Knee Injuries and the Olympics

In this blog, Mr Ian McDermott, consultant knee surgeon, highlights some life changing Olympic knee injuries and the importance of looking after your joints.

• Rio 2016 gold medallist and three-time World Champion, Carolina Marin, of Spain, has retired from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Badminton Competition due to a right knee injury.

• Reigning World Champion wrestler, Stevan Micic, announced that he will not compete in the Paris Olympics after sustaining a knee injury that will require reconstructive surgery.

• Albertina Kassoma, Angolan Handball team member, is carried off the court by Brazilian player, Tamires Morena, after knee injury as Brazil and Angola compete for a place in the 2024 Olympic quarterfinals.

And the list of knee injuries goes on and on…

The knee is a large and complex joint that is particularly prone to injury, with tears of the ligaments, particularly the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and tears of the meniscal cartilages (the cartilage ‘shock absorbers’ in the knee) being the most common injuries.

In a recent study looking at the incidence of knee injuries in Swedish Olympic athletes, it was found that there were just over 30 knee injuries per ‘100 athlete years’, with the most high-risk sports being wrestling, freestyle skiing and gymnastics. No difference in overall incidence was seen between males and females, although females had higher incidence of ligament and meniscal injuries, and the incidence of knee injuries was higher in the younger age groups.

Some injuries (such as MCL sprains) may be relatively minor, requiring just a few weeks of rest and rehab. Some are more major (such as meniscal tears or ACL tears) and are likely to need surgery, followed sometimes by several months of rehab. However, even just ‘minor’ injuries can have a massive effect on an athlete’s ability to train and/or compete. With Olympic athletes, who, in motoring terms, are like a Formula One racing car compared to the average person, who is more of a Ford Focus, a reduction in performance of just 1% can mean the difference between getting a Gold Medal or not even getting through the heats.

The effects of injury for the elite athlete can be devastating. Steven Micic, reigning World Champion wrestler, summed up the impact that his knee injury had on his ability to compete, stating: “A few weeks ago, I suffered a knee injury during practice… I must [now] get reconstructive surgery… Competing in and winning the Olympics has been my dream since I was 8. These circumstances have broken me down completely.”

In addition to the obvious negative impact that knee injuries have on athletes’ ability to compete, there is also the hidden burden of the long-term consequences of damage to a knee joint. Once any joint is damaged, it is rarely ever perfectly normal again, and the bigger the injury and the more the damage, the greater the risk of post-traumatic secondary osteoarthritis developing in the future, potentially culminating in the eventual need for artificial knee replacement surgery when one is older.

So, look after your knees, and ensure that you train safely and that you’re sufficiently fit and strong before you yourself leap into high-impact high-risk exercise and sports. Take time to warm up properly and do sport-specific training in advance. Don’t be a typical ‘weekend warrior’ and accept that as you get older, your tissues become less compliant and more vulnerable to injury. Enjoy your sports, don’t suffer from them.

About Mr McDermott

Mr Ian McDermott is one of the UK’s leading knee surgeons. He specialises in complex knee cases, including reconstructions and replacement surgery. To find out more about Mr McDermott or to book an appointment, click here.