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The health experts said that normal people don’t have the flexibility of athletes, so trying to copy their moves can lead to ‘serious injury’. read more
 "NHS experts don’t want common folks trying Olympic stunts at home")
Simone Biles competes during the women's artistic gymnastics individual vault finals at 2024 Summer Olympics. AP
The Olympics fever has gripped the whole world with the athletes inspiring common folks in different ways including motivating a few to try to emulate what the champions are doing to win the medals: a backflip like Simone Biles or taking both feet off the pedals midair like BMX rider Kieran Reilly. But these stunts by amateurs could result in serious injuries and the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) physiotherapist and spokesperson for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, Matthew Harrison, has asked people not to try Olympic moves at home as fans suffer serious injuries.
“We frequently see people come to physiotherapy [after] watching the Olympics and either revisiting a sport they have previously participated in, or inspired to take up something new and are unfortunately affected by an injury during this activity," Harrison was quoted as saying by the Guardian.
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“I recently saw a woman who had significant pain and luckily no fracture (after requesting an X-ray) of her shoulder following being lifted up and dropped after being inspired by the women’s rugby, where players are lifted up to catch the high balls. Fortunately, it was just bruising and will get better with time and some exercises.
“Also damaged wrist ligaments from a man, who after watching the skateboarding, jumped on to his son’s skateboard and very quickly fell off, landing on his wrist and arm to break his fall. This will take longer to recover.”
He added that acrobatic moves can lead to musculoskeletal and head injuries.
“A backflip is a wonderful thing to watch for those who have practised for many years, but can be dangerous if this is new to you,” he adds. “Landing on your head is never a good thing.”
Dr. Tim Exell, who is a senior lecturer in biomechanics and rehabilitation science at the University of Portsmouth, said that normal people don’t have the flexibility of athletes, so trying to copy their moves can lead to “serious injury”.
“These are all elite athletes in peak physical condition, and therefore if other people attempt to match their performance and the physical requirements of their sports, this can result in serious injury due to not having the required flexibility for a max-effort athletic event like long jump, or the strength and technique for Olympic weightlifting events."
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English (US) ·