Copenhagen University Hospital’s Institute of Sports Medicine becomes the ninth research centre of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Over the next four years the IOC will give the institute three million kroner to be used for sports injury and injury prevention research, reports DR.
According to Michael Kjaer, the head of the institute, the money will allow the institute to build on and expand its research and reach out to international partners.
Kjaer explains that since Denmark is a small nation it is “difficult to do research on thousands of athletes with the same types of injuries”.
However, now that the institute has been selected as an IOC research centre it can collaborate with the other eight centres and collect larger sets of data on people with similar injuries.
Focus on overuse injury
The IOC seeks out top research on sports injuries so it can advise sports federations on treatments, especially treatment of overuse injuries – the leading reason forcing athletes to stop competing.
Kjaer, however, also sees a benefit in this research not only for professional athletes but also for people who exercise.
“It’s a bit like with race cars and ordinary cars; there are usually the same weak points in both cars,” he tells DR. “So when top athletes suffer overuse injuries, we also understand more about what people who regularly exercise can endure.”
As part of the group of nine, the Danish institute will also be able to set the agenda for future research and increases the international prestige of the institute, which will attract more PhD students and researchers.
The other eight IOC research centres are based in Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, South Korea, Qatar and the UK.
The IOC money will also be shared with Bispebjerg/Frederiksberg Hospital and Hvidovre/Amager Hospital.
