SPORTS INJURIES

Injury – Bruising/Contusion • A bruise is an area of bleeding beneath the skin. The

size of the bruise is proportional to the amount of bleeding and not the severity of the injury.

• Symptoms• It hurts at the site of the injury• There might be swelling or bluish discoloration• Restricted movement is common if injury is close to joint

sites• Cause• Body contact or collision with an object in a sporting

situation like a tackle in football, common in contact sports.

• Prevention• Protective equipment, for example padding.

Injury – Strains • Tearing of the muscle tissue due to being excessively

stretched or over worked.• 1st degree strains involve minimal muscle tearing• 2nd degree strains involve more muscle tearing• 3rd degree strains involves a total tear• Symptoms• Sudden pain at the site of the injury• Difficulty in contracting the muscle, Pain and swelling or

bruising in the muscle and pain upon stretching• Causes• Attempting a workout or exercise at a high intensity without

sufficient warm up.• Attempting a workout while suffering from fatigue, example:

injuries in football happen in the latter stages when the player is fatigued. Impaired reflexes,

• Prevention• Sufficient warm up and cool down.• Developing the level of fitness required for the sport.• Graduated training program.

Injury – Sprains • Sprains are injuries to a ligament. These injuries can range from

small tears to complete ruptures; this causes the joints that the ligament supports to become loose and unstable. Damage also results in

• swelling and pain around the joint. • Severity is graded by degrees :-• 1st degree – Little damage• 2nd degree – Partial tearing of the ligament• 3rd degree – Complete tear in two or more places• Symptoms• Pain – Swelling - Some loss of circulation• Causes• Excessive flexibility in an individual.• Training on a mild injury.• Joint being moved beyond its normal range of movement but is

partly or wholly dislocated.• Body contact.• Prevention• Correct footwear and equipment. Good technique.• Playing within the rules of the sport.

Injury – Fracture • Simple Fracture (closed)• This is where the bone breaks cleanly without puncturing the

skin.• Compound Fracture (open)• This is where the bone does not break cleanly. The result is a

shattering of the bone with the ends poking through the skin. This fracture is more serious because it can result in bone infections.

• Green Stick Fracture• This is when a bone does not break completely. It can be

compared to when a green twig breaks, it is incomplete with the twig splintering. This is more common in children.

• Causes• Collisions• Body Contact (excessive force) in contact sports.• Hit by an object - Over training.• Training too soon after an injury to that body part.• Prevention• Graduated training programme• Protective equipment (skin pads)

Injury – Dislocation • Temporary complete separation of the bones forming a

joint. The result is immobility or instability of that joint. When dislocation occurs ligaments and muscle tendons are torn resulting in the bone and joint to come apart.

• Causes• Direct blows• Extreme movement beyond a • joints normal range of movement, • example, falling on the joint.• Prevention• Protective equipment.• High level of fitness for the sport.

Injury – Tendinitis

(Example tennis elbow, Achilles tendinitis) • Inflammation of a tendon, in tennis elbow it is the inflammation of the tendon

that attaches to the lateral epicondyle on the outside of the elbow.• Symptoms• Swelling - Tender to touch• Symptoms in tennis elbow include :• Pain on the bony (lateral epicondyle) on the outside of the elbow• Weakness in the wrist• Pain in the outside of the elbow when you bend the hand back at wrist• Causes• Most tendinitis injuries are caused by chronic overuse • during activities that produce high compression or twisting forces.• In tennis elbow tendinitis is caused by :• A bad backhand technique which puts a • lot of pressure on the elbow.• Prevention• Cut back on training• Correct technique• Using a forearm brace for a weak elbow

Injury – Prepatellar Bursitis (Housemaid’s knees)

• A bursa is a small fibrous fluid filled sack usually found around joints. Bursae minimize the amounts of friction between the joints during movement, it can become inflamed after chronic overuse.

• Symptoms• Pain directly over the affected area• Swelling in the area of pain• There is pain when pressure is applied to the swollen

area• Causes• Excessive kneeling activities or a blow to the knee• Prevention• Never do squats below a 90 degree angle of the knee

Injury -Compartment Syndrome • A compartment is a section of the body containing a group of

muscles. An example is the lower leg, which encloses its muscles four main compartments with a firm capsule surrounding each compartment. A compartment syndrome occurs because there is only a certain amount of space in each compartment and this is reduced during a heavy training schedule by a pressure build up. In acute cases it is caused by a fluid build up during training in the muscle group, increasing the pressure in the compartments.

• Symptoms • Muscles may be tight and/or swollen• Pain in the muscles and inflammation• Neurological symptoms.• Causes• Direct blow, kick or punch to the muscle causing it to bleed and

swell rapidly• Build up of fluid in the muscle groups which increases the

intra-muscular compartment pressure• Hard training surfaces - Build up of pressure from training• Prevention• Graded exercise/training programme

Injury - Plantar Fascitis /Arch strain

• Overstretching, inflammation and or a tearing of a broad band of connective tissue that runs from the heel into the toes. This band called the plantar fasia aids in supporting the arch, preventing the elongation of the foot.

• Symptoms• Pain on the bottom of the foot towards the

region of the heel• Causes• Overuse from jumping or running• Prevention• Graded training programme

Injury - Concussion • Concussion, or mild traumatic

brain injury (MTBI), is the most common and least serious type of traumatic brain injury. A milder type of diffuse axonal injury, concussion involves a transient loss of mental function. It can be caused by acceleration or deceleration forces, or by a direct blow. Concussion is generally not associated with penetrating injuries.

Injury – Back Pain

• Common causes of back pain

• Most back pain is caused by strains and minor injury rather than serious injury, and is often called 'simple back pain'. Although the pain often comes suddenly and can be triggered by a particular movement, the causes may have been building for some time.

Extrinsic Risk Factors • The Warm Up

• A warm up is intended to raise the body temperature and prepare a player physiologically and psychologically to compete in a competitive game. Research has suggested that the optimum duration of the warm up period, before flexibility or functional activities are undertaken, should be between 15 and 20 minutes. This should consist of a gradual increase in intensity until the player is working at 70% of maximal heart rate. A warm up at this intensity has the effect of allowing an increase in the range of movement of the joints and improving aerobic performance. This means the player becomes more flexible and running efficiency improves.

Cool Down• A Cool Down allows a gradual decrease in

temperature, heart rate and blood pressure, back to resting levels. By gently working the major muscle groups, waste products are actively removed. During the gentle exercise of the cool down the body releases hormones that counter the effects of adrenaline and allow rest and sleep after exercise. Because of the increase in tissue temperature the post-exercise period is an ideal time to stretch and improve or maintain joint range of movement and flexibility.

• Players may not feel like doing a cool down after a strenuous game, but they must understand that because of the possible benefits mentioned above it is worth doing. By getting into the habit from an early age, players will be more disciplined about performing a cool down.

Equipments• Inspect the equipment before and after use.• Ensure that the equipment is correctly stored• Maintain the equipment • Report any broken equipment• Participants :• Are they correctly dressed ?• Are they wearing the correct footwear ?• Have they removed all jewellery and watches ?• Establishing good discipline and enforcing rules are an

essential part of making a session safe and enjoyable.• Rules :• Rules should be clearly defined at the beginning of each

activity.• Fair play should be encouraged at all times.• Game rules should be adapted according to the facilities,

group size and participants involved.

INTRINSIC RISK FACTORS