The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic games officially came to an end in Sep.5 GMT as the closing ceremony happens in New National Stadium, Tokyo Japan.

It marks the end of nearly two weeks of Paralympic sport, during which China topped the medal table with 96 golds and 207 medals in total. Great Britain was second with 41 golds and USA third with 37.

Despite all the joyfulness it brought about in the past two weeks, it was unable to forget all the difficulties which the global pandemic had brought about. Medical team faced a great challenge in fighting against covid-19 and keeping athletes’ health status well.

Athletes health status has a direct impact on their  performance.  An unexpected injury or illness may limit the endurance capacity, or even lead to disqualification, thus cancelling many years of preparation.1 The injuries incurred by able-bodied and disabled athletes are alike, and result from acute injuries or from musculoskeletal overuse.2 Yet, from the clinical

point of view, disabled athletes are at a higher risk of injury/illness due to the impact of their specific disability: for example, the asymmetry of movement, as a result of a missing limb, often leads to backache, while paraplegia or quadriplegia may lead to urinary bladder infections.

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Radiology played an important role in providing a quick and accurate diagnosis, which informed the decision making process of clinical management, including determining the immediate impact of athletes’ participation in competition.  A total of 4378 para athletes took part in the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games, which were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil3. Study has showed demand and use of radiology services for the games, during which 1015 radiologic examinations were performed in athletes including 304 radiography, 104 ultrasound, and 607 magnetic resonance imaging 4. The Polyclinic which equipped with imaging diagnosis devices was open 24 h a day, and the Imaging Center was open from 7 am to 11 pm. In case of emergency situations requiring imaging outside of these hours or more complex injuries necessitating interventional procedures, the patients were referred to an outside referral hospital located 7.1 km  away from the Paralympic village.

Creator: Atsushi Tomura  Credit: Getty Images for Tokyo 2020 Copyright: 2016 Getty Image

Radiography was predominantly used as a first-line investigation in acute trauma to exclude fracture and in a few cases of degenerative joint disease. Suspected fracture was the most commonly cited clinical indication for imaging in all athletes emphasizing the requirement for radiographic services at a major international sporting events5.

As a leading company focused on X-ray radiography innovation, Perlove has always been dedicated in caring patients’ welfare and solving radiologic problems. With a variety of our radiography product and worldwide market services distribution, we believe we can cooperate and rebuild a better healthcare environment in the future.

Reference

1. Hanstad DV, Ronsen O, Andersen SS, et al. Fit for the fight? Illnesses in the Norwegian team in the Vancouver Olympic Games. Br J Sports Med 2011;45:571–5.

2. Reynolds J, Stirk A, Thomas A, et al. Paralympics—Barcelona 1992. Br J Sports Med 1994;28:14–17.

3. Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

4. Mohamed Jarraya, Cheri A. Blauwet, et al. Sports injuries at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Paralympic Games: use of diagnostic imaging services. European Radiology 2021.

5. Sarath Bethapudi, Robert S D Campbell, et al. Imaging services at the Paralympic Games London 2012: analysis of demand and distribution of workload. Group.bmj.com