Did You Know: Athletic Injuries

Sports injuries are injuries that occur in athletic activities. In many cases, these injuries are due to overuse or acute trauma of a part of the body when participating in a certain activity. For example, runner's knee is a painful condition generally associated with running, while tennis elbow is a form of repetitive stress injury at the elbow.

 

Other types of injuries can be caused by a hard contact with something. This can often cause a broken bone or torn ligament or tendon. The most severe injuries and all fatalities are collectively known as catastrophic injuries, usually a result of trauma to the head, spine, or spinal cord.

Injuries are a common occurrence in professional sports and most teams have a staff of Athletic Trainers and close connections to the medical community. Controversy has arisen at times when teams have made decisions that could threaten a players long-term health for short term gain.

 

Signs and symptoms

Inflammation is characterized by pain, localized swelling, heat, redness and a loss of function.

A bruise or contusion is damage to small blood vessels which causes bleeding within the tissues. A muscle strain is a small tear of muscle fibers and a ligament sprain is a small tear of ligament tissue. The body’s response to these sports injuries is the same in the initial five-day period immediately following the traumatic incident – inflammation.

 

 

 

 

Mechanism

All of these traumatic injuries cause damage to the cells that make up the soft tissues. The dead and damaged cells release chemicals, which initiate an inflammatory response. Small blood vessels are damaged and opened up, producing bleeding within the tissue. In the body’s normal reaction, a small blood clot is formed in order to stop this bleeding and from this clot special cells (called fibroblasts) begin the healing process by laying down scar tissue.

The inflammatory stage is therefore the first phase of healing. However, too much of an inflammatory response in the early stage can mean that the healing process takes longer and a return to activity is delayed. The sports injury treatments are intended to minimize the inflammatory phase of an injury, so that the overall healing process is accelerated. Intrinsic and extrinsic factors are determinant for the healing process.

Prevention

• A warm-up program has been founded to decrease injuries in association football.  Many athletes will partake in HGH Treatment for Athletic Enhancement as a way to prevent injuries.
• Injury can be minimalised by doing an effective warm up, this consists of a heart raiser to get your pulse up, followed by sport specific dynamic stretches (stretches whilst moving). To reduce the risk of injury:
• Time off. Plan to have at least 1 day off per week from a particular sport to allow the body to recover.
• Wear the right gear. Players should wear appropriate and properly fit protective equipment such as pads (neck, shoulder, elbow, chest, knee, shin), helmets, mouthpieces, face guards, protective cups, and/or eyewear. Young athletes should not assume that protective gear will protect them from performing more dangerous or risky activities.
• Strengthen muscles. Conditioning exercises before games and during practice strengthens muscles used in play.
• Increase flexibility. Stretching exercises before and after games or practice can increase flexibility.
• Use the proper technique. This should be reinforced during the playing season.
• 
  Take breaks. Rest periods during practice and games can reduce injuries and prevent heat illness.

 

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