What is a sports injury?

Sports injuries result from

acute trauma or repetitive
stress associated with athletic
activities. Sports injuries can
affect bones or soft tissue
(ligaments, muscles, tendons).
Sports injury statistics
There are over 22 million injuries a year and the
number is climbing.
During the 2008/2009 Guinness
Premiership Rugby season there
were 769 recorded injuries, an
average of 2 injuries per match.
Nuffield Foundation 2010
Sports injuries
Which sport do you think is most dangerous?
Playing sport and doing regular
exercise is good for your health, but can
sometimes result in injuries
Most people will only experience minor
sport-related injuries such as cuts and
grazes, bruises or blisters
Pain, swelling and restricted limb
movements are fairly common
Affected areas can include:
muscles
bones
ligaments (thick bands of tissue that connect
one bone to another)
tendons (tough, rubbery cords that link
muscles to bones)
joints the hips, elbows, ankles and knees
cartilage (tough, flexible tissue that covers
the surface of joints and allows bones to
slide over one another)

Sports injuries can be caused by:
an accident
not warming up properly before exercising
using inadequate equipment or poor technique
pushing yourself too hard (overtraining)

a sudden injury which is the result of a
sudden impact or an awkward movement
an overuse injury which develops over
time as a result of overusing certain parts of
the body or poor technique

Nuffield Foundation 2010
Which group of sports
leads to most injuries?
Sports
injuries
Is it the most dangerous?
Sport
Athletics
Gymnastics
Ball sport with racquet/bat/stick
Ball sport without bat etc
Combat sport
Shooting/archery/darts
Wheel/motor/cycle/
roller skating
Animal sport/riding
Winter sport
Walking/climbing/caving
Water sport
Air sport
Exercise/fitness/weight lifting
Other
Total
You can treat most minor sports injuries yourself
by resting the affected body part and using over-
the-counter painkillers
More serious sports injuries, such as a broken
bone, torn ligament or damaged cartilage, will
require specialist advice and treatment from
doctors, surgeons or physiotherapists
Not all sports injuries can be prevented, but you
can reduce your risk of getting injured by:
warming up properly
not pushing your body
using recommended safety equipment
receiving coaching
If you start a new sport or activity, get advice
and training from a qualified healthcare
professional or sports coach

Injuries are prevented by:
Identifying risk factors
Addressing risks with preventive measures
A comprehensive prevention program
includes:
Pre-sports Physical
Appropriate clothing and footwear
Respecting your environment
Using proper Equipment
Proper Coaching
Getting in shape
Dont Overdo It
Structure your workout properly
Learn Proper Technique

Performed by a qualified doctor
Assess overall health
Detect conditions that might cause injury
Detect conditions that may disqualify the
athlete from participation
Assess fitness for chosen sport
Make recommendations for the exercise
program
Makes exercise safer and more enjoyable
Keeps body temp. at comfortable level
Footwear
Correct shoes for your sport/activity
Socks to prevent blisters and add
support/cushion
Watch weather - overheating and overcooling
Athletes may become too hot or too cold
depending on temperature, humidity, and
wind conditions
If activity requires equipment, make sure it
is in proper working order
Protective equipment such as helmets,
mouth guards, shoulder pads, etc. should be
used as well
Qualified coaches should be trained to
improve athletic skill and prevent injuries
Proper instruction is especially important
in high-risk sports (e.g. gymnastics,
football, etc.)
Also important in lower risk activities where
improper technique could lead to overuse
injuries (e.g. running, tennis, etc.)
Coaches should be certified in their sport
by a national association
Improves health
Reduces the risk of injury
Enhances performance
Improves heart-lung endurance, strength,
flexibility, body composition, etc.
too much too soon is one of the main
causes of injury
Injuries can develop when frequency,
duration, or intensity is suddenly increased
An interesting example of this process of diagnosis
and treatment in my coaching experience comes from
an athlete with a chronic knee injury. I took her to a
sports-injury specialist and he diagnosed her
complaint as Chrondomalacia patella, which,
translated into English, means is inflammation of the
underside of the patella and softening of
the cartilage which causes a roughening on the
underside of the knee and thus pain. The cause of the
injury was pinpointed to the athlete's gait while she
was running. Specifically, there was over-pronation at
the foot and instability at the hip, both of which
were leading to excessive internal rotation at the
knee.


The physiotherapist prescribed complete rest
from running and any activity that aggravated
the problem. This would allow the knee to heal.
In addition, orthotic inserts for the
athlete's running shoes were prescribed to
control the excess pronation and a strengthening
programme was prescribed for her legs, hips and
abdominals to help stabilize her pelvis and
control the internal rotation. Thus her treatment
plan and exercise programme were related to
eliminating the cause of the injury.



As her coach, I supervised her strength workouts
to ensure she performed the exercises correctly
and increased her strength in the relevant areas
over the following weeks. As I've said, injury
rehabilitation training is goal-related. The
physiotherapist sets the specific goals - in this
case, improving leg, hip and stomach strength -
but it is the coach's job to encourage the athlete
to achieve the goals. Because you are still
closely involved, the athlete will feel you are
still the coach, even though he or she is injured.
Part of a coach's job is to help his athletes
recover to full fitness after injury, not simply to
train them when they are 100 per cent healthy.
1. Structural Integrity
2. Pain - Free Joints and Muscles
3. Joint Flexibility
4. Muscular Strength
5. Muscular Endurance
6. Muscular Speed
7. Muscular Power
8. Skill Patterns
9. Agility
10. Cardiovascular Endurance
Structural Integrity
Pain-Free
Joint Flexibility
Strength
Endurance
Speed
Power
Skill Patterns
Agility
Cardiovascular Endurance
Structural Integrity
surgery
immobilization
rest
Pain - Free Joints and Muscles
ways to diminish pain
immobilization
therapeutic modalities
cryotherapy
graded exercise (quad sets, isometric
contractions..)
Joint Flexibility
Decreased joint flexibility results from:
muscle spasm, pain (Therapeutic exercise with cold)
connective tissue adhesions (Therapeutic exercise with
heat)
Muscular Strength
Must perform a progressive resistive exercise on a
regular basis.
Each side of the body should be worked independently.
Once strength in the injured side is 90% of the non-
injured side, emphasis moves to the development of
muscular endurance.
Muscular Endurance
Stationary bike
Running when tolerated (jog 400 meters first day and
increase by 400 meters each 1 or 2 days)
When athlete can run 1 mile emphasis should move to
next phase
Muscular Speed
high intense stationary bike
Cybex
Muscular Power
Isokinetic devices
high- speed resistive work
Skill Patterns
Participation in team drills at 2 speed
Sport-specific skill patterns
Agility
Participation in team drills at 3/4 speed to full
speed
skill patterns are performed quickly and speedily
Cardiovascular Endurance
develop creative ways to maintain cardiovascular
endurance throughout rehab.