CHRONIC

SPORTS
INJURIES
 OUTLINE
 INTRODUCTION
 TYPES OF SPORTS INJURIES
 CHRONIC SPORTS INJURIES: TYPES
 INVESTIGATION OF CHRONIC SPORTS
INJURIES
 PREVENTION OF CHRONIC SPORTS
INJURIES
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES
 INTRODUCTION
What is a sport?
 any individual or group competitive activity

involving physical exertion or skill, governed

by rules, and sometimes engaged in
professionally. Examples include tennis,
hockey, boxing, gymnastics, athletics and of
course football.

 What is an injury?
physical damage to the body or a body part.
 INTRODUCTION contd
 What Are Sports Injuries?
The term sports injury, in the broadest sense,
refers to the kinds of injuries that most
commonly occur during sports or exercise.
Some sports injuries result from accidents;
others are due to poor training practices,
improper equipment, lack of conditioning, or
insufficient warm up and stretching.
 Common types of sports injuries include
muscle sprains and strains, tear of tendons and
ligaments, dislocations, fractures and
concussions.
 TYPES OF SPORTS INJURY
 There are two broad
categories of sports-related
injuries — acute and chronic
 Acute injuries occur from a
single, well-defined incident,
such as dislocating your
shoulder during a fall or
twisting your ankle while
running. Sprains and
dislocations are typically
considered acute.
 TYPES OF SPORTS INJURY contd
 Chronic injuries result from an accumulation
of damage to the bones, joints, muscles,
ligaments and tendons. Chronic injuries are
generally considered lifestyle-threatening
injuries — that is, they inhibit your ability to
perform many of your normal activities.
Tennis elbow and stress fractures (a fracture
caused by repeated stress on the bone) are
both examples of chronic injuries.
 TYPES OF SPORTS INJURY contd
 Signs of acute sports injury include sudden
severe pain, swelling, inability to place weight
on a lower limb, extreme tenderness in an
upper limb, visible dislocation or break of
bone.
 Signs of chronic sports injury include pain
when performing activity, dull ache at rest and
swelling.
 CHRONIC SPORTS INJURY (CSI)
 Chronic injuries usually result from overusing one area of the
body while playing a sport or exercising over a long period.
 Often overuse injuries seem less important than acute
injuries.
 If left untreated, a chronic injury will probably get worse over
time.
 TYPES OF CSI
 These include:
 stress fractures — tiny cracks in the bone's
surface often caused by repetitive overloading
(such as in the feet of a basketball player who is
continuously jumping on the court)
 tendinitis — inflammation of the tendon
caused by repetitive stretching
 epiphysitis or apophysitis — growth plate
overload injuries.
 INVESTIGATIONS
 There are several investigative modalities used
in sports medicine. However, the most useful
in evaluating CSIs include:
 X-rays
 MRI
 Ultrasonography
 Electromyography
 Bone scan
 Arthrography
 TREATMENT
 Treatment of chronic sports injury is in two
phases, short term and long term

 Short term
i. Relative or complete rest
ii. Drugs e.g. NSAIDS, topical anaesthetics,
steroids
iii. Electrical stimulation
iv. Muscle stretching
v. Iontophoresis, phonophoresis, ice
 TREATMENT contd
 Long term
i. Proper shoe wearing
ii. Strength training
iii. Activity modification
iv. Orthototic intervention
v. Nutrition counselling and weight
management
vi. Surgery for refractory cases
 PREVENTION
 Like most other pathologies, CSIs can be prevented by
several measures which include:
 Avoid bending knees past 90 degrees when
doing half knee bends.
 Avoid twisting knees by keeping feet as flat
as possible during stretches.
 When jumping, land with your knees bent.
 Do warm up exercises not just before vigorous
activities like running, but also before less
vigorous ones such as golf.
 Don’t overdo.
 PREVENTION contd
 Do warm up stretches before activity. Stretch
the Achilles tendon, hamstring, and quadriceps
areas and hold the positions. Don’t bounce.
 Cool down following vigorous sports. For
example, after a race, walk or walk/jog for
five minutes so your pulse comes down
gradually.
 PREVENTION contd
 Wear properly fitting shoes that provide
shock absorption and stability.
 Use the softest exercise surface available, and

avoid running on hard surfaces like asphalt

and concrete. Run on flat surfaces. Running
uphill may increase the stress on the Achilles
tendon and the leg itself.
 CONCLUSION
 The unprecedented level in popularity
over the last few decades of increased participation in
athletic sporting events has
led directly to an increase in chronic overuse
sports injuries.
 It remains in the medical/health personnel’s domain to
properly identify and assist the athlete in correcting
these conditions to treat, prevent, and possibly reverse
the detrimental effects. As always, prevention is always
the best treatment but, failing that, the next best thing is
proper and successful
rehabilitation.
 REFERENCES
1. Microsoft Encarta 2009
2. Tri Rivers surgical associates inc.
3. U.S department of health and human services.
4. Chronic overuse sports injuries by Dr. Elmer
Pinzon
For you non-sports, sporting types…….
 ….and this is what happens when
Alabama tries to play tackle football….