The incidence of injuries varied substantially among the different sports, both in Beijing and in Vancouver (Table 51.2). In relation to the number of registered summer sport athletes, the risk of sustaining an injury was highest for football, taekwondo, field hockey, handball, weightlifting, and boxing in Beijing (all ≥15 % of the athletes) (Junge et al. 2009). In Vancouver, injury risk was highest for bobsleigh, ice hockey, short track, alpine, and freestyle and snowboard cross (15–35 % of registered athletes were affected in each sport). Every 5th female athlete was injured in bobsleigh, ice hockey, snowboard cross, and freestyle cross and aerials, while the highest risk sports for male winter sport athletes were short track (28 % of registered male athletes), bobsleigh (17 %), and ice hockey (16 %) (Engebretsen et al. 2010).

In Beijing, the distribution of injuries was as followed: about half of the diagnoses (n = 600; 54 %) affected the lower extremity, 20 % were related to the upper extremity (n = 218), 13 % to the trunk (n = 149), and 12 % to the head/neck (n = 133). The thigh (13 %) and knee (12 %) were most commonly injured, followed by the lower leg, ankle, and head injuries (9 %), mainly diagnosed as skin lesions or contusions (Junge et al. 2009).