Based on the data collected, it does appear that athletes with skeletal dysplasia can safely participate in the events offered during the World Dwarf Games. None of the reported injuries or illnesses precluded the athletes from returning to play.
Data collected at future competitions will help identify trends, which may lead to rule changes to improve safety and a decrease in injuries. Adding a designated spectator area for athletes as well as modifying rules to prevent excessive physical contact in soccer and basketball competitions may reduce the incidence of injury.
Dwarfism, or Skeletal Dysplasia SD , is a term used to describe short stature, which is defined as three or more standard deviations below the mean height for age Emedicine, There are multiple etiologies of SD, including metabolic or endocrine disorders, birth defects, and chromosomal disorders Emedicine, Over types of SD have been identified Emedicine, The incidence of SD is approximately 1 in every to births Emedicine, Many cases are not identified until childhood. The four most common types of SD are achondroplasia, osteogenesis imperfecta, achondrogenesis, and thanatophoric dysplasia Emedicine, Achondrogenesis and thanatophoric dysplasia are lethal forms of SD, while achondroplasia is the most common type of non-lethal SD Emedicine, Due to skeletal abnormalities, people with SD can have functional abnormalities and medical co-morbidities.
Clinical complications of SD are numerous and include enlarged cranium with hydrocephalus, genu varum, hearing impairments, cataracts, atlantoaxial instability, exaggerated cervical and thoracolumbar kyphosis, endocrine disorders, metabolic disorders, and cognitive impairments Emedicine, Orthopedic and neurological abnormalities can be functionally limiting in the SD population Hunter et al.
Cervicomedullary compression and spinal stenosis can be seen at an early age in the achondroplasia population Hunter et al. For multiple reasons obesity has become prevalent among those affected with SD Pauli, The Little People of America LPA and the Dwarf Athletic Association of America DAAA have teamed together to develop, promote, and provide quality amateur level athletic competition opportunities for dwarf athletes in the United States in an effort to prevent obesity and increase physical fitness within the SD population.
Competitions include the National Dwarf Games, which are held annually in the United States, and the World Dwarf Games, which are held every four years with worldwide participation among dwarf athletes.
The incidence of injuries and illness among Paralympic Game athletes with physical impairments and disabilities has been well documented Webborn et al. This has lead to improvement among athlete preparation and safety during the Paralympic Games. For example, in , rule changes and improved protective equipment in ice sledge hockey resulted in remarkable reductions in lower limb injuries in successive Paralympic Winter Games Willick et al.
However, injuries to athletes with disabilities and substantial medical co-morbidities, such as those present in the dwarf population, may have significant consequences on functionality. How athletic competition has affected those with SD has yet to be investigated.
This study was a retrospective review of case series interactions between dwarf athletes and the medical staff present at the World Dwarf Games from August 3—10, Injury incidence rate was calculated as the number of incident injuries divided by total athlete-competitions. An athlete-competition was defined as one athlete participating in one competition. Epidemiologic incidence proportion was used as a measure of risk. It was calculated by dividing the number of athletes injured by the number of athletes at risk during the World Dwarf Games.
Reported injuries that occurred outside of competition were noted, but not included when calculating injury incidence rates and epidemiologic incidence proportions. Prior to the start of the World Dwarf Games, the DAAA approached the Medical Director of the Games requesting that interactions between the athletes and the medical staff be documented as part of a quality improvement project. However, due to a lack of resources, language barriers, and an inability to have face-to-face interactions with all athletes prior to the games to get written informed consent, we decided not to prospectively collect data.
Approximately one year following the completion of the Games, it was decided to retrospectively analyze the medical staff-athlete interactions.
Sporting events at the World Dwarf Games included archery, badminton, basketball, boccia, floor hockey, kurling, powerlifting, shooting, soccer, swimming, table tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Events were modified to accommodate the impairments present among the SD population. Participants in each sport per division are shown in Table 1. A classification system was used for badminton, table tennis, boccia, swimming, and track and field in the Masters and Open divisions. Lower body classification was determined by leg length difference between standing height and sitting height and was used for Open and Masters division athletes in badminton, table tennis, and track.
Upper body classification was determined by arm span fingertip to fingertip with arms abducted 90 degrees and was used for Open and Masters division athletes in boccia, field competitions, and swimming Fig. Three classes were used for the upper body and lower body classification system Table 2. Upper and lower body classifications for Open and Masters division athletes. Measurements of standing height, sitting height, and arm span were used to determine lower and upper body classifications for Open and Masters division athletes.
An injury or illness was described as any symptom that an athlete was experiencing that led them to seek medical consultation from either an athletic trainer or a physician present at the Games. An injury was further classified into one of three types: acute, chronic, or acute on chronic.
An acute injury was defined as a new injury that occurred during the Games triggered by a precipitating event. A chronic injury was considered a previously existing injury without an acute triggering event during the Games. An acute on chronic injury was considered a previously existing injury that was exacerbated by an acute precipitating event during the Games. A total of 29 athletes presented to medical staff for evaluation and treatment of injuries and illnesses.
Of those, 4 injuries involved athletes but occurred outside of competition. Only 1 illness was reported during the week of games. A total of 24 competition related injuries were recorded among the athletes Table 3. These 24 injuries were the focus of this study with statistics excluding the 4 injuries that occurred outside of competition.
The overall injury incidence rate, calculated as injuries per athlete-competitions, was 0. The epidemiologic incidence proportion IP for male athletes was 7.
In regards to acuity of injury, acute injuries were predominant 5. The sport with the highest injury incidence rate was soccer with 4. Lower extremity injuries were the most common in both soccer and basketball and In regards to severity of injury, Of the remaining injured athletes, I-RTP was not recorded for one and the other two could have returned if the competition had continued injuries occurred near the end of their events.
The only reported illness during the entire World Dwarf Games resulted in an illness incidence proportion of 0. Among the different classification groups, the Open division had the highest incidence rate with Those injuries and their sports, including a brief review of the rule adaptations of the athletes, are included below.
Separate singles competitions were conducted for males and females. Rule adaptions included junior-size badminton racquets being allowed for competitors in the Junior A and Junior B divisions. A sidearm serve was allowed because short stature and a long racket make the underhand serve difficult for the dwarf athlete.
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Former corrections officer sentenced for smuggling drugs, phones into prison. Riley Windeler stepped on to the stand, bowed his head and smiled from ear-to-ear as a bronze medal was placed around his neck.
The year-old university student from Horsefly, British Columbia, was proud of having captained the Canadian volleyball team to a third-place finish. But for Windeler and hundreds of athletes competing this week at the World Dwarf Games on the campus of Michigan State University, the Games are as much about inclusion and fellowship as they are athletics and competition. The Games, which conclude Saturday with the basketball finals at the Breslin Center followed by closing ceremonies, are held every four years.
Dwarfism is a medical or genetic condition that usually results in an adult height of 4-foot or shorter. Most enjoy normal intelligence, normal life spans, and reasonably good health, according to Little People of America, Inc. Known as dwarfs, little people or short-statured, those with dwarfism are sometimes misunderstood, and in extreme cases, ridiculed by members of the public.
Just ask Cullen Adams, who repeated as the meter dash champion, winning in Because inclusion is the name of the game, people of all ages and abilities were encouraged to compete in the 14 medal sports this week in East Lansing. The Games are open to dwarf athletes and are organized by five age divisions: — Futures 6 and younger , Junior A , Junior B , Open any age and Masters 35 and older — as well as by dwarfism classification, including Classes 1, 2 and 3, based upon body proportions.
The Games "make sure that kids with dwarfism could be here" so they can "be around adult role models," Sawisch said. And chances are they don't know anything about the dwarf community or what the opportunities are. That was the case with Kevin Cekanor, whose father, Mike, serves as chef de mission, or manager, of the athlete U. Mike Cekanor and his wife have two boys.
Kevin, 16, is their youngest and has a kind of dwarfism called achondroplasia, a genetic condition that results in disproportionately short arms and legs.
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