m/s for alpine downhill, super-G and giant slalom and for freestyle ski cross, but not for the other freestyle disciplines or snowboarding. Whether this increased testing speed reflects impact velocities in real head injury situations on snow is unclear. We therefore investigated the injury mechanisms and gross head impact biomechanics in four real head injury situations among World Cup (WC) snowboard and freestyle athletes and compared these with helmet homologation laboratory test requirements. The helmets in the four cases complied with at least European Standards (EN) 1077 (Class B) or American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) F2040. Methods We analysed four head injury videos from the FIS Injury Surveillance System throughout eight WC seasons (2006-2014) in detail. We used motion analysis software to digitize the helmet's trajectory and estimated the head's kinematics in two dimensions, including directly preimpact and postimpact. Results All four impacts were to the occiput. In the four cases, the normal-to-slope preimpact velocity ranged from 7.0(±SD 0.2) m/s to 10.5±0.5 m/s and the normalto-slope velocity change ranged from 8.4±0.6 m/s to 11.7±0.7 m/s. The sagittal plane helmet angular velocity estimates indicated a large change in angular velocity (25.0±2.9 rad/s to 49.1±0.3 rad/s). Conclusion The estimated normal-to-slope preimpact velocity was higher than the current strictest helmet testing rule of 6.8 m/s in all four cases. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved.
Head injury mechanisms in FIS World Cup alpine and freestyle skiers and snowboarders
- Authors: Steenstrup, Sophie , Bakken, Arnhild , Bere, Tone , Patton, Declan , Bahr, Roald
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 52, no. 1 (2018), p. 61-69
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- Description: Introduction Head injuries represent a concern in skiing and snowboarding, with traumatic brain injuries being the most common cause of death. Aim To describe the mechanisms of head and face injuries among World Cup alpine and freestyle skiers and snowboarders. Methods We performed a qualitative analysis of videos obtained of head and face injuries reported through the International Ski Federation Injury Surveillance System during 10 World Cup seasons (2006-2016). We analysed 57 head impact injury videos (alpine n=29, snowboard n=13, freestyle n=15), first independently and subsequently in a consensus meeting. Results During the crash sequence, most athletes (84%) impacted the snow with the skis or board first, followed by the upper or lower extremities, buttocks/pelvis, back and, finally, the head. Alpine skiers had sideways (45%) and backwards pitching falls (35%), with impacts to the rear (38%) and side (35%) of the helmet. Freestyle skiers and snowboarders had backwards pitching falls (snowboard 77%, freestyle 53%), mainly with impacts to the rear of the helmet (snowboard 69%, freestyle 40%). There were three helmet ejections among alpine skiers (10% of cases), and 41% of alpine skiing injuries occurred due to inappropriate gate contact prior to falling. Athletes had one (47%) or two (28%) head impacts, and the first impact was the most severe (71%). Head impacts were mainly on snow (83%) on a downward slope (63%). Conclusion This study has identified several characteristics of the mechanisms of head injuries, which may be addressed to reduce risk.
Reconstruction of head impacts in FIS World Cup alpine skiing
- Authors: Steenstrup, Sophie , Mok, Kam-Ming , McIntosh, Andrew , Bahr, Roald , Krosshaug, Tron
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 52, no. 11 (2018), p. 709-715
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- Description: Introduction Prior to the 2013/2014 season, the International Ski Federation (FIS) increased the helmet testing speed from 5.4 to 6.8 m/s for alpine downhill, super-G and giant slalom. Whether this increased testing speed reflects head impact velocities in real head injury situations on snow is unclear. We therefore investigated the injury mechanisms and gross head impact biomechanics in seven real head injury situations among World Cup (WC) alpine skiers. Methods We analysed nine head impacts from seven head injury videos from the FIS Injury Surveillance System, throughout nine WC seasons (2006-2015) in detail. We used commercial video-based motion analysis software to estimate head impact kinematics in two dimensions, including directly preimpact and postimpact, from broadcast video. The sagittal plane angular movement of the head was also measured using angle measurement software. Results In seven of nine head impacts, the estimated normal to slope preimpact velocity was higher than the current FIS helmet rule of 6.8 m/s (mean 8.1 (±SD 0.6) m/s, range 1.9±0.8 to 12.1±0.4 m/s). The nine head impacts had a mean normal to slope velocity change of 9.3±1.0 m/s, range 5.2±1.1 to 13.5±1.3 m/s. There was a large change in sagittal plane angular velocity (mean 43.3±2.9 rad/s (range 21.2±1.5 to 64.2±3.0 rad/s)) during impact. Conclusion The estimated normal to slope preimpact velocity was higher than the current FIS helmet rule of 6.8 m/s in seven of nine head impacts.