They are the best skiers among doctors and the best in the ski world

Beijing, 4 Feb (Xinhua) -- There is such a group of people who gallop freely on the snowy fields, and on weekdays, they save lives and help the injured... They have superb skiing skills, but they do not participate in any sports on the Winter Olympic field, they are the most skilled doctors, but also the highest medical skills in the ski circle, they are the Beijing Winter Olympics alpine skiing medical team, is the "ski doctor".

Bai Peng of the Third Hospital of Beiyi University is practicing skiing. (Photo courtesy of respondents)

In February 2019, medical staff from more than a dozen medical institutions in Beijing formed a medical team of more than 100 people from the National Alpine Ski Center, including medical officers, deputy medical officers, ski doctors, etc., specializing in trauma, spine, joints, sports medicine, thoracic surgery, internal medicine and other disciplines that may be involved in sports injuries.

Alpine skiing has always been known for its difficulty and ornamentality, which is why it is called the crown jewel of the Winter Olympics. Liang Xueya, chief physician of the Department of Gastroenterology at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital and medical officer of the National Alpine SkiIng Center for the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing, said that alpine skiing is the fastest and highest risk factor of all Winter Olympic games. When downhill in high mountains, the top international male athletes can speed more than 140 kilometers per hour. If a person passes by in front of your eyes at such a speed, you can almost only see his shadow. It is conceivable that in the face of the once-in-four Winter Olympics, all athletes will sprint with all their might, and the probability of athletes being injured is as high as 15%.

The continent's ice-like snow track is one of the most difficult in the world, with a total length of more than 3,000 meters and a drop of more than 900 meters. "Ski doctors must have excellent skills to be competent for skiing and first aid on the slopes, otherwise it is easy to cause secondary injuries." Liang Xueya said, "When performing splint fixation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation for injured athletes on the slopes, the methods are very different from those in hospitals or urban protection. In extremely cold weather, ski doctors should carry medicines, injections and other medical equipment close to them, and properly solve the problem of athletes' temperature loss. In addition, on the slopes of the slopes, rescuers must ensure that they do not slide down and that medical equipment does not slide. ”

For Bai Peng, who has passed the certification of ski instructor, this is still a huge challenge. Bai Peng introduced that the team members went to Chongli, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province to participate in ski training and rescue drills during the snow season, including practicing skiing under weight-bearing conditions, rapid transfer of injured people on the slopes, CPR and first aid intubation on the slopes. Train for two or three months a year, during which time you train for 7 to 8 hours a day.

Skiing skills training is very strict and arduous, many team members have been injured in the process, in extremely cold weather, there are also team members in the training frostbite. During training, Chongli's minimum temperature is -36°C and the maximum wind force reaches 9. "The N95 masks worn by the players on the snow field were frozen into ice shells in less than a minute, and the snow mirrors were full of fog, and it was impossible to see clearly." Bai Peng said, "At that time, the water dripped into ice, and the entire medical team members were somewhat frostbitten. But instead of backing down, everyone joked that this time they saved money to travel to the Arctic. ”

Liang Xueya introduced that in order to ensure that the athletes who have accidents can be rescued at the first time, the medical team has set up 8 to 10 fieldside medical stations on the side of the stadium and the racing track, and each station is equipped with ski doctors and rescue team members. Once an athlete has an accident, a rescue team member will be sent from the medical station on the sidelines to check the injury, and according to the injury, call the ski doctor in time to deal with it. If the injury is serious, the rescue team will cooperate with the ski doctor to transport the injured person by sleigh boat to the athletes' medical station for treatment. When the injury is critical, the combined helicopter quickly transports the wounded to the medical station for advanced life support, and then to the designated hospital.

During test matches and training, some players suffered injuries, some underwent surgery, and then began training after recovery. "All the medical team members are honored to be involved in this big event." Liang Xueya said.

After many tests and countless times of training, in the face of the "hard battle" of medical security for the Winter Olympics, these "ski doctors" are full of confidence and more determined.

"We will show the style of Chinese doctors at the Winter Olympics."