Halfway through the Winter Olympics in Italy
Half of the medals at the Winter Olympics in Italy have been awarded. Organizational processes gradually develop a certain routine. This also applies to the work in the six Olympic villages. Meanwhile, at all locations the colleagues have arrived and will provide care for the athletes in the clinics until the end of the Winter Games.
In Milan, orthopedic insoles and compression products were dispensed. On the other hand, there were fractures and ligament injuries to the hand and shoulder. "We have treated most often ice hockey players," reports Bernd Stetter, head of medical affairs, who treated athletes in Milan until February 14. "We also dispensed orthoses, such as the SecuTec Genu Flex, to a Swiss ice hockey player after an internal ligament injury. Fortunately, however, these were mostly minor injuries," he adds. Many of the athletes were able to continue competing after treatment in Milan.
Freestyle competitions have led to serious injuries
The situation in Livigno was different. This is where the freestyle competitions for skiing and snowboarding take place. As soon as the athletes begin their training and the first qualifying races start, injuries almost inevitably occur. Because everyday life unfortunately also includes falls on the slope, in the halfpipe or on the course. "I remember the care of a Korean woman that I provided for at the beginning of the competitions," says Tom Schonis of our subsidiary Bauerfeind-Benelux. "We treated her with a SofTec Genu after a cruciate ligament injury, so she could fly home for further treatment." Another severe knee injury of a Korean woman was treated by Annelie Halank, a field service employee in northern Germany, and Thimoté Rouzin from Bauerfeind France. "She suffered an impression fracture in her thigh during training and we applied a SecuTec Genu Flex to limit the movement of her knee," Thimoté said. "The care was special for me in that we were called to the hospital's emergency room and they measured and then applied the orthosis there," Annelie adds. "As bad as this injury was, it touched me deeply that we were able to help her so professionally as a team and alleviate her severe pain somewhat with the orthosis," Annelie said.
The full range of amenities in Livigno, Bormio, and Predazzo
Both Jörg Mildner, from the Carrying Tests team, experienced severe injuries and preventive care in the first half of the Olympic competitions. He was active in Livigno and Bormio, where the men's alpine ski competitions take place. "Here, there were the typical injuries to the shoulder, hand, or knee that occur while skiing. However, it was less severe than in Livigno, so many athletes were able to continue their competition," reports Jörg. However, many also came to ask about a compression product for muscle problems. Specifically, compression sleeves and alpine ski compression socks were handed out in Bormio.
Andreas Limbach, head of measurement technology, who has been in charge of the location in Predazzo the entire time, also reports similar results. "In the past few days, many well-known athletes, such as the combined skier Vinzenz Geiger, ski jumper Katharina Schmid, or Italian cross-country skier Federico Pellegrino, stopped by to ask about compression products for recovery and to support the upcoming competitions." Most of the injuries were to the hand, caused by a ski pole during a fall while cross-country skiing. "We had rather expected injuries among the ski jumpers, but due to the difficult conditions on the course, due to the wet snow, it was particularly the cross-country skiers who needed our support," he adds.
Serious falls during the downhill run
In Cortina, it was not only the TV viewers who remembered the severe skiing crash of Lindsey Vonn – it was also a topic among Bauerfeind colleagues at the clinic. However, they had no personal contact with the athlete who was flown to the clinic by helicopter, and handed the products directly to the attending physicians. The Andorran skier who also fell hard during the start, Candelaria "Cande" Moreno Becerra, was treated directly in Cortina by Marius Mildner, a field worker from northern Germany, with a SecuTec Genu Flex and a RhizoLoc. In her violent fall, the 25-year-old suffered a torn left knee ligament and a sprained right thumb ligament. During the week, she posted a thank you to Bauerfeind on her Instagram channel, showing her with the products.
Additional coverage in Cortina came from the women's alpine skiing events. "We had some supplies of orthoses for knees, hands, and shoulders," Marie reports. She worked in both Cortina and Antholz. For example, in Antholz, she gave a ManuTrain to a Norwegian biathlete. "It was generally quiet in Antholz," Marie summarizes. However, I had a wonderful exchange with the doctors from the delegations. This was very helpful in my work as a product manager for b:joynz orthotics, and I returned to Zeulenroda with many ideas for further developing the products," Marie said.