sport injuries

Question 1

What tissues or structures can be injured?

Answer 1

Bone
Ligament
Labrum
Meniscus
Tendon
Bursa
Muscle
Skin

Question 2

Describe acute injuries

Answer 2

usually visible
traumatic
one off incident
pain is instantaneous
occurs suddenly

Question 3

Describe chronic injuries

Answer 3

Persistent pain begins with a minor acute injury
Frequently described as a ‘niggle’ or ‘just uncomfortable’ that progressively worsens over time.
Athletes will struggle to play or train.
Pain that lasts for more than 3 months is known as chronic or persistent pain.
Repeated overload or microtrauma.

Question 4

Name acute injuries

Answer 4

Bone: fracture
Ligament: sprain
Tendon: strain
Muscle: strain and contusion
Skin: laceration, puncture and graze

Question 5

Name chronic injuries

Answer 5

Bone: stress fractures
Ligament: repeated micro-tearing
Tendon: tendinopathy (e.g., tennis elbow, Achilles)
Muscle: tension and micro-tearing
Skin: blister and chafing
Cartilage: repeated micro-tearing

Question 6

What is a sprain?

Answer 6

Damage to a ligament
Ligaments are injured when forces exceed the ligaments’ ability to resists load, which may depend on the rate of injury.

Question 7

What is a strain?

Answer 7

A structural muscle tear
Muscles are strained when some or all the fibres fail to cope with the demands placed upon them.
Refers to anything from a minor muscle tear (grade 1) to a full rupture (grade 3)

Question 8

Why do injuries occur?

Answer 8

Predisposed athlete: anyone that is taking part in sport is predisposed to an injury.
All the structures in the body have a tolerance of what they can withstand. Differences in athletes means that they have a different tolerance level.
Going over and above what the tissue/muscle can withstand.

Question 9

Define soft tissue strain

Answer 9

Working a muscle beyond its normal capacity which may stretch or tear the muscle tissue.
It usually occurs under high velocity conditions.

Question 10

Define soft tissue sprain

Answer 10

An injury to a ligament causing overstretching.

Question 11

How many stages of healing are there?

Answer 11

3

Question 12

Name the three stages of healing and give the average length of them

Answer 12

Acute stage (inflammatory phase): up to 3 days post injury
Proliferation (repair phase): 3 days to 3 weeks post injury
Maturation (remodelling phase): 3 weeks to 2 years post injury

Question 13

What can inform people about the severity of the injury?

Answer 13

Signs and symptoms

Question 14

Name the signs and symptoms of injury

Answer 14

Pain
Swelling
Bruising
Heat
All of these contribute to loss of movement and function.

Question 15

Name members of the sport team that are responsible for helping an athlete recover from injury

Answer 15

Doctor
Physiotherapist
Soft tissue therapist
Nutritionist
Sport scientist
Coach
Strength and conditioning coach
Psychologist
Athlete

Question 16

Define aetiology

Answer 16

Risk factors for injury
Cause or set of causes for an injury

Question 17

Define mechanisms of injury

Answer 17

Actions that leads to the injury

Question 18

What will identify the injury risks help with?

Answer 18

It will help to reduce future risk and help with rehabilitation.

Question 19

Name extrinsic risk factors

Answer 19

Direct impact
Equipment
Footwear
Overload
Surface
Clothing
Other players
Shoe surface contact

Question 20

Name intrinsic risk factors

Answer 20

Anatomical
Previous injury
Fatigue
Hormonal
Gender
Age
Growth
Incorrect technique
Diet

Question 21

Name the movement tests that are used to assess the extent of the loss of function

Answer 21

Active
Passive
Resisted

Question 22

Name two strength tests that are used to assess the extent of the loss of function

Answer 22

Clinically strength
Functional strength

Question 23

What does the PEACE and LOVE acronym stand for?

Answer 23

Protection
Elevation
Avoid anti-inflammatory
Compression
Education

Load
Optimism
Vascularisation
Exercise

Question 24

What are the aims when returning from injury?

Answer 24

Replicate sport demands
Time/duration/frequency
Intensity

Question 25

Explain the roles of a multidisciplinary team

Answer 25

Expected to work in collaboration towards a common goal.
An effective MDT sees separate practitioners establishing their own treatment plan and each communicating separately with an athlete.
The common goal should be created and agreed throughout the MDT, including the athlete.