Sports Injury, Rehabilitation, and Classification

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering sports injury emergency assessment, tissue healing phases, return-to-play criteria, rehabilitation principles, diagnostic physical tests, and multi-axial injury classifications.

Concussion

A mild traumatic brain injury caused by a blow to the head, neck, or body that transmits force to the brain, producing a temporary disturbance in brain function without requiring loss of consciousness.

SCAT6 (Sport Concussion Assessment Tool – 6th Edition)

A standardised tool utilized by trained healthcare professionals to evaluate suspected concussions in athletes aged 13 years and older, primarily useful in the first $72\text{ hours}$ and up to $7\text{ days}$ post-injury.

ABCDE Approach

A systematic sporting emergency framework addressing: Airway (with cervical spine protection), Breathing, Circulation, Disability, and Exposure/Environment.

Heat Exhaustion

A heat-related illness caused by excessive sweating and loss of water and electrolytes during exertion in heat, presenting with heavy sweating, weakness, dizziness, and preserved consciousness.

Heat Stroke

A life-threatening medical emergency characterized by thermoregulatory failure, dangerously elevated body temperature, and central nervous system dysfunction such as confusion, collapse, seizures, or coma.

Inflammatory Phase of Tissue Healing

The initial phase of tissue repair lasting from injury to approximately $3\text{ to }5\text{ days}$, characterized by clot formation, debris clearance by inflammatory cells, pain, heat, swelling, and redness.

Proliferative Phase of Tissue Healing

The repair phase occurring from about day $3$ to $3\text{ weeks}$, characterized by fibroblast activity, collagen production, angiogenesis, granulation tissue formation, and wound contraction.

Remodelling Phase of Tissue Healing

The maturation phase lasting from about $3\text{ weeks}$ to several months or longer, characterized by collagen reorganization, scar tissue maturation, and adaptation to physical loading.

Criteria-Based Return to Play (RTP)

A phased, objective progression (return to participation → return to sport → return to performance) based on functional benchmarks such as pain resolution, full range of motion, restored strength, and psychological readiness rather than elapsed time alone.

Haemostasis

The immediate first stage of wound healing where vasoconstriction, platelet plug aggregation, and fibrin clot formation halt active bleeding.

Lachman Test

A clinical examination for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) integrity performed supine with the knee flexed $20^\circ\text{ to }30^\circ$, assessing anterior tibial translation and endpoint firmness.

Pivot Shift Test

A dynamic clinical evaluation for ACL deficiency and rotational knee instability performed by combining internal rotation and valgus stress while flexing the knee to produce a palpable clunk or reduction.

Female Athlete Triad

A clinical syndrome of three interrelated components: low energy availability (with or without disordered eating), menstrual dysfunction, and low bone mineral density.

RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport)

A comprehensive syndrome resulting from problematic low energy availability in athletes of any sex, impairing metabolic rate, menstrual function, bone health, immunity, cardiovascular function, and athletic performance.

Greenstick Fracture

An incomplete pediatric bone fracture where one side of the bone bends and the convex cortex fractures under tension while the concave side remains intact.

Comminuted Fracture

A fracture pattern where the bone is shattered or broken into three or more distinct anatomical fragments.

Stress Fracture

A hairline crack or microscopic bone injury resulting from repetitive, cumulative submaximal loading over time exceeding the bone remodeling capacity.

Red Flags (Clinical Assessment)

Clinical warning signs pointing toward serious underlying pathology or immediate medical danger (e.g., neurovascular compromise, unstable fractures, progressive weakness) demanding urgent emergency management.

Yellow Flags (Clinical Assessment)

Psychological and behavioral factors—such as kinesiophobia, pain catastrophizing, depression, or low self-efficacy—that increase the likelihood of persistent pain and prolonged disability.

Black Flags (Clinical Assessment)

Systemic, organizational, or contextual obstacles outside the patient's direct control—such as unsafe sports environments, unsupportive workplace policies, or lack of treatment access—that impede recovery.

Empty Can Test

A clinical shoulder test assessing supraspinatus pathology performed by placing the arm in $90^\circ$ of scapular plane abduction with thumbs pointed down and applying downward resistance.

Painful Arc Test

A shoulder assessment where an athlete actively abducts the arm in the scapular plane; pain localized between $60^\circ$ and $120^\circ$ suggests subacromial impingement or rotator cuff irritation.

POLICE Principle

A modern acute soft-tissue management framework standing for Protection, Optimal Loading, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.

Contracture

An abnormal shortening and structural stiffening of soft tissues or joint capsules, preventable through early passive movement and gentle progressive mobilization.

Proprioception

The body's specialized sensory capacity to detect joint position, motion, and spatial orientation via mechanoreceptors in muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

I-PRRS Scale

The Injury-Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport scale, an assessment tool used to objectively gauge an athlete's psychological readiness and confidence before clearing them for competition.

Acute Injury (Cause)

A sports injury with sudden onset produced by a single identifiable traumatic event delivering force that exceeds the tissue's structural failure threshold.

Overuse Injury (Cause)

A sports injury that develops insidiously through repetitive microtrauma, load accumulation, and incomplete physiological recovery without an acute inciting event.

Soft Tissue Injury

Damage sustained by non-bony tissues including muscles, tendons, ligaments, joint capsules, bursae, fascia, or skin.

Hard Tissue Injury

Structural trauma involving skeletal architecture, articular cartilage, or epiphyseal growth plates.

Grade I Injury (Severity)

A mild structural injury characterized by minor microscopic tissue damage, minimal pain, no clinical instability, and fully preserved joint range of motion.

Grade II Injury (Severity)

A moderate injury resulting from substantial tensile stress, characterized by a partial tissue tear, moderate swelling, weakness, and restricted range of motion.

Grade III Injury (Severity)

A severe injury where mechanical forces exceed maximal tensile strength, producing complete structural rupture, severe initial pain, gross joint instability, and loss of function.

Subacute Injury (Time-based)

The intermediate stage of an injury characterized by subsiding acute inflammation, active fibroblastic proliferation, collagen deposition, and gradual restoration of joint mobility.

Chronic Injury (Time-based)

An unhealed or long-standing injury persisting beyond $6\text{ weeks}$, characterized by dense scar formation, structural degeneration, persistent discomfort, and functional impairment.

Non-contact Injury

An injury sustained without external collision, typically triggered by intrinsic biomechanical breakdown during rapid deceleration, cutting, pivoting, or faulty landing mechanics.

Degenerative Sports Pathology

A category of pathological tissue breakdown caused by repetitive microtrauma and impaired restorative healing, leading to collagen degradation (e.g., tendinosis or osteoarthritis).

Mechanical Sports Pathology

Pathological tissue irritation or structural failure resulting from faulty movement mechanics and abnormal articular loading (e.g., patellofemoral pain syndrome or shoulder impingement).

Neurological Sports Pathology

Tissue dysfunction or pain resulting from mechanical compression, traction, or irritation of peripheral or spinal nerves (e.g., cervical radiculopathy or peripheral nerve entrapment).