Chapter 4
Sports-Injury Prevention
• Start today by writing all
the possible injury RISK
FACTORS you can think of
in your notebooks!
Important Terms for this
Chapter:
• Periodization: The organization of training into a cyclical
structure in order to attain the optimal development of an
athlete’s performance capacities
• Flexibility: The range of motion (ROM) in a given joint or
combination of joints
• ROM: Range of Motion
• Ballistic Stretching: Stretching technique that uses repetitive
bouncing motions.
• Static Stretching: Passively stretching an antagonist muscle
by placing it in a maximal stretch and holding it there.
• Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) -Stretching techniques that involve combinations of alternating
contractions and stretches.
• Hypertrophy -- Enlargement of a part caused by an increase in
the size of its cells.
Injury Prevention
• Reduce the likelihood of injury!!!!
• Intrinsic Factors
• Extrinsic Factors
• Prevention Strategies:
• PPE
• Physical Conditioning
Causative Factors
in Injury
Intrinsic factors
Age
Gender
Body size
Injury history
Fitness level
Muscle strength/Flexibility
Skill level
Psychological state
Causative Factors in
Injury
Extrinsic factors
Equipment
Environment
Type of activity
Conditioning errors
Intervention
Strategies
• Extrinsic factors such as faulty equipment,
dangerous facilities, etc. can be easily
recognized and corrected.
• Athletes in high-risk sports MUST be
educated about hazards and prevention.
• NCAA and NFHS have developed guidelines
for medical evaluation of student/athletes.
• PPE/Health Screenings
• Litigation
Intervention
NCAA Guideline 1B
• PPE (pre-participation physical examination)
is required upon entrance into athletic program;
thereafter, annual updated medical history
unless additional medical exam is warranted
based on the updated history.
NFSH policy
• PPE required prior to first year of participation.
The primary purpose of PPE: Identify
preexisting injury risk factors as well as
ascertain any injuries/diseases that are
potentially problematic.
PPEs
Historically known as “annual physical,” “physical
exam,” and “pre-participation medical
evaluation.”
• Primary purpose is to identify preexisting injury
risk factors or preexisting injuries/diseases.
• Physical exams can identify spina bifida
occulta, absence of one of paired organs,
postural problems, high blood pressure,
cardiac defects or arrhythmias, allergies,
vision deficits, and skin infections.
PPEs
AAP recommends PPE biannually (or when athlete
enters middle/high school) with annual update
including: comprehensive history, height,
weight, and blood pressure.
Two forms of PPEs:
• Office-based works well when physician is
familiar with athlete’s medical history
• Station-based screening is useful for
examining groups of athletes.
All information obtained during examination should
be handled appropriately to protect athlete’s
confidentiality.
Preseason
Conditioning
General Conditioning: aerobic fitness,
muscular strength and endurance,
flexibility, nutrition,
and body composition
Sports-Specific Conditioning: all
aspects of the sport that are
unique to it
Conditioning
Aerobic fitness
• Regardless of sport, all athletes benefit
from improving aerobic fitness.
Muscular strength and endurance:
• Increased connective tissue strength
• Increased bone density
• Improved strength ratios
• Increased muscular endurance
• Decreased injury risk
Conditioning
Flexibility: ROM in a given joint or combination of
joints
• Determinants include tissue temperature, bone
structure, tissue mass, age, and gender.
• Two types of flexibility are static and dynamic
flexibility.
• Four types of stretching are ballistic, static, PNF,
and passive.
Conditioning
Nutrition and body composition:
• The body responds to a conditioning
program more effectively when it receives
proper nourishment.
• Coaches, parents, and athletes must take
care to avoid an overemphasis on
leanness.
Periodization
• Process of arranging training around
specific goals and objectives.
• Organizes training into cyclic structure
based on competitive sports seasons
• Manipulates exercise frequency,
intensity, and duration
• Helps prevent training-induced injury
Periodized Program
© BananaStock/age fotostock
Most training programs
designed around a 1-year
period of time (macrocycle)
• microcycle – 2 to 4 weeks
• mesocycle – several
successive microcycles
• transition phase – 2 to 4
weeks between training
seasons or microcycles
Modification of
Extrinsic Risk
Factors
• Practice/competition environmental
conditions, especially heat and humidity, must
be assessed.
• Facilities must be designed, maintained, and
frequently inspected for safety.
• Coaching personnel and administrators
MUST monitor these factors.
Modification of
Extrinsic Factors
• Indoor facilities: lighting, playing surfaces,
room dimensions
• Outdoor facilities: safety fences, batting
cages, location of dugouts, soccer goal
construction, water and sanitation facilities,
and EMS access routes
Protective Equipment
• Protective equipment plays a vital role in the
prevention of injury
• Virtually all sports can benefit from the use of
some form of safety equipment—including
mouth guards