3.1 Injury Prevention & The Rehabilitation Of Injury

Question 1

What are the types of injury

Answer 1

Acute - occurs suddenly during ex
Chronic - occurs after exercising for a long time

Referred to as ‘over-use’ injuries

Question 2

Signs of an acute injury

Answer 2

• sudden, severe pain
• swelling around the injured site
• not able to bear weight
• restricted movement

Question 3

Examples of acute injuries - fracture

Answer 3

• break / crack in the bone, can break in different ways:
• simple / closed = clean break to a bone, doesn’t penetrate the skin or damage surrougning tissue
• compound / open = soft tissue or skin is damaged, more serious - high risk of infection

Question 4

Dislocations

Answer 4

• occur at joints, very painful
• happens when the ends of bones are forced out of position
• in sport; occur at falls or contact

Question 5

Strains

Answer 5

• often called ‘pulled / torn’ muscle
• occurs when muscle fibres are stretched too far and tear
• occur regularly when accelerating + decelerating quickly

Question 6

Sprains

Answer 6

• occur at ligaments (strong bands of tissue around joints, join bone - bone)
• occur when the ligament is stretched too far and tears

Question 7

Signs of chronic injuries

Answer 7

• pain when exercising
• dull ache when you rest
• swelling

Question 8

Examples of chronic injuries - Achilles tendinitis

Answer 8

• causes pain and inflammation of the tendon
• Achilles tendon located at the back of the ankle, largest in the body
• connects the gastrocnemius to heel bone.

Question 9

Stress fracture

Answer 9

• area becomes tender and swollen
• occurs when the intensity of activity is increased too suddenly
• occurs when muscles become fatigued, no longer able to absorb the added shock of ex,
  the fatigued muscle transfers the stress overload to bone = a tiny crack

Question 10

Tennis elbow

Answer 10

• occurs in the muscles attached to the elbow, overuse injury
• muscles + tendons become inflamed and tiny tears occur on the outside of the elbow,
  area becomes sore and tender
• medical term = lateral epicondylitis (pain felt on the bone part of the outer elbow called the lateral epicondyle

Question 11

Injury prevention methods - screening

Answer 11

• test people before they are injured
• see if there are any pre-existing problems
• check any possible indications that they could be susceptible e.g. previous injuries
• any underlying medial conditions, postural / strength / balance
• if problems are detected, a conditioner can select a specific training program for improvement

Question 12

Protective equipment

Answer 12

• reduce chance of injury
• protecting player from the most common type of injury
  E.g. helmet, pads

Question 13

Warm up

Answer 13

• stages; cardiovascular exercise, stretching, movement patterns
• ALREADY GONE THROUGH PHYSIOLOGICAL BENEFITS IN PREVIOUS SECTION

Question 14

Flexibility training

Answer 14

• involve the joints and muscles that will be the most active
  Active:
• works on 1 joint, pushing beyond point of resistance, lengthening muscles + connective tissues

Passive:
- stretch occurs with the help of an external force, e.g. another part of your body

Static:
- stretching while not moving, holding muscle at the furthest point for 30s

Ballistic:
- stretch with swinging/bouncing movements, push body part further

Question 15

Taping and bracing

Answer 15

• taping a weak joint, helps support and stabilise to reduce risk of injury
  E.g. taping a sprained ankle, support the ankle + prevent further injury
• used on muscles; the tape is more elastic + applied onto the skin to provide controlled support as the muscle moves.
• bracing, often involving hinged supports, used to give extra stability to muscles and joints that are weak or have been previously injured.
• aim = prevent further injury

Question 16

Injury rehabilitation methods - proprioceptive training

Answer 16

• subconscious process using system of receptor nerves located in muscles, joints and tendons
• proprioceptive training use hopping, jumping and balance ex to restore proprioception and teach the body to control the position of an injured joint subconsciously
• balance board; unpredictable wobbles

Question 17

Strength training

Answer 17

• uses a resistance
• can be weight machines, free weights, body weight or therabands
• prepares the body for ex, reducing the chance of injury

Question 18

Hyperbaric chambers

Answer 18

• reduce the recovery time for an injury
• chamber pressure like an aeroplane + has 100 % pure oxygen
• the pressure increases the amount of o2 that can be breathed in, so more o2 can be diffused to the injured area
• the excess o2 dissolves in the blood plasma, reduces swelling + both stimulate WBC activity and blood supply to the injured site.

Question 19

Cryotherapy

Answer 19

• common sporting injuries use RICE procedure; use of ice, has an analgesic effect, limits pain and swelling by decreasing b.f to the injured area
• whole body cryotherapy (WBC) uses cryogenic chambers to reduce pain and inflammation
• chamber is cooled by liquid nitrogen (temp bellow -100), patient wears protective gloves, socks, swimming cos for 3 mins
• blood from the arms & legs flow towards the core to keep the body warm + protect vital organs from cold
• leaving chamber, the blood returns back to the arms and legs full of o2, helps heal injured cells.

Question 20

Hydrotherapy

Answer 20

• in warm water, used to improve blood circulation, relive pain and relax muscles
• heated to 35-37 degrees C,
• water makes the ex easier and to alter ex intensity
• bouncy of the water helps support body weight, reduces the load on joints, allows more ex than land
• ex against the resistance of water help strengthen the injured area
• ex used under the water: squats, treadmill, lunging

Question 21

Recovery methods from exercise - compression garments

Answer 21

• improve blood circulation and prevent medical problems
• used by athletes to help blood lactate removal & reduce inflammation and symptoms of DOMS

Question 22

Massage

Answer 22

• sports massage used to relieve soft tissue injuries
  Benefits of sports massage:
  . increased b.f to soft tissue, so more o2 + nutrients can pass through to repair damage
  . Removed lactic acid
  . Stretches soft tissue, if not removed, can lead to mobility problems in muscles, tendons, ligaments

Question 23

Foam rollers

Answer 23

• release tension and tightness in a muscle, and between muscle and fascia
• improve mobility + reduce injury
• used body weight, try and relax the muscle

Question 24

Cold therapy

Answer 24

• useful after intense ex where it can target any minor aches and pains
• cooling the surface of skin using ice gives pain relief,
  and causes vasoconstriction of b.v, decreases the b.f and reduces bleeding or swelling
• decrease in swelling enables muscles to have more movement.
• ice can reduce muscle spasms by decreasing motor activity

Question 25

Ice baths and cryotherapy (DONE BEFORE)

Answer 25

- 5-10 minutes - blood vessels tighten in the cold, drains blood out the legs - leaving the bath, legs fill up new blood that invigorates the muscles with o2 - blood that leaves the legs takes L.A away

Question 26

Importance of sleep for improved recovery

Answer 26

- some of the rebuilding of the damage done to the muscle cells caused by strenuous ex is done during sleep. - deep sleep is important for muscle recovery, deepest sleep is the 3rd stage of non-REM sleep. - here the brain waves are at their slowest and b.f is directed away from the brain towards the muscles to restore energy. - if sleep is too short, time for repair is cut

Question 27

Importance of nutrition for improved recovery

Answer 27

- during ex muscle glycogen stores decrease, need to be replenished - in the 20 mins immediately after ex the body is most able to restore lost glycogen - consume a 3:1 to 4:1 ratio of carbs:protein - this combination helps the body to re-synthesis muscle glycogen more efficiently than carbs alone