Objective:First, to document the injuries sustained during the 2004 Olympic Games in a sample of patients visiting the physiotherapy department of the Olympic Village polyclinic. Second, to provide information and data about the physiotherapy services for planning future Olympics and other mass gatherings.Design:Observational study.Setting:Olympic Village polyclinic.Participants:457 patients aged 15–72 years visited the physiotherapy department from 30 July through 30 August.Results:The department’s workload was at a peak during the last 15 days of the Olympic Games (periods B and C). The most common injuries were overuse injuries (47.3%). The most common pathology for physiotherapy attendance was myofascial pain/muscle spasm (32.5%), followed by tendinopathy (19.2%) and ligament sprain (18.7%). The most prevalent site of injury was the thigh (21%), followed by the knee (14.1%) and the lumbar spine (13.5%). Most injuries had symptoms of <7 days’ duration. The geographical region with the greatest demand for physiotherapy services was Africa (40.6%). Most patients were athletes (74.8%), although team officials accounted for a considerable number (14%).Conclusions:The smallest national teams—especially those from developing countries—were more likely to take advantage of services, probably because the larger teams had their own medical and physiotherapy staff. The characteristics of patients, their sustained injuries and the subsequent treatment varied by the accreditation status of the patients. The physiotherapy department’s workload was dependent on the Olympic Games schedule.

Background: This work studied the relationship between changes in cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) through the middle cerebral artery (MCA) with non-invasive ventilatory threshold (VT) measurements determined by gasexchange during upright maximal cycle ergometry. Methods: Fourteen (M=8, F=6) healthy, young (23.1 ± 3.9 yr) participants volunteered for this study and performed a cycle ergometer protocol to maximal exertion. The CBFV was monitored continuously through the MCA by transcranial Doppler ultrasound and was assessed at rest, VT, and at maximal exertion (VO 2 max). Ventilatory threshold was assessed using three common methods: 1) V-slope, 2) nadir of the ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide production (V E /VCO 2), and 3) maximal partial pressure of carbon dioxide (P ET CO 2). Results: Analysis of variance demonstrated significant (p<0.001) main effects for CBFV, volume of oxygen consumed (VO 2), volume of carbon dioxide produced (VCO 2), and P ET CO 2. Bonferroni post hoc analysis demonstrated an increase in CBFV from rest to a peak CBFV (p<0.01) with a decrease from peak CBFV to VO 2 max (p<0.01). Stepwise linear regression suggest the only predictor of a reduction in CBFV during maximal exercise is the nadir of V E /VCO 2 (p<0.01). Conclusion: These data demonstrate an increase in CBFV during dynamic upright exercise up to approximately 78% VO 2 max after which CBFV decreases significantly to VO 2 max. This decrease in CBFV was closely related to common non-invasive measures of ventilatory threshold suggesting a close relationship between cerebral blood flow and the threshold for ventilatory compensation.