Objective: This study is designed to aid in safe coverage of a large scale wrestling tournament and to provide information transferable to other sporting tournaments.
Background: Catastrophic injuries dominate the concerns of the medical teams covering sporting events. Insights gained from years of experience by the same medical team for one of the premier high school wrestling tournaments offers practical knowledge for successful preparation of a large scale event. Necessary personnel, equipment, and supplies are critical.
Differential diagnosis: Skin conditions and injuries sustained while wrestling
Measurements: Event preparation was performed by the same medical staff for three years, 2006, 2008 and 2009. Skin checks were performed on over 750 wrestlers each year. Disqualifications for untreated or under treated conditions were made as necessary. Approximately 1,700 bouts a year were supervised by the medical personnel. All injuries sustained were recorded by the medical staff and necessary disqualifications were made.
Findings: Each year wrestlers presented with the appropriate skin forms. Only in 2009, did a wrestler not have adequate treatment for MRSA impetigo and was disqualified. There were no catastrophic injuries in the recorded years. Medical disqualifications were also infrequent. In 2006, 2008 and 2009, 6, 17, and 8 disqualifications occurred respectively. The most common type of injury each year was a sprain/strain.
Conclusion: Many clinicians are fearful of leading the medical staff for tournaments of such size. The presented recommendations provide an understanding and categorical check list of necessary staffing, logistics, equipment, and supplies. Preparation for known sports specific anticipated injuries and return to play decision making should help, but only successful completion of the event will provide the necessary confidence.