Sport – related injuries

Silvia GerčákováJLF UK

UNIcert 2016

• Sports injuries are injuries that occur in athletic activities or exercising.

• They can result from accidents, poor training technique in practice, inadequate equipment, and overuse of a particular body part.

• Collisions with the ground, objects, and other players are common, and unexpected dynamic forces on limbs and joints can cause injury.

Contusion/Bruise

• damage to small blood vessels which causes bleeding within the tissues.

Muscle cramp

• a strong muscle contraction that can be very painful lasting in few minutes • The symptoms of muscle cramps usually come on quickly and intensely.• The most obvious symptom of a muscle cramp is a sharp, acute pain in the

affected muscle or muscles. • If it’s a large muscle that is involved, like the one in the calf of your leg, you

may be able to feel a knot or hard lump in the muscle, just under the skin.• There are also cramps that occur after the fact. These delayed or nocturnal

cramps can affect athletes.

prevention

• warm up and stretch their muscles first

• Stretch slowly and hold each stretch for 30 seconds

• remember to stretch after the activity to allow the muscles to cool down

• drink enough fluids to keep your body’s electrolytes from depleting 

• using ice packs can help relax the tense muscles

• massage

Muscle strain

trauma to a muscle due to overstretching and tearing of muscle fibers• Symptoms :Swelling, bruising, or redness due to the injuryPain at restPain when the specific muscle or the joint in

relation to that muscle is usedWeakness of the muscle or tendons Inability to use the muscle at all

Treatment

• P – Protect • R – Rest • I – Ice• C – Compression• E – Elevation• S - Stabilize

Sprain• an injury in a joint, caused by the ligament being stretched beyond its

own capacity

• Grade 1 sprain (mild): Slight stretching and some damage to the fibers (fibrils) of the ligament.

• Grade 2 sprain (moderate): Partial tearing of the ligament. There is abnormal looseness (laxity) in the joint when it is moved in certain ways.

• Grade 3 sprain (severe): Complete tear of the ligament. This causes significant instability and makes the joint nonfunctional.

• Signs and symptoms will vary, depending on the severity of the injury.

Wound Abrasion: a wearing or rubbing away of skin tissue by friction.

Incision: a smoothly-cut skin wound made by a sharp object.

Laceration: a torn or ragged skin wound.

Puncture: a skin wound caused by an object piercing the skin and creating a small hole.

How to help?• Washing a cut or scrape with soap, and water

and keeping it clean and dry is all that is required to care for most wounds.

• Cleaning the wound with hydrogen peroxide and iodine is acceptable initially, but can delay healing and should be avoided long-term.

• Apply antibiotic ointment and keep the wound covered.

• Seek medical care within 6 hours if the bleeding does not stop, as the wound might need stitches. A delay can increase the rate of wound

Bone fracture • The most common injuries include fractured wrists, hands, collarbones

and bones in the ankle and feet.• Stress fractures are very common in sports which involve repetitive

movements; long distance runners often suffer from stress fractures in the foot, for example.

Symptoms of fractures• Common symptoms include swelling, redness and pain; • many fractures can be extremely painful and most will swell immediately.• More complex fractures may break the skin; in this case the injury will be

clearly visible and immediately diagnosable. • Fractures generally restrict or prohibit movement in the area for a period

of time

Treating a fracture

• Application of ice to reduce swelling. • Anti-inflammatory medication and pain relief to

ease pain and further reduce swelling. • immobilisation for a period of time; this may

involve having a plaster cast fitted, wearing a sling or using crutches; this will allow the bone time to heal.

• a course of physiotherapy to strengthen the area and improve flexibility and movement.

Head injury

• concussions a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) that happens when the brain is shaken hard enough to bounce against the skull.• Contusiona bruise on the brain that can cause swelling, and a hematoma, which is bleeding in the brain that collects and forms a clot.• A skull fracturepieces of bone can cut into the brain and cause bleeding

Indications of severe head trauma• Changes in size of pupils• Clear or bloody fluid draining from

the nose, mouth, or ears• Convulsions• Distorted facial features• Drop in blood pressure• Facial bruising• Fracture in the skull or face• Impaired hearing, smell, taste,

or vision• Inability to move one or more limbs• Irritability

• Loss of consciousness• Low breathing rate• Restlessness, clumsiness, or lack of

coordination• Severe headache• Slurred speech or blurred vision• Stiff neck or vomiting• Sudden worsening of symptoms

after initial improvement• Swelling at the site of the injury• Persistent vomiting

Need to be managed by professional medical team!

Spinal cord injury