As elite athletes push their limits at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, sports medicine experts are rewriting the playbook for injury recovery. Dr. Chen Shiyi, academic leader at Huashan Hospital's Sports Medicine Center, revealed to CGTN how advanced treatments and holistic care are keeping Olympic dreams alive despite physical setbacks.
"Most injuries stem from repetitive stress on sport-specific body parts," Dr. Chen explained, highlighting that 72% of alpine skiers' injuries involve knee ligaments. A recent case saw a skier return to competition within four months after meniscus repair and artificial ligament reconstruction – a process that traditionally required twice the recovery time.
The medical leader emphasized three pillars of successful recovery: precision surgery, customized rehabilitation programs, and psychological support. "Our goal isn't just healing, but restoring peak competitive capacity," he noted, describing how virtual reality systems now help athletes mentally rehearse complex maneuvers during physical therapy.
Cross-disciplinary teams are achieving remarkable results by combining biomechanical analysis with AI-powered recovery tracking. One snowboarder recovering from a spinal compression injury reportedly regained full rotational ability through targeted neuromuscular retraining.
As the Olympic flame burns in Milano Cortina, these medical advances ensure that for determined athletes, injury is increasingly becoming a detour rather than a dead end on the road to sporting glory.
