Practical tips in preventing sports injuries in teams. Secrets from Norway’s surveillance methods

“Just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean it’s impossible” says Norway’s Ben Clarsen (PT, PhD) (@BenClarsen). We all say the words – ‘injury prevention is important’, ‘we want to catch injuries early’ but how do you do it? What about if your nation’s athletes are spread all around the globe? Can a systematic, yet simple, process of asking athletes questions by text messaging work? Norway punch above their weight in elite sport and Ben Clarsen is one of the team at the engine room of Norwegian Sports Medicine & Sports Science ‘Olympiatoppen’ (ie. ‘EliteSport’). He shares with @Liam_West HOW Norway keeps in touch with athletes weekly, responds to early warning signals, and initiates appropriate treatment in a financially prudent manner (oil price down right now). Links include: For athletes’ health problems: http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/48/9/754.abstract - The Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center questionnaire on health problems: a new approach to prospective monitoring of illness and injury in elite athletes. By Clarsen B, Rønsen O, Myklebust G, Flørenes TW, Bahr R. Br J Sports Med. 2014 May;48(9):754-60. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2012-092087. Epub 2013 Feb 21. For sports injury problems: http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/8/495.abstract Development and validation of a new method for the registration of overuse injuries in sports injury epidemiology: the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) overuse injury questionnaire. By Clarsen B, Myklebust G, Bahr R. Br J Sports Med. 2013 May;47(8):495-502. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2012-091524. Epub 2012 Oct 4.