Soft Tissue Injuries and Healing Flashcards
What are the different types of soft tissue?
Skin, Ligaments, Muscle, Fascia, Blood Vessels, Tendons, Nerves, Brain, Joint Capsule.
Soft tissue isnt just things like skin or muscles it is very broad. So soft tissue damage may include all of these things
What is the difference between a sprain and strain
Sprain - Overstretch/tear of a ligament or capsule beyond normal anatomical limit
Strain - Overstretch, Overextension, Overuse of muscles or tendons (musculo-tendinous injuries)
What is the difference between tendons and ligaments
Tendons connect muscles to bones, facilitating movement whereas ligaments connect bones to bones, holding them together and supporting and stabilising joints.
How would you know if an injury was a sprain or strain
ligament injuries wont affect strength, therefore it may be a sprain, but if strength is affected then a muscle is affected and it is a strain.
What are the three types of muscle injuries
Strain (tear)
Contusion (bruise)
Haematoma
What are the gradings of muscle strain
Grade 1 - small number of fibres are affected. There is localised pain and no loss of strength
Grade 2 - Significant number of muscle fibres damaged. Associated pain on isometric muscle contraction as damaged fibres try to contract. Swelling. Reduced strength
Grade 3 - Complete tear of the muscle. Occurs mainly at Musculo-Tendinous junction
What are the different Haematomas
Haematomas mainly occur due to blunt force trauma. There are two types:
Intra Muscular - Blood doesn’t leave the muscle fascia. Blood stays within the capillaries and cannot escape into the tissue space. There is very high intramuscular pressure
Intermuscular - Capillaries tear and blood and escape into the interstitial space. Pressure remains at a fairly normal level
What do ligaments mainly consist of
90% type 1 collagen
9% type 2 collagen
1% Fibroblasts
What are the different collagen types
Type 1 - has high tensile strength and is found in bones, ligaments and tendons
Type 2 - found in hyaline cartilage and can withstand pressure. It is found in joints.
Type 3 - found in smooth muscle structures like bronchioles
Type 4 - Found in structures that have roles in epithelial support and filtration like the kidneys.
What are ligaments
primary joint stabilisers. Also provide proprioceptive input to the brain, allows the person to know what position their joints are in.
What happens if ligaments get damaged
we may have worse balance as ligament injury may cause receptor damage.
What are the different grades of ligament sprain
Grade 1 - damage to few collagen fibres, producing a local inflammatory response, characterised by pain over the ligament
Grade 2 - damage to an extensive number of collagen fibres, producing a more marked inflammatory response characterised by intense pain and joint effusion
Grade 3 - Damage to collagen fibres is such that there is a complete rupture of the ligament, producing intense pain, joint effusion
What accounts for most ankle injuries
Lateral Ankle Sprain
- 85% of all ankle injuries are caused by
What is the soft tissue healing process?
Bleeding occurs and a clot forms, cutting of oxygen supply at the site of damage. This causes inflammation due to the release of histamines and serotonin. platelets also initiate growth factors and attract fibroblasts. These fibroblasts create type 3 collagen which gets turned into type 1 collagen and angiogenesis occurs where new blood vessels are formed.
