[Profile of health services utilization during the XVII Central American and Caribbean Sport Games: Delegation of Puerto Rico, Ponce 1993]. / Perfil de utilización de los servicios de salud durante los XVII Juegos Deportivos Centroamericanos y del Caribe: Delegación de Puerto Rico, Ponce 1993.

During the XVII Central American and Caribbean Sports Games held in Ponce in 1993 the health services offered to the Puerto Rico Delegation included medical, dental and psychological assistance, physical therapy and services on the playing field. Information about the use of these services was obtained from the encounter sheets. The Puerto Rican delegation of 750 members had 1,800 encounters with the health team; 612 (34.0%) individual consults; 896 (54.8%) physical therapy sessions; 166 (9.2%) encounters in the sports venues; and 36 (20%) group therapies. The most common diagnoses were athletic injuries (304; 58.2%) and diseases of the respiratory system (76; 14.5%). The most frequent athletic injuries were first degree strains (75; 24.7%) and tendinitis (73, 24.0%). This pattern is similar to that observed in other sports games and delegations with mild conditions prevailing. An interdisciplinary work and biopsychosocial approach will be important for the better health and performance of our athletes.

Patterns of injuries in athletes evaluated in an interdisciplinary clinic.

The pattern of sports injuries appears to be population-specific. The purpose of the present study is to describe 1750 injuries evaluated between April 1988 and April 1994 in our Olympic Training Center Interdisciplinary Sports Injury Clinic. Our patient population included elite and recreational athletes of both sexes between the ages of 7 and 71 years. Males comprised 73% of the patient population and approximately 80% of the injuries corresponded to the 10 to 29 age range. The most frequent sports in males were baseball (21.9%) and basketball (15.9%) and in females were track and field (17.1%) and gymnastics (15.1%). Most injuries (52%) were traumatic in nature, chronic (71.6%), and occurred during training sessions (57.4%). The most commonly affected anatomical areas were the knee (31.2%) and shoulder (15.5%). The most common diagnoses were tendinitis (25.4%), and first degree strains (11.8%) and sprains (9.3%). Finally, treatment strategies included medications (61.0%), physical therapy (48.9%), relative rest (35.7%), and home exercise programs (35.2%). The variety of musculoskeletal disorders seen in combination with the frequent use of conservative treatment confirms the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to sports injuries.

[Morbidity during the XVI Central American and Caribbean Games: Puerto Rican delegation, Mexico 1990]. / Morbilidad durante los XVI Juegos Deportivos Centroamericanos y del Caribe: Delegación de Puerto Rico, México 1990.

The health services offered to the Puerto Rican Delegation during the XVI Central American and Caribbean Sports Games in México in 1990 included: medical, dental and psychological assistance, physical therapy and services on the playing field. From the consultation sheets completed during the Games we obtained information about the use of these services. The 336 members of the Puerto Rico Delegation in the village at México City had 1,838 encounters with the health team. Of these, 991 were medical consults, 55 group therapies, 466 physical therapy sessions and 326 encounters in the sports venues. Among the encounters for medical evaluation the most frequent problems were athletic injuries (318; 32.1%), respiratory problems (240; 24.2%), gastrointestinal conditions (126; 12.7%) and dental services (119; 12.0%). The most frequent athletic injuries were first degree strains (83; 26.1%), tendinitis (56; 17.6%), contusions (42; 13.2%), myositis (40; 12.6%) and first degree sprains (28; 8.8%). The health problems found were diversed and in the majority of cases mild in character, which can be attend by adequately trained on sports health primary health professionals.