Injury Prevention

Sports injuries can be prevented by looking at the following three categories:

- The environment of a particular sport
- Fitness levels
- Protective wear

Elements of Sports Environment

A safe environment will reduce the number of potential injuries.
The sports environment includes:
- surfaces
- weather
- facilities
- equipment
Poor, wet or slippery surfaces, lack of goal post padding or safety netting, obstacles to trip on
and sharp objects, can all lead to energy.
Rules of the game need to be enforced and sometimes modified for children.

Elements of Fitness
The four main elements of fitness are:
- technique & training
- stretch
- fluid
- rehabilitation

Types of Protective Wear

Wear the right protective equipment for the sport you are playing.
The six main types of protective equipment include:
- eyewear
- mouthguard
- wrist, elbow, knee and shin guards
- helmets
- tapes
- braces

Mouth Injuries
Mouthguards act like a crash helmet for the mouth and teeth.
What injuries can the mouthguard protect against?
- cuts to the lip, mouth and tongue
- jaw fractures
- risk of concussion
Initial Assessment of Injuries
Deciding if a player can continue on…

TOTAPS
- Talk-​ What happened, What was the mechanism of injury, Where does it hurt, Did you
hear any sounds; i.e. cracks, snaps?
- Observe-​ Look for obvious deformity; if it doesn’t look right...it probably isn’t, Look for
swelling, Look for discolouration
- Compare the bad side to the good side
- Touch- ​Tenderness: mild, moderate, severe Location: Soft tissue, bone
Heat/temperature- if hot more blood
- Active- ​Assess how much movement athlete can do by themselves.. is it full range?
When does it get painful? Where is it painful?
- Passive- ​ How much movement is there passively? i.e. movement YOU can make,
Compare the bad side to the good side.
- Skills- ​If all OK so far.. then need to test the athlete with the sport specific skill.. running
on the spot hopping jumping “Z” running, Must be something to test the injury…

RICER
Aim- reduce further damage to tissue
Prevent excessive scar formation
Most important in the first 24-72 hours
- Rest- ​Remove player from field, Rest injured area, Immobilise area. Why? Reduces
further tissue damage, Reduces blood flow, Allows for full assessment of injury
- Ice- ​Icing: ice bags- gel packs and frozen peas, instant ice packs, ice water baths and 20
mins on 2 hrs off. Why? Cools the area, constricts blood vessels, reduces blood flow and
fluid leakage, less swelling, pressure and pain
- Compression- ​Compress injured area: elastic bandage, cohesive bandage, strapping
and move distal to proximal. Why? External pressure reduces fluid leakage and bleeding
into tissues, Provides support to the area, Immobilises the area; i.e. REST
- Elevation-
Why?
- Referral- ​To a doctor or physicist
Why?
Alcohol
What is it?
- Alcohol, also known as ethanol , is made through a process called fermentation. During
fermentation, yeast breaks sugar down into ethanol and carbon dioxide.This process is
done without any air present and once complete, the carbon dioxide gas bubbles out into
the air, leaving ethanol and water behind.
- It is classified as a…..
- Depressant- Slows down the brain's messages through the central nervous system.

Standard drinks

- A standard drink is any drink containing 10 grams of

alcohol. One standard drink always contains the same amount
of alcohol regardless of container size or alcohol type, that is
beer, wine or spirit.

Alcohol in the body once swallowed, a drink enters the stomach and small intestine, where
small blood vessels carry it to the bloodstream. Approximately 20% of alcohol is absorbed
through the stomach and the remaining 80% is absorbed through the small intestine.
The liver can metabolise only 10g of alcohol per hour, regardless of the amount that has been
consumed
Effects on the Body
Research….

Fill in short and long term effects on the body.

Short Term Effects

● Blackouts
● Blurred vision and slurred speech
● Flushed appearance
● Headache
● Lack of coordination
● Nausea and vomiting
● Reduced concentration
● Slower reflexes

Long Term Effects

● Alcohol dependency
● Cancers (including cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, bowel (in men)
and breast (in women)
● Cirrhosis and liver failure
● Heart and cerebrovascular diseases including hypertension and stroke
● Problems with the nerves of the arms and legs
● Sexual and reproductive problems (impotence, fertility)

What is a ‘hangover’?
A severe headache or other after-effects caused by drinking an excess of alcohol.

Find 3 myths & 3 facts about hangovers.

Myths Facts

Pain medicine before bed- the medicine can Stay hydrated

adversely interact with your body or the
alcohol

Caffeine cures all- Eat Beforehand- eating during or before

drinking slows alcohol absorption

Waking up drunk- you can’t really still be Sleep, eat well- give back your body what it
drunk from a night before, it probably means didn’t get while drinking
 you have a heavy hangover.

How does alcohol affect the body?

- Bloated appearance - Liver disease

- Wrinkles - Cancer
- Premature ageing - Pancreatitis (pancreas become
- Dark circles under eyes inflamed)
- Acne rosacea- you blush easily- leads
- Diabetes (bodies ability to produce
to
insulin is reduced
- Rhinophyma; facial disfiguration
- Alcohol poisoning - Heart disease and raised blood
- Anxiety pressure
- Lethargy - Psychosis- hallucinations
- Cirrhosis (liver) - Depression
- Addiction and dependence (1 in 17
people in UK @6.4%)
- Kidneys working header to deal with
excess in body

Myth or truth?

Women are affected by alcohol to the same degree as men

Myth:​ Men have a higher average total body water content than women (62% compared to
52%), meaning men are better able to dilute alcohol than women. Other factors have also been
reported that can make women more sensitive to alcohol, such as enzyme differences.All these
factors mean that women are more at risk than men from the same level of drinking.

Drinking water can lessen the effect of a hangover

Truth:​ while food and water may ease some of the symptoms they won't cure a hangover. The
best way to avoid one is to moderate your drinking and have water between alcoholic drinks.
Remember that water won’t make you any less drunk or protect your liver.

A cold shower, fresh air or hot coffee will sober someone up

Myth:​ You might feel less sleepy, but only time will get alcohol out of your body. Depending on
your weight it takes about one hour to process one unit of alcohol.\

Alcohol is a fattening

Truth:​ There can be almost 200 calories in a large glass of red wine. And any sugar in mixers or
cocktails comes on top of the alcohol content of the spirits. Alcohol also reduces our self control,
making it easy to eat too much.

Facts on Youth Alcohol Use

How common is alcohol use among young people:

● Alcohol is commonly used drug among young Australians
● Most young people have consumed alcohol by age 15
● 95% of 17 year olds have tried a full glass of alcohol
● 17% of girls and 20% of boys aged 14-17 are classified as regular weekly drinkers

Percentage of young people who report having consumed alcohol in the past month:
What types of alcohol are consumed by young people:
● Pre-mixed spirits are the most popular drinks
● Beer and wine are the next most popular
● Pre-mixes spirits are the most popular among girls
● Beer is the most popular among boys

Why people choose to drink Why people choose not to drink

● stress ● too young

● experiment ● allergies
● depression ● medication
● to be cool, look good ● next day commitments
● bored ● cost
● to celebrate ● don’t like it
● enjoy the taste ● don't want to embarrass themselves
● to get drunk ● diabetes
● to gain confidence ● religious reasons
● to have a good time ● school rules
● to feel more mature ● dieting
● to get away from problems ● pregnancy
● to relax ● too young to buy
 ● because it's offered
● to be able to talk to the opposite/same
sex

Peer Pressure
Definition- pressure put on people from their peer group to take a certain action, adopt
certain values or behave in a certain way

How do i resist peer pressure to drink?

- Take Action: sometimes you’re able to tackle peer pressure because you’re older
or feel more confident in your environment. Standing up for someone else can
also put a stop to peer pressure while still being positive and keeping the
atmosphere light.
- Pretend: instead of getting another drink, grab a soft drink and pretend it’s
alcoholic. Sometimes people can be insistent, even when you say no (especially
if they’re drunk). As a last resort, sometimes it can be easier just to pretend
you’re having vodka and Coke when it’s really just a Coke. A white lie in times of
need!
- Get creative: think of stuff to do
- Like minds: hanging out with people who like doing similar stuff may help you not
to feel pressured
- Saying no
- Don’t judge

Negative Peer pressure:

- you get into trouble from your parents
- your body doesn’t tolerate alcohol well
- you might do silly stuff after drinking

Resist Peer pressure:

- Say no and act as if not drinking alcohol is cooler than drinking it.
Power
Everyone has power in some ways.

With power comes the responsibility to use the power in ways that show respect and
concern for others

Arrangements for balancing power can be formal and written down, for example:
- the Australian Constitution
- anti-discrimination laws
- school rules and
- teachers’ code of conduct

Informal and not written down, for example:

- friends work out how decisions are made and how conflicts are resolved
- family members take on different roles and responsibilities

People are more at risk of being emotionally and physically hurt when they have
relatively little power in a situation.

Balancing power helps to build healthy, fair relationships between individuals.

What give a person power over others?

- position in the particular group (family, school)
- personality
- wealth/possessions
- age
- size
- authority
- experience