The exhibits at MEDICA 2020, the world's leading medical trade fair (November 16 – 19, 2020 in Düsseldorf, Germany), will again be complemented by a wide ranging ancillary program, including the 8th MEDICA MEDICINE + SPORTS CONFERENCE (November 18 and 19). One of the first speakers will be Prof. Dirk Brockmann, addressing the question "How has the Corona crisis changed sports?". The topics of the English-language sports medicine conference will range from space medicine, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and tailor-made exercise programs to sports during times of a highly virus such as COVID-19 and against the background of increasing environmental pollution.

At the start of the conference, Prof. Brockmann will illustrate infectious diseases and their consequences for professional and leisure sports from an epidemiological point of view. Prof. Brockmann works at the Humboldt University in Berlin and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) where he develops mathematical models on the Covid-19 outbreak. The RKI has been measuring the "pulse of the German nation" since the beginning of April thanks to a data donation app. Prof. Brockmann was involved in its development. The concept: Data from wearables (e.g. fitness bracelets and smart watches) can supply indications that symptoms of Covid-19 are present and faster than those affected themselves are aware of. The user can make this data available to the RKI using the Corona Data Donation App. Together with data from other sources, such as official registration data, the wearables data helps scientists to better record and understand the spread of the Coronavirus. They thus produce a sort of map that represents the "pulse" of the nation. The average resting pulse rate in Germany is currently 60.79 beats per minute (as of June 122020, website: https://corona-datenspende.de/science/en/reports/pulse/). According to the RKI, over 500,000 people have already downloaded the app (as of April 24, 2020). This means that the option to donate data, which users will have when digital patient files are introduced in 2023, is already available today to some extent.

Returning to sports after Covid 19

Although no one knows how the Covid-19 pandemic will develop in the coming months: sports in times of highly infectious viral disease will remain an important issue, even if the pandemic dies down. Prof. Wilhelm Bloch, Head of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Sports Medicine at the Cologne University of Sport, warned at an early stage of possible consequential damages of a coronavirus infection, which could be fatal for professional athletes. And he recommended that amateur athletes - especially those with symptoms - should get a thorough check-up before returning to their sport. This also corresponds to the recommendations of the German Association for Sports Medicine and Prevention (DGSP) for returning to sports after a COVID-19 infection. Before resuming sport without any anamnestic evidence, a risk analysis should therefore also be carried out and documented for recreational athletes. This should include Anamnesis, contact with COVID-19 infected persons or stay in a risk area as well as close contact with persons at risk. Only if there is no risk can sports be permitted in sports facilities or "team sports", while observing hygiene regulations. In case of doubt, tests are indicated.

Prof. Bloch will give an update at MEDICA 2020 in November, based on the pandemic development by then. Since it is highly unlikely that a comprehensive vaccination program will have been rolled out by then, prevention remains crucial in the fight against Corona. This also applies to sports. Dr. Ulrich Jerichow, CEO of VitaScale, is working on systems that team sports players can wear during games in order to prevent infection. Specifically, this involves the development of a face shield consisting of silicone and polycarbonate with ventilation and respiratory gas diagnostics - in the form of a flexible visor shield with a plastic frame and rubber band fastening so that competitive sports can be played safely without limiting visibility.

Pollution can be deadly too...

One topic that will continue to dominate long after the Corona pandemic is pollution. At the end of last year, researchers from the European Environment Agency sounded alarm: the number of premature deaths in Europe caused by air pollution appears to be higher than previously thought. Particulate matter is one of the most serious causes of cardiovascular deaths. Scientists in Münster (Germany) have now found that the effects of air pollution reduce the average life expectancy of Europeans by 2.2 years and that cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death. The study results published in the European Heart Journal are thus significantly higher than the latest calculations from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study on the impact of air pollution. Prof. Dr. med. Thomas Münzel, university professor and Director of the Cardiology I Unit at the Cardiology Center of the University Medical Center in Mainz (Germany), will present his results and the conclusions in Düsseldorf in November. The damage caused by playing sports in certain environmental conditions could even potentially outweigh the benefits.

The MEDICA MEDICINE + SPORTS CONFERENCE will be completed with a session on digital innovation in sports and healthcare. This will include new training tools, the measurement of body core temperature with "hearables", percussion therapy and the precise 3D recoding and analysis of body movements with sensors or camera data.

This year, the list of renowned conference partners includes the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS), the German Association for Sports Medicine and Prevention (DGSP), the German Society of Sport Science (DVS), the German Federal Institute for Sports Science (WISS), the European Federation of Sports Medicine Associations (EFSMA) and the American College of Sports Medicine ("Exercise is Medicine" initiative) and also companies such as Sport Speaker, Orthogen, movX, movisens, DORNER Health IT Solutions, ledsreact, Loewi and WT Wearable Technologies.