Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center

Intoduction

“When can I return to sport?” is often the first question asked by an injured athlete, whether it’s a passionate recreational individual or an elite performer. The new special issue of BJSM ahead of the Youth Olympic Games is dedicated to the stars of tomorrow.

We all are looking forward to the first Youth Olympic Winter Games (YOG), held in Innsbruck, Austria, next January, when the next generation of future Olympic athletes will compete for medals.

In order to ensure a bright future for our young and promising, the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) now present a whole special issue, titled Injury Prevention and Health Protection.

The role of the IOC is to establish evidence-based knowledge, support research and spread the knowledge throughout the world of sports in cooperation with the international federations.

This IPHP issue is filled with good reasons for a concerted approach to use sports medicine and exercise as a tool to improve the individual's health.

Oslo going for gold

In the current edition of the IPHP, not less than four PhD and Master students from the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center (OSTRC) present their data from different arenas.

Both recreational and professional performers have been put under the magnifying glass, the latter through the FIS injury surveillance system (FIS ISS).

World Cup alpine and freestyle skiing and snowboarders have been examined, sports where injury rates are indeed high.

Findings from injury videos and interviews from the Vancouver Olympics and various World Cup competitions describe and analyze the complexity of the many serious injuries we observe in these sports.

In addition, evolution of equipment, for example boots, helmets and skis, drives the sports forward, oftentimes to be curbed by subsequent rule changes as we have just seen in World Cup skiing where FIS decided to make skies for certain disciplines longer.

The editors´s choice

Many well-designed intervention studies have been published in the peer-reviewed sports medicine literature, showing that injury risk can be reduced.

Even so Caroline Finch in her latest paper is asking herself; why do sports injuries still happen? Read the editors' choice! (pdf)

This special BJSM IPHP issue covers a wide range of topics from asthma to helmets, and sports from ski cross to ice hockey. A must-read for every sports medicine professional; click here for the online edition. 

The special issues of the British Journal of Sports Medicine Injury Prevention and Health Protection are edited by Lars Engebretsen, Head of the Scientific Activities in the IOC, and Kathrin Steffen (OSTRC, IOC).

Enjoy the warm-up: The Youth Olympic Games and a new awakening for sports and exercise medicine. (pdf)