This study investigated the medical care provision in the weightlifting event venue of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In this study, the knees, fingers, and wrists were the most frequently treated areas in the first-aid station of the training floor, whereas the fingers, knees, and lower leg were most frequently treated in the first-aid station of the warm-up area. In contrast, for cases that required medical examination by a physician, most of the symptoms examined at the athlete medical station were medical or psychiatric. The symptoms encountered in the FOP area mostly involved the musculoskeletal system, except for two cases of light-headedness.
According to a previous report from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, 34 (13.3%) weightlifting athletes were examined for injuries [1]. This frequency was higher than in other competitions. However, in the present study, a total of 17 athletes needed to be examined by a doctor. This difference is thought to be due to the fact that the previous report was the sum of the polyclinic at the Olympic village and the medical care at the venue, whereas this report was limited to medical care at the venue.
In a previous study, the elbows, shoulders, and hips were the main trauma sites. However, in the present study, none of the athletes required physical examination of the shoulder and hip. This may be because injuries in these areas are often of chronic course, and procedures that can be performed at the medical station are limited when it comes to these injuries.
Weightlifting is a sport with detrimental effects on the body; however, a previous report showed that the frequency of injuries of top-athlete states was equivalent to other non-contact sports [8]. Due to the nature of the sport, chronic symptoms are often observed [9], and these cases are not managed by medical stations at the competition venue. Additionally, that sudden injury may appear when an excessive load is applied in a special competition.
Regarding medical symptoms, there were few cases examined at the competition venue. However, previous reports have shown that all athletes had an illness at least once before the Olympic Games and had poor mental health [10]. Therefore, it should be noted that there are more athletes at risk than expected, both physically and mentally. Furthermore, an analysis of athletes who participated in the Olympic Games reported that the female sex, low energy availability, and poor mental health are risk factors for an injury. Thus, it is crucial to gain a comprehensive understanding of the medical examinations undergone by the athletes [11].
Additionally, in this study, it was found that there are many opportunities for medical professionals other than doctors to treat athletes. In preparation for the Olympic Games, this author attended the event after training on life-saving and haemostasic measures [12], but sometimes the inexperienced staff could not perform the treatment well. Therefore, it is very important to know in advance what kind of measures will be required at each competition venue.
Limitations
The present study had a few limitations. This study only considered the medical care provided inside the weightlifting competition venue at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games and did not account for that provided outside the venue, such as in the polyclinic at the Olympic village. Therefore, in most cases, a diagnosis cannot be made. Additionally, it was not possible to investigate the athletes’ history and whether the chronic disease worsened or whether they sustained a new injury or illness. Finally, the medical service in this event was provided to the target population free of charge. This may affect the reception of medical services at the venue because there are differences in the quality of medical services in the countries from which the target population hailed.