ANKLE INJURY PREVENTION Types of Sprains? Ankle sproins accounted for 15.5% of all High Schoo! Sports Injuttes in 2015/2016! - Boys" and Gité" Basketball have the highest tate of ankle injury! 25,000 people sprain their ankle every dayl? PREVENTION TECHNIQUES Taping /Bracing Taping and bracing for ankle stabilty has had controversial results in effectiveness. It is theorzed that the fiction between the skinincteases an athlete's awateness and perception ofits movements, which helps them move in a way that decteases injury tsk! Strength: Weak muscles areundthe ankle can lead te ankle instabitty Often times, weak ankles ote caused by a previous ankle injury. Strengthening the muscles around the ankle can inctease the force they can sustain before injury a: well as Init the tsk associated with ankle stabilty and occurence of recinjury? Balance More than hatf of all ankle injuies occur without contact with another player. Improving balance gives your body control overitsetfin multiple positions, which in turn innts the ask of injury? Flexibility Poor flewbilty can lead te movernents that cause ankle sprains?. Furthermore, incteasing the tange of motion of the ankle decreases the extremity stress placed on Igaments over a wider array of pasiions, decreasing the chance of iriuys, \ Below ore some sources for leaning how fo tape an aniie to a Sercrneonn Groeten on ore a cnt [Laat Eden iow ofA | igament is involved in over 85% of sprains! Reising the hee! [plantar flexion) puts ‘stress om ankle tendons and increases injury risk?EXERCISES: Building Strength Below are a series of exercises designed fo strengthen muscles associated with the ankle. Some require resistance band to perform? Resisted Dorsiflexion: Wrap the band around the heel and raise toes against resistance. Repeat for 10-20 reps, 2-3 sets Isotonic Eversion and Inversion: Go through the entire range of motion. Repeat for 10 reps over three sets. Calf Raises: Hang your heel off the edge of a surface and use your calves fo raise your body. Start with a manageable amount of reps and build your way up. Once it becomes easy, do the same thing but on one foot! If calf raises are painful then a band can be used to resist plantar flexion in the foot until pain recedes. Do not overdo it on these exercises! Exhaustion severely increases risk of injury. Keep your reps manageable. Balance: FOAM STABILITY PAD ‘A207 study done on high school football players showed that simply balancing on a foam stability pad for five minutes a day (5 days/week for 4 weeks in Preseason, 2 days/ week in season) decreased the occurrence of inversion sprains by 77 percent in players with increased risk due to high body mass index and previous injury (both are tisk factors)’. Flexibility/Range of Motion’: ‘Ankle Alphabet Circles: Write the entire alphabet with your ankles! Ankle circles can ako be performed clockwise and counterclockwise as an altemative Ensure to go through your entire range of motion until the ankle feels loose. Gastrocnemius Stretch: Hold for 30 sec-1 min. each legKNEE INJURY PREVENTION QUICK KNEE INJURY FACTS - Knee Injuries account for 15.2% of all High School Sports injuries"? - Approximately 20% of knee injuries ore treated with Surgery® - Boy’s Football followed by girls’ soccer have the highest knee injury rates of any sport”? KNEE INJURY PREVENTION TECHNIQUES Strength Strength training to prevent knee injuries generally targets the hips, hamstrings, and glutes. These muscles work to keep the knee from tuming in and out, which is the most common cause for damage to knee ligaments, especially in injuries that involve the ACL. Fle: Mobi Since the knee is @ very poor acceptor of rotational force, mobility exercises to prevent knee injury are designed to ensure that these forces are properly distributed to the hip and ankle joints. These joints are better designed to take lateral and rotational forces. Land If athletes have poor control over their bodies @ they move, then they will have poor control of where forces are acting on their bodies. This puts them at higher tisk of knee injuries because their motion puts them in unstable positions that could lead to twisting and turning of the joint. lance and Jumpin: Form Knee Injury Breakdown: Below are the knee structures that are most commonly injured in high school athletes Seeing the length and unbendiing linearity of these structures makes it evident how any torque about the knee could cause great damage. Note that the percentages add up to over 100 percent due to the tendency for knee injuries to involve multiple damaged structures.Performing these exercises will sttengthen the muscles that prevent the knee from twisting unnaturally through contact or noncentact exposures, and increase an athletes control of hip, tototion!”. These should be done on a regular basis to prevent injury, ond should be executed with the same methods outined inthe section overvewing movernent with good form. Resistance Band Hamstring Curl This exercise targets the hamstrings which help stabilize the knee joint. Weak hamstrings are often associated with ACL tears'4, Band tension can be incteased as necessary. Walking lunges/ Body Wei These simple exercises that can be integrated into any team’s warm up targets the glutes and quacs. which prevent the knee from collapsing inward". A twist can be added with the lunge to add a stretch/ balance component. Do not let your knee go past the toe while performing these. gle Leg Stance with Twist Simply stand on one leg and twist from side to side. Although it seemingly does very litle, this exercise strengthens the muscles that stabilize the knee, as well as improve balance. Make sure that the knee does not collapse inward at any time during this exercise (1 min each leg)". Itisimportant thatit you strengthen the muscles that affect knee stabilzation evenly, otherwise there will be an imbalance in the joint. This would be highly counterproductve because it puts an athlete at further risk for injury. However, do not overdo iton these exercises before activity, as fatigue greatly increases an athlete srsk of injury. MOVING WITH GOOD FoRM As knee injutes ate caysed by improper movernent, itis important for athletes do everything that they can to ensure they tein thermselves to move with theit hips, knees and ankles algned correctiy'®= Exercise 1: Changing Direction: Set up cones in a square and perform vatious pattems between cones that require rapid footwork and direction changes. Keep the knee stable at all times Exercise 2: Jumping and : ‘Simply practice jumping frem a balanced position and landing softly with your knees ‘above your toes and a bendin the knees ‘and hips. The toes should be facing forward at all times. Perforrring these exercises every day will decrease athlete’s chances of moving in ‘ways that risk knee injury! Mobility /Stretching: ‘Nebilty exercises to prevent inee injuryinvelve Increasing the range of motion of the hips. As Cthietes bul stenath in the knee stobizers itis ‘hs0 probably that their muscles vill gst fighter fond rrake the athiete more prone fo injury. lwotening out the ios and other knee stobiizers can be done by holeing a simple 1 hornsting sttetch and 2. quad stitch for one minute on each leg and performing 10 reps ot Lateral lunges and 3. Hp injoussOVERTRAINING PREVENTION Overtraining occurs when an athlete is training in such o way that does not allow them to recover properly. This can lead to a type of injury called an overuse injury which accounts for 7.9% of total high school athletic injuries ' Furlhermore, fatigued muscles are less able to protect the ligaments and other connective tissves associated with them, which is why if fatigue is a great factorin causing athletic injuries. Overuse Injury Prevention Strategies: Plan Recovery: Itis important to have days off for your body to recover, or else it cannot get stronger. If an athlete is experiencing persstent illness and aching, they should consider postponing activity’ Gradual increase in activity Often times, athletes attempt to make strides in training that eventually lead to a higher volume than they can handle. Experts often cite the 10% rle, where activity levels should not exceed 10 percent of what was done the previous week. Furthermore, an increase in load should always be preceded by an increase in strength training This will prevent weak muscles causing problems later Proper Nuhition: What an athlete puts inside his/her body is integral to ensuring proper recovery. Athletes should ensure that their carbohydrate intake i sufficient before activity to prevent fatigue and consume healthy foods to ensure proper muscle rebuilding listen to your body: IFan athlete's body is in pain due to an injury, they must rest immediately or they might risk further injury. Coaches and athletes must stress how important this is, and develop away to communicate with their athletes whether pain is occuring” (Causes of Overuse Injuries: Overuse injuries are cavsed by repetitive motions that damage structures such as tendons. They most commonly occur through training errors where volume or load is increase too rapidly, as well as when an athlete has strength or flexibility imbalances" Stretching and Warming Up: Stretching and warming up are things that must be taken seriously by athletes because they ensure that muscles are prepared for activity. Having a good wam vp plan increases muscle and joints’ range of motion and limits muscle stiffness! Tight muscles are a big predictor of whether an athlete will be injured Having a good warmup will prevent acute injuries, as well as prepare muscles for activity gradually. which can eliminate overuse injuries” A good warmup should include exercises that make the athlete sweat. This should be done progressively, over a period of around 20-30 minutes. After practice, athletes should stretch to prevent lactic acid buildup which can lead to muscle stiffnessContinued Research Effective injury prevention is just as important as an effective recovery. Unfortunately, nobody thinks that an injury is something that will happen to them Because of this, an emphasis on recovery from injury has overshadowed programs to prevent injury. However, the chance of injury is very real for every athlete, and in today’s competitive environment they cannot afford to lose fime or they will fal behind. Ankle sprains are one of these injuries that are highly preventable. Many methods of doing so are outlined in this pamphlet, but it important to remember that this is merely a guide assembled for your convenience. There are so many other resources out there that you can take advantage of to create a prevention plan that is right for you. From free videos to intemet articles. And there are others that can help you prevent other injuries that people that play yoursport have a high tisk of sustaining. Continued research could save you many hours of pain down the road, limit the effect of injuries on your athletic progression, and allow you to become the best athlete possible. It all depends on you Good Luck! Nathan Smith Jessica Saganowich Pre-medicine Biology Pennsylvania State University, University Park Sources: "NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS-RELATID OURY SURVELLANCESTUDY 2014-2015: fd) pag. inne cde eb UC Dawe ‘Web 16 2007 Howto Cue fora Sntud Akl" Americ Crthpastic ot and Ate Soci pd Wb. 28 Ae. 2007 ‘WRIGHT, IC. R NEPTUNE. AJ VAN DEN ROGER BMNIGG, Te tee af mi complies xd ‘ecdty nmi suas. Med Sci Spas Bee ‘Vo 32.No, 3p 260-265, 2000 kde Spr Beceem Sot py Clic Np. eo 20 Oo Beers, Dang A. MD, Shr Ha, MD "Jule Tpgend rac Medscape com Np 06. 2017-29. 2017 ‘Sous, JD Ley Baten. "Ale Sans Not Commer High Schoo Spats ‘ajay Stay Fs" MosTaow. 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