Mark Wazir

Sports Injuries
Basic common injuries.
-Sprain
Sprains will take place in the joint where an excessive amount of force is
placed on a muscle resulting in ligaments to overstretch and possibly warping it as well. This
will lead to acute pain and soreness it can either mild or extreme pain depending on the
damage. Usually, a sprain will cause bruising and swelling around the area affected and will
appear quickly after the sprain has occurred and can make daily activities like walking
strenuous.
Example: A sprain might occur in tennis where the players explosive
movement leads them in an awkward position for the ankle when trying to return the ball
causing them to ‘roll’ their ankle. This position is putting too much force on the ankle and
the muscles around it leading to the ligaments to overstretch resulting in a sprained ankle.
Causes: A physiological cause could be a result of overtraining in a short or
long amount of time or if the warmup at the beginning of the session is not carried out. A
psychological cause could be that the athlete is not focussing due to stress and finally a
sprain can be caused by the environment for example a wet floor.
Treatment: A way to treat a sprain would be a visit to A&E and get the sprain
scanned via an x ray to make sure there is no fracture on inspection SALTAPS would be used
if it is more serious PRICE is used.

-Strain
Strains is where the muscle or tendon has torn or has overstretched it is also
referred to as a pulled muscle. They are often quite painful and limit the movement in
muscle group where it is affected and has different tiers of severity. It will result in in some
swelling and bruising immediately after the sprain has happened.
Example: A strain could occur in swimming where the swimmer has stretched
the calf muscle past the area which is comfortable. Resulting in a strain of the calf causing
the swimmer to stop immediately during a race resulting in a disqualification.
Causes: A physiological cause of a strain could be overtraining or if the
warmup is not carried out properly at the beginning of the session because if the muscles
and tendons are not fully prepared, they could easily overstretch resulting in a strain. A
psychological cause is that the athlete is affected due to mental stress causing them to lose
focus.
 Treatment: A strain is treated similar to a sprain and a first aider would use
SALTAPS to check the severity of the injury then use PRICE. Rehabilitation would consist of
rest and depending on the seriousness of the energy up to 5-6 weeks of rest to recover
effectively and use hot and cold treatments to treat the bruising and swelling.

-Bruising
Bruising occurs when there is trauma on the skin caused by rough contact in a sport
leading to the injury causing tiny blood vessels called capillaries to burst. Blood gets trapped
below the skin’s surface which rise up to form a bruise.
Example: A bruise could occur in rugby when you are tackled to the ground resulting
in a bruise or small wound since a lot of force is used when taking another player to the
ground.
Causes: A bruise can fall into a psychological cause i.e in tennis if there is a lot of
speed and power behind the tennis ball when it is hit and if it comes into contact with
someone after it has been hit it can either instantly leave a bruise or the bruise will darken
and develop over time.
Treatment: To treat a bruise on a athlete you should use PRICE meaning they should
protect the affected area and rest the injured are using an ice pack to help bring the bruise
to the surface and treat an swelling that occurs and internal bleeding.
Basic Rehabilitation: Is similar to the treatment to the treatment of a bruise which is
to stop any sporting activities and get plenty of rest and protecting the bruising. To speed up
the rehabilitation of a bruise a ice pack can be used to help the internal bleeding and the
swollen areas around the bruise.

Complex injuries
-Dislocation

A Dislocation will happen when the bone slips out of the joint it is in this is usually
cause by an abnormal amount of force possibly caused by an impact from an object. It can
also lead to other injuries such as damage to muscles ligaments and the joint itself and can
also be damage to the bone such as a fracture.
Example: In rugby a player might use an excessive amount of force to tackle
someone causing trauma on the should leading to a dislocation with the bone moving out of
place from the joint.
Causes: Dislocations can be caused by physiological issues as a direct result of the
sport being played like being tackled in rugby whilst a volleyball play may dislocate their
ankle from an incorrect landing after spiking a ball. It can also be a result of an athlete being
less confident in their abilities causing them to lose focus increasing the chance of a
dislocation and another cause could be the environment such as a wet floor which will also
cause a athlete to slip increasing a chance of a dislocation.
 Treatment:
If someone has a dislocated bone they must have further medical attention in order
to have the correct treatment, the bone will be relocated by a medical professional with
expert advice on rehabilitation. To help govern the pain after the bones relocation
psychological techniques can help control the pain and relaxation techniques to help the
injured to comprehend and comfort the athlete through their pain. If there is still pain after
a few weeks, the doctor may recommend a physiotherapist who will provide exercises to
heal the area that the dislocation occurred and will recommend plenty of rest to allow
proper rehabilitation it may take up to 12 weeks for the injury to fully repair.

-Ligament Tear
A ligament tear occurs when the ligaments that are connected bone to bone are
broken or ruptured. They are most common in sports and the most common ligament to
tear ins the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), this ligament is what keeps the knee joint in
place with the femur and tibia and often needs a surgical procedure to reattach.
Causes: Firstly, what can cause an ACL tear could be a physiological issues such as
the phrase “too much, too soon” meaning if the athlete is not properly warmed up ligament
tears are more likely occur due to overloading the ligament. Whereas a Psychological cause
could be peer pressure to push an athlete do something new and intense which could result
in a ligament tear meaning they could stop in an unexpected manner.
Treatment: If a ligament tear is suspected during sports, it needs a medical
professional advice. On the other hand, when a first aider arrives on the scene, they will use
SALTAPS to check the severity. The time to recover would be lengthy after the doctors have
finished the operation to put the ligament back in the right place. The time required for the
injury to fully heal can be from 6 weeks to 6 months depending on the severity.

Fracture
There is a large variety of fractures that can often occur in sport. Commonly the
stress facture is most seen in sports which is a small hairline crack in the bone which usually
heals themselves whereas a closed fracture has completely snapped but not torn through
the skin.
Example: A UFC fighter may fracture their nose in a match this can be done if the
fighter uses enough force behind a kick or punch towards the opponent’s face/nose it can
cause a closed or hairline fracture depending on the power of the move.
Causes: Fractures are also caused by overuse and overtraining whilst stress fractures
can break due to repetitive stress on the bone over a period of time. In conclusion it is
important for athletes to rest and let their body’s to recover avoiding a stress fracture. Low
self-confidence could potentially lead to a fracture since you might not be confident in
tackles in rugby meaning you could lose focus and do it incorrectly leading to a fracture
because of poor technique.
 Treatment: If a player has a fracture they should not be moved and must obtain
professional medical assistance like an ambulance or doctor so that the athlete can have an
x ray scan to identify the location of the suspected injury. Therefore, treatment can begin
once the surgery starts, after surgery the athlete might some psychological effects of the
extent of the injury causing panic since they might not be able to participate in their sport
until full recovery which could take 6-8 weeks including physiotherapy sessions to promote
muscle and confidence.

Tendonitis
Tendonitis is an overuse injury caused by frequent use of tendons and exceeding its
ability to deal with the amount of pressure resulting in inflammation. The most common
form of Tendonitis is Achilles Tendonitis since it is a result in an increase in training load.
Example: Professional Tennis players might get tendonitis from playing a match over
a period of an entire day meaning the all the explosive movement in tennis can gradually
result in tendonitis since it is a repetitive stressful movement. This will lead to the tennis
player to develop swelling around the area and result pain and limited use of tendons.
Causes: Physiological causes result in tendonitis such as putting stress on a tendon
too quickly or by increasing the workload of training like increasing distance an athlete runs
flaring up the affected areas resulting tendonitis. It can also be cause due to the
environment like cold weather and is important that the athlete has a thorough warm up
ensuring the tendon is ready for the stress of the main session.
Treatment: If an athlete is suspected to have tendonitis they should seek the
immediate advice of a medical professional they will suggest the use of PRICE and
physiotherapy to help manage flares of tendonitis and develop strength, power and
flexibility to help the tendon cope with stresses acting on it.

Shin Splints
To summarise Shin splints are pains that pass through down towards the shins and
are usually brought on by repetitive weight bearing or exercise. Shin splints could lead to
severe swelling around the injury which can also be very painful.
Example: A marathon runner may suffer from shin splints as a result of running on a
hard surface continuously resulting in the injury flaring up more when they increase the
distance they run or the time they run for. They may realise that they have swelling to the
area making the pain varies in severity.
Causes: Shin splints are mainly caused due to physiological environmental and
equipment reasons such as sports which require weight bearing which can place too much
stress on the lower leg and the surrounding tissues. This will cause inflammation to the
surrounding area and pain to the shin. The hard surfaces in the surrounding area will also
cause shin splints since running hard surfaces produce excessive amounts of shock causing
pains in the shins. Whilst with equipment runners most ensure they have reliable running
shoes otherwise they will place even more trauma on the shins.
 Treatment: If an athlete has Shin splints the should get advice from a doctor they
might suggest the use of PRICE this will help rehabilitate the injury and repair the injury. It is
also important for the athlete to set goals in order to help heal the injury.