1. Sports-Injury Prevention
Chapter 4
Sports-Injury Prevention

2. Start today by writing all the possible injury RISK FACTORS you can think of in your notebooks!

3. Important Terms for this Chapter:
Periodization: The organization of training into a cyclical structure in order to attain the optimal development of an athlete’s performance capacities
Flexibility: The range of motion (ROM) in a given joint or combination of joints
ROM: Range of Motion
Ballistic Stretching: Stretching technique that uses repetitive bouncing motions.
Static Stretching: Passively stretching an antagonist muscle by placing it in a maximal stretch and holding it there.
Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) -- Stretching techniques that involve combinations of alternating contractions and stretches.
Hypertrophy -- Enlargement of a part caused by an increase in the size of its cells.

4. Injury Prevention Reduce the likelihood of injury!!!!
Intrinsic Factors
Extrinsic Factors
Prevention Strategies:
PPE
Physical Conditioning

5. Causative Factors in Injury
Intrinsic factors
Age
Gender
Body size
Injury history
Fitness level
Muscle strength/Flexibility
Skill level
Psychological state

6. Causative Factors in Injury
Extrinsic factors
Equipment
Environment
Type of activity
Conditioning errors

7. Intervention Strategies
Extrinsic factors such as faulty equipment, dangerous facilities, etc. can be easily recognized and corrected.
Athletes in high-risk sports MUST be educated about hazards and prevention.
NCAA and NFHS have developed guidelines for medical evaluation of student/athletes.
PPE/Health Screenings
Litigation

8. Intervention NCAA Guideline 1B
PPE (pre-participation physical examination) is required upon entrance into athletic program; thereafter, annual updated medical history unless additional medical exam is warranted based on the updated history.
NFSH policy
PPE required prior to first year of participation.
The primary purpose of PPE: Identify preexisting injury risk factors as well as ascertain any injuries/diseases that are potentially problematic.

9. PPEs
Historically known as “annual physical,” “physical exam,” and “pre-participation medical evaluation.”
Primary purpose is to identify preexisting injury risk factors or preexisting injuries/diseases.
Physical exams can identify spina bifida occulta, absence of one of paired organs, postural problems, high blood pressure, cardiac defects or arrhythmias, allergies, vision deficits, and skin infections.

10. PPEs
AAP recommends PPE biannually (or when athlete enters middle/high school) with annual update including: comprehensive history, height, weight, and blood pressure.
Two forms of PPEs:
Office-based works well when physician is familiar with athlete’s medical history
Station-based screening is useful for examining groups of athletes.
All information obtained during examination should be handled appropriately to protect athlete’s confidentiality.

11. Preseason Conditioning
General Conditioning: aerobic fitness, muscular strength and endurance,
flexibility, nutrition,
and body composition
Sports-Specific Conditioning: all
aspects of the sport that are
unique to it

12. Conditioning Aerobic fitness
Regardless of sport, all athletes benefit from improving aerobic fitness.
Muscular strength and endurance:
Increased connective tissue strength
Increased bone density
Improved strength ratios
Increased muscular endurance
Decreased injury risk

13. Conditioning
Flexibility: ROM in a given joint or combination of joints
Determinants include tissue temperature, bone structure, tissue mass, age, and gender.
Two types of flexibility are static and dynamic flexibility.
Four types of stretching are ballistic, static, PNF, and passive.

14. Conditioning Nutrition and body composition:
The body responds to a conditioning program more effectively when it receives proper nourishment.
Coaches, parents, and athletes must take care to avoid an overemphasis on leanness.

15. Periodization
Process of arranging training around specific goals and objectives.
Organizes training into cyclic structure based on competitive sports seasons
Manipulates exercise frequency, intensity, and duration
Helps prevent training-induced injury

16. Periodized Program
Most training programs designed around a 1-year period of time (macrocycle)
microcycle – 2 to 4 weeks
mesocycle – several successive microcycles
transition phase – 2 to 4 weeks between training seasons or microcycles
© BananaStock/age fotostock

17. Modification of Extrinsic Risk Factors
Practice/competition environmental conditions, especially heat and humidity, must be assessed.
Facilities must be designed, maintained, and frequently inspected for safety.
Coaching personnel and administrators MUST monitor these factors.

18. Modification of Extrinsic Factors
Indoor facilities: lighting, playing surfaces, room dimensions
Outdoor facilities: safety fences, batting cages, location of dugouts, soccer goal construction, water and sanitation facilities, and EMS access routes

19. Protective Equipment
Protective equipment plays a vital role in the prevention of injury
Virtually all sports can benefit from the use of some form of safety equipment—including mouth guards