573 MEP056 – Injury and illness complaints during the month before the Munich 2022 European championships

AbstractBackground Participating in international championships, such as Olympic Games, World or Continental championships, represents one of the main goals of the athletes' season. However, in the four weeks prior to these major events, 19–32% of athletes reported having had an injury complaint and 5–22% had an illness complaint in aquatics and athletics.Objective To describe the injury and illness complaints of elite athletes during the four weeks before the 2022 European championships in Munich (Germany).Design Cross-sectional study.Setting The 2022 European championships in Munich (Germany).Participants All registered elite athletes (n=5419).Main Outcomes Measures Personal and training characteristics (sex, age, country, height, weight, discipline, time spent in training) and injury and illness complaints during the four weeks preceding the championships using an online pre-participation health questionnaire (PPHQ).Results A total of 239 (4.4%) completed the PPHQ. About 20% of athletes reported an injury complaint during the four weeks before the championships. The most frequently reported location was "upper extremity" (19.1%), followed by "posterior thigh" (12.8%) and "head/trunk" (12.8%). About two-thirds of athletes reported performance not or minorly affected by the injury complaint. About 10% of athletes reported an illness complaint prior to the championships. The most frequently reported affected system was "respiratory tract" (52.0%), the cause was infection (64.0%), and 80% of athletes reported that their performance was not or minorly affected by the illness complaint.Conclusion Presenting an injury and/or illness complaint during the 4 weeks of the final preparation of a major championship is not rare: about 20% of included athletes reported an injury complaint and about 10% an illness complaint during the four weeks before the 2022 European championships. These results highlight the need of improving the monitoring and if needed, the management of athletes' health, in the final preparation of the international championships.