Download Causes and types of sports injuries

Sports Injury Prevention & Assessment
Mr Galante’s Answers
Preventing Sports Injuries
1. Discuss why a warm-up is important before participating in training or a game.
“Muscles stretch better”. Reduced likelihood of some injuries.
2. Briefly describe what a warm-up should consist of?
10 Mins of light continuous exercise, specific to the sport.
3. In what type of sports is a warm-up most important?
Fast sports (sprinting), or sports with speedy changes of direction (tennis / squash / football)
4.
Why are warm-ups less important for low-impact activities such as jogging and recreational
cycling?
The activity is light continuous exercise.
5.
Choose one sport that you are familiar with. Describe in detail activities that could be done
during the warm-up before a game.
Homework – personal response
6. Explain how insufficient training or a lack of fitness can lead to preventable sports injuries.
Lack of the necessary fitness / skills / strength or flexibility requirements of an activity can lead to
preventable injury.
7. What is overtraining? How can overtraining have a negative impact on the athlete’s
performance?
Unrealistic training time or intensity and/or insufficient recovery time leading to a range of
physiological or physiological symptoms leading to reduced performance.
8. What effect can dehydration have on an athlete?
Dehydration will reduce an athlete’s performance. In extreme cases athletes may suffer hyperthermia,
can lead to death.
9. At what rate should an athlete consume fluid during exercise?
Athletes should consume fluids at a rate that matches or exceeds fluid loss. For example: an athlete
losses 1kg of weight during a session, 1lt or more of fluids to be replaced.
10. Describe the role that the coach has in preventing his players/athletes from suffering injuries?
Appropriate training type, volume and recovery. Appropriate protective equipment and safe playing
surface. Athlete know the risks of the sport and training. Rules of sport are known and adhered to.
11. Discuss the coach’s legal responsibilities that he/she has to their athletes in each of the following
areas: Homework – personal response
a. Environment
b. Activities
c. Equipment
d. Supervision
e.
Matching young athletes (ie. using age-groups)
12. Apart from safety, what other important qualities should protective equipment consist of?
Comfort, good quality, correct fitting and perform its intended purpose.
13. For each of the following sports, list the protective equipment that should be used by the
competitors:
Homework – personal response
a. Soccer
b. Cricket
c. Volleyball
d. Mountain biking
e. Rock climbing
Causes and types of sports injuries
14. List five types of minor sports injuries
Bruises, cuts / stitches / cramps / slight muscle strains / minor blisters.
15. List five types of major sports injuries
Concussion / loss of consciousness / cartilage damage / ligament sprains / muscle and tendon tears /
dislocation / fractures / spinal injuries / heart attack.
16. Describe external violence. Give an example
Associated with collision sports. A collision causing damage to a muscle and internal bleeding OR a
broken bone due to collision.
17. Internal violence is divided into three categories, according to the nature of the injury. Define
each of the following internal violence categories, and give an example of an injury that may
occur as a result:
 Acute injuries
Rapid onset from a single incident. No prior or recent history of injury.
 Chronic injuries
Lasts over a long period of time. Won’t always respond to rest. Not form a single episode
 Overuse injuries
Developed over a period of time due to repeated stress and/or repeated trauma.
18. What is the cause of delayed onset muscle soreness?
Muscle discomfort often occurs after activity. Soreness from inappropriate level of exercise that your
body is not accustomed to. Pain within the muscle on the second or third day following exercise.
Immediate Assessment
19. Describe a situation when DR ABC would be implemented?
Especially used when the injured person is unconscious.
20. Explain each of the steps in the DR ABC procedure:
Danger / Response / Airway / Breathing / CPR (movie is old and incorrect – new recommendations DO
NOT assess for circulation, if the injured person is not breathing move directly to CPR)
21. Why should DR ABC always be the first step taken in the administration of first aid?
Primary screen, most significant possible injuries assessed first.
Further Assessment
22. Explain why SALTAPS should be used when an injury has occurred to an athlete?
Secondary screening acronym
23. Explain each of the steps in SALTAPS, and state why each step is important in dealing with the
sports injury:
Stop / Ask / Look / Touch / Active Movement (can you move yourself) / Passive movement (first aider
moves injured area) / Stand Up
More recent recommendations in Australia are as follows;
Talk / Observe / Touch / Active / Passive / Skills
24. If an athlete is unable to actively move the injured area themselves, is this an indication that the
injury is severe? Explain.
Careful not to conclude that injury is severe, often an injured person will be fearful of moving. However,
it can be serious and caution and care should always be adhered to.
Treatment of soft tissue injuries
25. What is the purpose of the RICERS procedure?
Minimise the collection of blood around an acute soft tissue injury to reduce recovery time. Control
internal bleeding.
26. What do each of the letters stand for in the RICERS acronym?
Rest / Ice / Compression / Elevation (injured site above the level of the heart) / Referral / Stretch (least
critical part of the management)
27. Why is ice applied to the injured area?
Reduce pain / reduce inflammation and swelling. Apply ice to any acute injury involving soft tissue or
bleeding. Substantial bleeding to an injured site will delay recovery.
28. Explain the procedure for applying ice to an injury.
Ice not applied directly to skin. Wrapped in a soft towel (or other) to avoid discomfort. Applied to the
injured area.
29. How does compressing and elevating the injured area reduce recovery time?
Substantial bleeding to an injured site will delay recovery.
30. When an athlete has an injury it is recommended that they do “no HARM”. Explain what is
meant by HARM.
No Heat (rubs / spa’s or sauna’s) / Alcohol (first 24 hrs) / Running or exercise of injury / Massage
Injury Rehabilitation
31. Name the five stages that the patient progresses through during a rehabilitation program.
1. diagnosing the injury – treat appropriately.
2. initial treatment – reducing pain, promoting healing, treatment
3. mobility and flexibility exercises
4. proprioceptive training – eg balance, hopping, jumping drills
5. functional strengthening exercises / stretching and flexibility techniques.
32. What role do physiotherapists play in the rehabilitation of sports injuries?
Mobilisation / manipulation / posture correction / analysis of biomechanics /
techniques for soft tissue massage / electro therapy / conditioning / stretching
More complex injuries may require: movement patterns / sporting skills / confidence building
refer to other medical experts in some cases
stretching and flexibility techniques important in injury rehabilitation. Restore normal length of muscle
following injury.
33. Recovery time varies depending on the type of tissue injured, the severity of the injury and the
application of the initial treatment. Approximately how long does the rehabilitation process take
for:
a. Soft tissue injuries:
Scar tissue to form is approx.. 6 weeks
b. Hard tissue injuries:
Bone make new bone (upper limb: 6 weeks) (lower limb / weight bearing: 10-12 weeks)
34. Define proprioception?
Refers to joint position sense (knowing where your body part is in space). Ability to maintain to good
balanced body position when bearing weight through legs.
35. Why is it important for an athlete to regain proprioception in the injured limb?
Homework – personal response
36. An athlete has suffered a sprained ankle during a game of netball. X-rays indicate that no bone
damage has occurred, but swelling and bruising in the area suggest significant soft-tissue damage in the
joint. Plan a rehabilitation program for the athlete, taking into account each of the five components of
a standard rehabilitation program.
Homework – personal response