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

<i>Objectives</i>: 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. <i>Methods</i>: 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 <i>injury</i> was defined as a physical complaint or observable damage to the body produced by the transfer of energy of the rider. An <i>illness</i> was defined as a physical complaint or presentation not related to injury. <i>Results</i>: 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. <i>Conclusions</i>: 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，但针对多日自行车赛事中的损伤与疾病发病模式的研究尚未得到广泛开展。本研究旨在明确公路自行车赛骑手的损伤与疾病发病率，并描述针对参赛骑手所实施的医疗干预措施。
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支代表队的166名精英自行车运动员参赛。本研究收集的损伤与疾病相关数据包括：损伤类型、损伤解剖部位、就诊详情、干预实施地点、所采用的治疗手段、给药情况以及骑手的最终处置情况。本研究中，“损伤”定义为骑手因能量传递导致的躯体不适或可观测的机体损伤；“疾病”定义为与损伤无关的躯体不适或病症表现。
研究结果：总损伤与疾病发病率为每1000骑行小时5.83例（其中损伤发病率为每1000骑行小时2.82例，疾病发病率为每1000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起为非创伤性病症。针对15起损伤事件共实施了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处理（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：顶级多日公路自行车赛中会发生多种类型的伤病，从简单的皮肤损伤到需要住院治疗的严重损伤均有出现。多数伤病症状轻微，但医疗保障团队需做好应对致命性创伤的准备。