Sports Med IQ1 Flashcards
Definition of a direct injury and an example
An injury caused by direct forces generated outside the body e.g. broken nose as a result of being tackled.
Definition of an indirect injury and an example
Caused by an intrinsic force and result from excessive stress on muscles around joints, typically due to inadequate warm up, explosive movement, excessive movement or fault in execution. E.g. netball player puts out her hands to break fall and shoulder pops out of its socket.
Definition of a soft tissue injury and an example
Includes damage to muscle, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, skin, blood vessels, organs and nerves. E.g. sprains, strains, contusions.
Define a hard tissue injury and give an example
Tissue which is mineralised and has a firm intercellular matrix. The hard tissues of humans are bone, tooth, enamel, dentin and cementum. E.g. dislodging a tooth, fracturing a bone.
Define an overuse injury and give example
Result from intense, unreasonable or repetitive movements through a small range of motion e.g. jogging.
E.g. tennis elbow, stress fracture, anterior shin splints
What is a strain and what are body structure affected?
Definition: A strain is the overstretching or tearing of muscles or tendons. Affects muscles and tendons
What are the signs and symptoms of a strain?
Causes considerable pain, bleeding and discolouration around the injury. Any movement in the form of stretching and any pressure around the injury will result in sharp pain.
What is a strain and what are the body structures affected.
Sprains occur when ligaments are stretched or torn.
What are the signs and symptoms of a sprain?
Results in pain, swelling and the inability to perform normal joint movements.
What is a contusion and what are the body structures affected?
Contusions interrupt blood flow to the surrounding tissue. When this occurs a haematoma forms as blood clots in the connective tissue membrane.
Affects bone, muscle and tissue.
What are the signs and symptoms of a contusion?
Discolouration of skin.
Tightness in the affected muscle or stiffness in affected joint
swelling
tenderness
trouble bending or using the affected area.
Provide a description of an abrasion
Caused by skin being scraped. Area may be embedded with dirt and foreign materials.
What are the signs and symptoms of abrasions
Signs: Minor bleeding
Symptoms: Pain around affected area
What is the treatment of an abrasion
Gentle cleaning and sterilisation of the wound to prevent infection.
What is a laceration
Wound where flesh has incurred an irregular tear
Signs and symptoms of a laceration
Signs: Swelling, bleeding, bruising
Symptom: Pain
Treatment of a laceration
Tears longer than 1cm need to be referred to a doctor to be stitched.
Should be cleaned and a sterile pad applied to prevent infection. Pressure should be applied to stop bleeding.
What is a blister?
Caused by a collection of fluid below or within the epidermal layer of skin
Signs and symptoms of blisters
Signs: Raised lump filled with clear fluid or sometimes blood.
Reddened tender patch of skin
Symptoms: Pain, and discomfort. Sometimes may be itchy.
Treatment of a blister
Management requires rest, when the symptoms may disappear. The fluid may be surgically released if it causes discomfort, and a donut pad applied. If a blister is torn open, cleaning with a liquid antiseptic and the application of ‘second skin’ dressing will aid the healing process.
What are the characteristics of phase 1 of the inflammatory response.
Inflammatory stage which lasts 1-4 days:
- pain, redness, swelling
- Loss of function and mobility
- damage to cells and surrounding tissue
- increased blood flow to area
- formation of many blood vessels –> promotes healing
What is the inflammatory response?
When soft tissue is injured, it becomes inflamed but responds by activating a self-healing process. This is referred to as the inflammatory response; the time frame will vary depending on the severity of the damage.
What are the characteristics of phase two of the inflammatory stage?
The repair and regenerative stage; lasts 3 days-6 weeks:
- elimination of debris
- formation of new fibres
- production of scar tissue
What are the characteristics of phase three of the inflammatory response
The remodelling stage: 6 weeks-many months
- increased production of scar tissue
- Replacement tissue that needs to strengthen and develop in the direction that the force is applied.
- Right amount of exercise needs to be done - too little allows large quantities of scar tissue to form which lacks strength and flexibility whereas excessive exercise too early causes further damage.
