option 3 - Sports Medicine Flashcards

Flashcards covering sports injuries, management, and preventive actions for athletes of all ages.

Direct Sports Injury

Occurs when the body makes contact with an external object, another person, or the ground.

Indirect Sports Injury

Caused by forces inside of the body that produce strain on muscles and ligaments.

Overuse Sports Injury

Occur when specific body regions are excessively used over time or overloaded in a short period of time, often a result of muscle stiffness or tightness.

Soft Tissue Injury

Any injury to any tissue excluding bones and teeth, such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, or skin.

Hard Tissue Injury

Injuries exclusive to bones and teeth, such as broken bones, dislocated joints, and dislodged teeth.

Muscular Injuries

Injuries where muscles, ligaments, or tendons are damaged.

Contusion/Bruise

Occurs when an athlete collides with another athlete or object.

Sprains

Occur in ligaments and range in severity, with symptoms including pain, swelling, and joint instability.

Strain

Occurs when a muscle or tendon is stretched or torn, causing considerable pain and bleeding (bruising).

Purpose of Inflammatory Response

1. Defend against harmful substances and infection, 2. Dispose of dead tissue caused by injury, 3. Promote the renewal process.

Acute Inflammatory Stage

Body sends blood to the area, causing redness, swelling, and warmth; tissues expand, putting pressure on the nerves, leading to pain; lasts 42-72 hours depending on severity.

Proliferation/Healing Stage

Fibroblasts move from blood vessels to the tissue to initiate healing, building a scar matrix/tissue; collagen is repaired; takes 48 hours to 6 weeks depending on severity.

Remodeling Stage

Ligament or damaged tissue is remodeled with increased production of scar tissue, which needs to be strengthened; lasts up to 3 months or longer, depending on the severity of the injury.

Skin Abrasion

Result from the application of force or friction to the outer layers of skin; occur when the surface layer of skin is broken, causing pain and shallow bleeding.

Laceration

Damage to the skin and underlying tissue, often requiring stitches, butterfly clips, or glue to help repair.

Blisters

Caused when the outer layer of skin separates due to friction, forming a pocket of fluid or blood.

Calluses

Build-up of dead skin caused by frequent rubbing or pressure.

RICER

Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation, Referral

Immediate Treatment of Skin Injuries

Prevent infection and minimize blood loss; area needs to be cleaned and sterilized; bleeding can be controlled by rest, pressure, and elevation.

Hard Tissue Injuries

Important to know how to manage to minimize harm and prevent tissue damage.

TOTAPS

Talk, Observe, Touch, Active Movement, Passive Movement, Skills

Asthma

Breathing difficulty as airways leading to lungs narrow; airways become narrowed and inflamed, producing extra mucus, which can lead to symptoms like wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness.

Diabetes

Disease where the body doesn't produce enough insulin, leading to fluctuating blood glucose levels; can be type 1 (daily insulin injections, not linked to lifestyle factors) or type 2.

Epilepsy

Characterized by seizures or fits, a sudden, brief disruption of electrical activity in the brain, causing changes in movement, behavior, sensation, or awareness.

Overuse Injuries

Sustained from repetitive use of a body part over a long period of time.

Thermoregulation in Children

Children are less able to control their body temperature because their sweat glands release fluid more slowly and are less responsive to temperature changes.

Appropriateness of Resistance Training

Light resistance, high reps, and full range of motion.

Heart Conditions

Exercise reduces blood pressure in moderate hypertensive patients when combined with a balanced diet with low fat and low salt intake.

Fractures and Bone Density

Exercise is particularly important to older women because it contributes significantly to delaying postmenopausal bone density loss.

Eating Disorders

Characterized by abnormal eating behaviors, such as anorexia (restricting food access) or bulimia (binging, restricting, purging); common in sports where low body fat and ideal body shape/size are expected or an advantage.

Iron Deficiency

Deficiency common in women due to losses through menstruation and reduced consumption of red meat; causes anaemia, leading to fatigue and loss of energy.

Bone Density

Menopause lowers oestrogen levels, leading to higher calcium loss from bones, causing brittle bones and a higher risk of fractures.

Pre-Screening Assessment

Current fitness levels, medical history and conditions, previous injuries.

Rules of Sports and Activities

Protects athletes from injury and promotes safety.

Heat Rules

Used in Australian Open and local cricket; over 30 degrees - extra and longer breaks; over 35 degrees - postpone/cancel event.

Modified Rules for Children

Specific needs due to decreased size and capability; rules are modified to accommodate these needs, encouraging involvement and continuity in sport and activities and promoting enjoyment and safety.

Matching of Opponents

Promotes safety, especially in contact sports; ensures even competition, challenges players, helps maintain interest, and increases motivation.

Use of Protective Equipmen

Helps prevent injury by absorbing impact from direct blow;

Safe Grounds, Equipment, and Facilities

Even (no holes), free of rubbish (broken glass), following these guidelines when preparing for play.

Convection

Heat loss through flow of air across skin; fan, loose clothing.

Radiation

Heat loss to the environment through infrared rays; loose clothing.

Conduction

Heat transfer from body to cooler object by contact; wet towel, wet clothing.

Evaporation

Heat loss through sweating; main form of heat loss during exercise; drink adequate water, expose skin to allow evaporation.

Hyperthermia

Heat and humidity (body temp too high); evaporation is restricted; humidity limits the body's ability to dissipate heat.

Hypothermia

Cold and wind (body temp too low); convection from wind causes ‘wind chills’.

Fluid Intake

500 ml, 30 min before.

Acclimatisation

Technique where athletes train in expected climatic conditions before competition.

Preventative Taping

Protects joints by providing limitation to unwanted movements.

Taping for Isolation of Injury

Used post-injury to support/strengthen joint during rehabilitation; decreases risk of re-injury, helps athletes maintain fitness, allows athletes to return to play sooner, increases player confidence.

Bandaging for Immediate Treatment of Injury

Bandaging at this point serves to limit the motion of the body part, usually by securing it to another body part; provides compression, reduces bleeding/swelling, helps immobilize injured part, prevents further injury.

Rehabilitation

Process of restoring athlete to pre-injury level of fitness. Involves mobilisation, stretching, conditioning, taping, training, and testing as part of the assessment process.

Progressive Mobilisation

Gradually increasing range injured part is moved through.

Conditioning

Strengthens and stretches affected areas, ensures injury heals without scarring, prevents muscle atrophy (loss), should follow the principle of specificity and progressive overload.

Total Body Fitness

Maintenance of overall body fitness; flexibility, endurance, strength, sport-specific training (not stressing the injured area.).

Indicators of Readiness to Return to Play

Absence of all pain, full confidence in knowing that the injured area can handle match stress, fully restored balance, coordination, and cardiovascular fitness.

Monitoring Progress

Tests are an indication of readiness to return to play; compare pre- and post-injury (must be within 10% of pre-injury to play); tests must be specific.

Psychological Readiness

Can be improved through taping; is balance between motivation, self-assurance and common sense, which is fundamental to a safe return to play.

Specific Warm-Up Procedures

Ensure fully warmed-up and muscle groups have been properly stretched before training or playing a game.

Return to Play Policies and Procedures

Regulate the timing of when an athlete returns to competition; may involve fitness assessments, specific test results, and participation in sport-specific movements.

Ethical Considerations

Coaches see players as commodities, who need to be on the field of play to gain value for cost.