Do athletes with prosthetic limbs have an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes?
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Sport and exercise medicine
Do athletes with prosthetic limbs have an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes?
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A BMJ Sports Medicine Guest Blog this week asks whether athletes with the latest cutting edge prosthetic limbs have an unfair advantage over able bodied athletes. It's an interesting quest
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Forums » Open clinical » Sport and exercise medicine » Do athletes with prosthetic limbs have an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes?
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Do athletes with prosthetic limbs have an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes?
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Do athletes with prosthetic limbs have an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes?
posted at 23/8/2012 10:48 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1216
First: 19/4/2010 Last: 19/6/2013 |
A BMJ Sports Medicine Guest Blog this week asks whether athletes with the latest cutting edge prosthetic limbs have an unfair advantage over able bodied athletes. It's an interesting question. Oscar Pistorius made history by being the first amputee to compete in the 'full' Olympic games. There were arguements that he shouldn't be allowed to run, but I think common sense prevailed, letting him run with everyone else; he didn't make the final. In the paralympics the competitors are placed into categories based on extent of disability, rather than the specifics of the disability. So a single event may have athletes with amputations running against athletes with cerebral palsy, brain injuries, or dwarfism. On the face of it, this means amputees with prosthetics may be running against those with two 'normal' legs. After the excitement of the Olympics, the paralympics, starting next week, look to be equally exciting.
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Re: Do athletes with prosthetic limbs have an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes?
posted at 23/8/2012 11:34 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 3059
First: 27/3/2012 Last: 13/6/2013 |
No, I do not think that the athletes with prosthetic limbs will have an unfair '?advantage' over able-bodied athlete. No artificial prosthetic part can replace a normal one in any respect. Instead this would be a certain disadvantage to the disabled. |
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Re: Do athletes with prosthetic limbs have an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes?
posted at 23/8/2012 1:30 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 2137
First: 12/3/2010 Last: 19/6/2013 |
I feel that Pistorius has struck a blow for the disabled, in running in both Olympic and Paralympic Games. But as usual, this situation 'needs more study'. Talking to sports doctors at the Games,many of them feel that he does have an advantage. A kangaroo can travel fast and far, despite their apparently ungainly gait, because their springy leg tendons are adapted to store and then release the energy of their leaps. Thus, their gait is remarkably efficient. Human running stores little energy in the Achilles tendon, but Pistorius' blades can. Thus he has an advantage, which some estimate at 5%! This would make him no more than a good club runner were he not disabled. As prostheses improve and give the disabled more ability, more Pistoriuses will appear. We need to study them and their prostheses to understand better how they work, and how much, if at all, they give advantage. John |
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Re: Do athletes with prosthetic limbs have an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes?
posted at 29/8/2012 1:28 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 2137
First: 12/3/2010 Last: 19/6/2013 |
If you felt I was being to cool about Pistorius, DC, I meant my first paragraph to warm it up! It is a valid controversy in sports medicine, and we do not know enough about such superhumans - I've stopped calling them 'disabled'! That picture is attched to the, I hope excellent. coverage from Channel 4 that has the Paralympics as BBC had the Olympics. I can't 'embed' the video here but watch it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKTamH__xuQ John |
Forums » Open clinical » Sport and exercise medicine » Do athletes with prosthetic limbs have an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes?
