Injuries among Disabled Athletes during the 2002 Winter Paralympic Games

Abstract

The injury patterns observed among winter Paralympians in this study are not appreciably different from able-bodied athletes competing in similar disciplines, although in many instances the risk factors for sport-specific injury appear to be unique to disabled or adapted competition. Our preliminary observations suggest that several of the more severe injuries were potentially preventable. Ongoing data collection by the International Paralympic Committee should enable feasible injury prevention strategies to be designed and implemented.