Sports Injuries,
Conditions and
Prevention
Step Up Programme
Task One
 In groups discuss and list commonly
encountered sports injuries and conditions.
Commonly encountered sports injuries
and conditions include:
• Fractures
• Concussion
• Bleeding
•Joint injuries
•Soft tissue injuries
Muscle injuries
Tendon and ligament injuries
• Skin damage
• Dehydration
• Hyperthermia (heat stroke) and
hypothermia
Sporting Injuries
Injury Classification
ACUTE: rapid onset, traumatic event
with a clearly identifiable cause.
SUB-ACUTE: period between acute
and chronic, usually 4-6 weeks postinjury.
CHRONIC: slow insidious onset,
gradual development of structural
damage.
Common Causes of Sports Injuries
General Over Training
Doing too much of a particular exercise fatigues the muscle tissues
and can cause damage.
Specific Over Training
This occurs when a particular aspect of training leads to over-use.
Warm Up and Warm Down
This is another area commonly neglected, which can result in injury.
Age
The ageing process does unfortunately mean that metabolic
processes involved in recovery slow down. Tendons also
become less lubricated and so are more prone to damage
Mel Cash
Inflammation
Heat:
Increased blood flow to the injured area causes
an increase in temperature;
Redness:
With increased blood flow comes a red/pink hue
to the skin;
Pain:
Caused by free nerve endings which end blindly
between the tissue cells;
Swelling:
Caused by accumulation of fluid.
Lars Peterson
What are Soft Tissues?
• Muscles & Tendons
• Ligaments and Joint Capsules
• Cartilage
• Nervous Tissue
• Connective Tissue
Types of Soft Tissue Injuries
Traumatic: Acute traumatic injuries are common in athletes
and attract the most publicity and research. This is because the cause of
the injury can be easy pinpointed, making it easier to define the injury
and ways to treat it.
Contact sports such as soccer, ice hockey, rugby, GAA and wrestling tend
to have higher rates of traumatic injuries.
Overuse Syndromes
Overuse syndromes are difficult to diagnose and treat. Overuse injuries
are generally caused by repetitive overloading, resulting in microscopic
injuries to the musculoskeletal system.
80% of overuse injuries are reported to occur in endurance sports such as
long distance running/triathlons, or in individual sports requiring skilled
technique and repetitive movements, such as tennis, swimming, golf and
gymnastics. 80% of these injuries occurred in the lower end of the body,
most frequently at the knee, ankle, foot and heel.
Examples Of Overuse Injuries
Swimming
Overuse Injuries
• Amateur Swimmers ( 10-15 yrs)
• 4 session per week (minimum)
• 1 session = 3000m
• 120 lengths per session
• Roughly 624.000 (thousand) Strokes per Year
• estimated elite swimmers:
1.2 - 2 million swimming strokes per year
Brukner and Khan 2001
Golf
Rory Mcilroy
&
Tennis
Roger Federer
Causes of Soft Tissue Injuries
•Intrinsic causes of injury
- factors within the sports person
•Extrinsic causes of injury
- factors outside the sports
person
Intrinsic causes
• Lack of warm-up.
• Inadequate fitness or
physical weakness.
• Anatomical factors.
• Tight muscle groups
• Muscle imbalance
• Previous injury
Extrinsic causes
• Faulty technique.
• Inappropriate clothing
• Inappropriate footwear.
• Lack of protective safety
equipment.
• Inappropriate environment.
Types of injuries
MUSCLE: haematoma, strains, tears,
LIGAMENT: partial tear, complete
rupture
TENDON: tendinitis, tendonosis,
tenosynovitis.
BURSAE: acute, chronic
SKIN: abrasions, blisters, lacerations
Brukner and Khan 2001
Examples of Soft Tissue Injuries
This centre forward collapsed against the keeper and had
ALL ligaments from his knee torn. Surgery and many
months of recovery lie ahead of him
Task Two
 In groups discuss and list preventive
measures for injury.
Preventive Measures
• Basic physical fitness
• Adequate warm-up including stretching
Progressive warm-up leads to a marked decrease in risk
of injury and an enhanced performance
• Cool-down - e.g. gentle jogging and Stretching
• Adequate hydration
• Healthy balanced diet
• Correct technique
• Protective equipment
• Appropriate clothing
• Appropriate and functional equipment required for
the sport
Concussion
Best described as the shaking of the
brain leading to a brief loss of
consciousness
- Direct force such as a blow to the head
- Indirect force as with whiplash in a car accident
Recognition
Brief loss of consciousness, possibly delayed
Dizziness & mild headache
Nausea
Loss of memory
Disturbed vision
Pale, cold, clammy skin
Seek medical assistance
Do not allow the casualty to drive or play sport
until seen by a doctor
Sevett 2006
Bleeding
Open and closed wounds
Incised; a cut from a sharp edge
Laceration; rough tear or crush to the skin
Abrasion; graze or superficial wound from
a rough surface
Contusion; bruise or internal bleeding
Puncture; an object entering the body
Velocity injury; a puncture wound at
velocity will cause extensive damage,
there may be an entry and exit wound
Types of bleeding
Arterial:
Bright red; pumping and rich with oxygen, will lead to
shock, unconsciousness and death within minutes
Venous:
Dark red; deoxygenated, gushing or pooling at the site of
the wound, depends on size of the vein
Capillary:
Oozing at the site as with an abrasion or perhaps internally
from a contusion to muscle or internal organ
Treatment:
Elevate
Apply Direct Pressure (bandage)
Fracture
•A fracture is a break or crack in the bone
• Generally considerable force is needed to break a bone,
unless it is diseased (osteoporosis) or old.
• Fractures can be caused by direct and indirect forces.
Direct Force – struck by a Hockey or Hurley stick
Indirect Force - twisting or wrenching movement, playing
football for example.
Classification of Fractures
Open Fracture
- In an open fracture one of the bone ends may pierce the skin
surface, or there may be a wound at the fracture site.
- An open fracture carries a high risk of getting infected.
Classification of Fractures
Closed Fractures
- The skin is not broken , although the bone ends may
damage nearby tissues and blood vessels.
- Internal bleeding is a risk
Joint Injuries
Hinge Joint
Ball and Socket Joint
The bones are joined by a capsule of connective tissue which
surrounds the joint. The joint capsule is lined by a membrane
which produces synovial fluid. The joint is then strengthened
and protected by ligaments. The entire joint is surrounded by
muscles and tendons.
Ligament Injuries
Ligament injuries in athletes are common, particularly around
the knee, shoulder, ankle, elbow and thumbs.
Ligament s provide stability to the joints,
whilst still allowing motion.
Ligaments are injured when forces
exceed the ligaments ability to resist a
load.
Partial Tear – involves only some of the
ligament fibres being damaged
Complete Tear – involves most or all of
the ligament fibres.
Effects of Heat and Cold
Hot conditions cause blood vessels to dilate
(vasodilatation) allowing excess heat to be
lost through sweating and increased
breathing rate
Cold conditions cause blood vessels contract
(vasoconstriction) reducing sweating
Blood vessels in the skin shut down, stopping
internal or core heat escaping
Prolonged exposure to cold, wet, and windy
conditions the core temperature may drop
below 35, normal bodily functions slow and
eventually stop.
This is Hypothermia
Hypothermia
Recognition
• Shivering at first but will stop as condition
•
•
•
•
•
•
progresses, usually when body temperature
is between 29 and 34
Cold, pale, and dry skin
Slow shallow breathing
Slow weak pulse
Strange irrational behaviour
Lethargy
Unconsciousness leading to coma and
cardiac arrest
Hyperthermia
(Heatstroke)
• Body temperature exceeds 40
• Uncontrolled heat exhaustion, prolonged exposure to high
temperatures or as a result of illness or fever
Recognition
Headache
Confusion and general discomfort
Hot, flushed, and dry skin
Body temperature of 40 + (the brain starts to swell)
Rapid deterioration
Full, bounding pulse
Slow, noisy breathing
Response levels deteriorate rapidly
Serious condition that can deteriorate rapidly so
urgent medical attention is required
Dehydration and Performance
Many clinical studies have been carried out to explore the
effects of dehydration on exercise performance. At 2% water
loss or more the following impacts have been observed:
Dehydration can reduce exercise performance (speed and
power output)
Dehydration can reduce the time to exhaustion
Dehydration increases the perception of exercise difficulty
Dehydration can reduce mental performance (therefore
alertness, concentration, visual motor skills and decisionmaking)
Dehydration and sodium loss can lead to muscle cramps
Dehydration is a risk factor for heat exhaustion and heat
stroke, both serious conditions
http://www.hydralyte.com/sports-dehydration
Victoria Azarenka faints on court