Injury and illness among athletes during a multi-day elite cycling road race

Objectives: Although road bicycle races have been held for more than a century, injury and illness patterns during multi-day bicycle events have not been widely studied. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of injury and illness among riders and describe the medical care interventions provided to participants of cycling road races. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted on the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey, which was held between April 26 and May 3, 2015. The race lasted 8 days and covered 1258 km of road. There were 166 elite cycling athletes representing 21 teams from various countries. Data collected pertaining to incidents involving injury or illness included the following: type of injury; anatomical location of injury; details of the medical encounter; location of the intervention; treatment provided; medication administered and disposition of the rider. An injury was defined as a physical complaint or observable damage to the body produced by the transfer of energy of the rider. An illness was defined as a physical complaint or presentation not related to injury. Results: The overall incidence (injury and illness) was 5.83 per 1000 cycling hours. (Injury incidence was 2.82 vs illness incidence of 3.01 per 1000 hours cycling). A total of 31 incidents occurred. Of these, 15 were injuries, while 16 were complaints of a non-traumatic nature. A total of 43 interventions were made in the 15 cases of injury. The most commonly injured body regions were limbs; the majority of injuries involved the skin and soft tissue. The most common medical intervention was wound care (64% of all interventions). Two riders had to withdraw from the race, and one was hospitalized due to a traumatic pneumothorax. None of the non-traumatic cases resulted in withdrawal from the race. Conclusions: A broad spectrum of illness and injury occurs during elite multi-day road races, ranging from simple skin injuries to serious injuries requiring hospital admission. Most injuries and illnesses are minor; however, medical teams must be prepared to treat life-threatening trauma.研究目标：尽管公路自行车赛事已有百余年历史，但多日自行车赛事中的伤病发病特征尚未得到广泛研究。本研究旨在明确参赛骑手的伤病发病率，并描述针对公路自行车赛参与者所实施的各类医疗干预措施。 研究方法：本研究针对2015年4月26日至5月3日举办的土耳其总统杯公路自行车赛（Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey）开展前瞻性观察研究。该赛事共持续8天，赛程总长1258公里，共有来自21个国家的21支车队、166名精英自行车运动员参赛。本研究收集的伤病相关数据包含以下内容：损伤类型、损伤解剖部位、诊疗详情、干预实施地点、所提供的治疗方案、使用的药物以及骑手的后续处置情况。本研究对损伤的定义为：骑手因能量传递导致的身体不适或可观测的机体损伤；对疾病的定义为：与损伤无关的身体不适或临床表现。 研究结果：整体伤病发病率为每1000个骑行小时5.83例（其中损伤发病率为每1000个骑行小时2.82例，非创伤性疾病发病率为每1000个骑行小时3.01例）。本次赛事共发生31起伤病事件，其中15起为损伤，16起为非创伤性不适。在15起损伤事件中共实施了43次医疗干预。最常见的损伤部位为四肢，多数损伤累及皮肤及软组织。最常见的医疗干预为伤口护理（占所有干预措施的64%）。共有2名骑手被迫退赛，其中1人因创伤性气胸住院治疗。所有非创伤性病例均未导致骑手退赛。 研究结论：精英组多日公路自行车赛事中会发生各类伤病，从单纯的皮肤损伤到需住院治疗的严重损伤均有出现。多数伤病病情轻微，但医疗团队需做好应对危及生命的创伤的准备。