International Analysis of Para Versus Able-Bodied Sport Medical and Executive Governing Boards: Exploring the Impact of Physiatry.

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to analyze the composition of all 2024 Olympic and Paralympic international sport federations (medical and executive governing boards) and to assess the involvement of physical medicine & rehabilitation physicians (physiatry) on these boards. A comprehensive Google search was performed in December 2024 to analyze all Olympic and Paralympic 2024 sport medical and executive governing boards. Differences in gender, geography, and medical training were assessed. There were more able-bodied medical (29) and executive (43) boards than para medical (4) and executive (29) boards. The majority of able-bodied and para medical board members were physicians specializing in sports medicine. There were significantly more physical medicine & rehabilitation physicians on para medical boards than able-bodied medical boards (odds ratio = 11.2, P  = 0.005). The odds of a physician being a physiatrist was eight times higher in a para medical board than in an able-bodied medical board. International sport federations include medical and/or executive boards which govern safety and logistics of sport participation. There are more physical medicine & rehabilitation physicians involved at the para medical board level, which is in line with an inherent physiatric training background focused on optimizing function and managing medical/sport-related considerations for individuals with disabilities.