engleski

Emergency Medicine in Extreme Land Sports: The Need for a Medical Physician in an Extreme Sports Rescue Team

Over the period of 20 years, the prevalence of extreme sports and outdoor activities has risen. Although most of the professional extreme athletes are practicing in protected circles and have experiences and contacts with primary emergency care and ambulatory support, the majority of outdoor activities are done by ‘weekend’ athletes who rely on the current medical care available within the area. When these athletes get injured, it usually takes time for emergency rescue groups to come to their aid. The injuries involved can be traumatic or incapacitating from orthopedic injuries. Other injuries may include myocardial infarctions, an emergency situation that is very dependent on the time of response. The fastest rising extreme sport in woodland areas is mountain biking, thus there is an abundance of articles related to mountain biking injuries. This literary review is aimed on determining the common types of injuries encountered while mountain biking in remote woodland areas, the response time of the rescue team and the possible benefit of having a medical doctor for better health care. Although there is medical care available to these athletes, there can be some improvement in equipment, response time, in increasing the level of emergency care to possibly provide onsite treatment to many types of injuries before transportation to the nearest medical center.

Sports medicine; remote emergency medicine; orthopedic injuries; response time; rescue medical equipment; extreme sports; mountain biking.

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