1. Optimising training and preventing injury
Learning Objectives
To be able to identify common sports injuries and their treatments
To be able to explain a variety of injury prevention measures including warm ups.
Content
3.5.1
The use of a PARQ to assess personal readiness for training and recommendations for amendment to training based on
PARQ
3.5.2
Injury prevention through: correct application of the principles of training to avoid overuse injuries; correct application and adherence to the rules of an activity during play/participation; use of appropriate protective clothing and equipment; checking of equipment and facilities before use, all as applied to a range of physical activities and sports
3.5.3
Injuries that can occur in physical activity and sport: concussion, fractures, dislocation, sprain, torn cartilage and soft tissue injury (strain, tennis elbow, golfers elbow, abrasions)
3.5.4
RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation)

2. Common Sports Injuries
Concussion – temporary brain injury due to violent blow to the head
Fractures – break or crack in a bone (normally associated with contact sports)
Dislocation – an injury at a joint where bones are forced out of their normal position
Soft tissue injuries – an injury to any part of the body that is not bone.

3. Soft Tissue Injuries
There are numerous soft tissue injuries including:
Strains
– a pulled or torn muscle (e.g. pulled hamstring). Normally occurs where a tendon joins the muscle
Sprains
– a ligament injury caused by a wrenching or twisting action (e.g. a twisted ankle)
Torn cartilage
– cartilage protects the end of bones. It can become damaged and tear making movement very difficult and painful.
Tennis elbow
– an overuse injury to the muscles and tendons in the forearm which enable you to extend at the wrist. Often associated with racket sports and can be caused by poor technique or incorrect grip size.
Golfer’s elbow
– similar to tennis elbow but is damage to the muscles and tendons that allow extension at the wrist joint.
Cuts and abrasions
– can occur from contact with opponents/equipment or falls on harsh surfaces. Need to be cleaned and covered.

4. Soft Tissue Injury Treatment
Soft tissue injuries can be treated using RICE: Rest – stop the activity to prevent further injury Ice – apply ice (not directly) to the injured area to reduce swelling Compression – wrap a bandage around to reduce swelling and provide support Elevation – lift the injured area to reduce blood flow and therefore reduce swelling

5. How to reduce risks of injury
There are numerous methods which we can use to reduce the risk of injury in sport. How can the following be used to make injury less likely in sport?
Rest and recovery time
Rules
Protective clothing
Equipment
Facilities
Warm up / cool down

6. Rest and recovery
Is essential to allow the body time to adapt to training. Overuse injuries are caused by inadequate rest.
Rules
Are put in place to ensure that sport is safe and fun. Name 3 rules from a chosen sport which are there to prevent injury.
Protective clothing
This is essential in many sports. Name 3 items of protective equipment from a chosen sport and describe which injury each helps to avoid.
Equipment
Damaged or incorrect equipment can cause serious injury. Name 3 items of equipment which could cause injury in your sport (e.g. poor grip on rounders bat).
Facilities
These need to be checked carefully prior to activity to ensure that they are safe.

7. Warm-up and cool-down A warm up has 3 phases:
Pulse raiser – light, continuous activity (e.g. jogging) to get the heart beating faster and raise body temperature.
Stretching – to increased the range of movement available at a joint
Sport specific practices – to prepare the body for the activity
Briefly describe a warm up which you would do for your sport, ensuring that all 3 phases are included. Remember to make it specific to your sport.

8. Benefits of a Warm Up
A proper warm up has many benefits: Gets muscles ready for exercise as they will be able to contact and relax more quickly Increases heart rate therefore supplying more oxygen to the working muscles Increases elasticity of muscle fibres reducing the risk of a tear Ensures psychological preparation so that the performer is focussed and ready to participate

9. Cool down
A cool down does not reduce the risk of injury but will reduce muscle stiffness after exercise and help to speed up recovery. The benefits of a cool down include:
Removal of lactic acid
Reduced muscle stiffness
Reduced risk of fainting by maintain keeping blood circulating and slowly reducing heart rate back to resting levels
A cool down has 2 phases:
Slow walking/jogging to reduce body temperature and remove carbon dioxide
Stretching to help removal of waste products and increase range of movement (whilst muscles are warm)

10. Test your knowledge A temporary brain injury is known as what?
Define ‘fracture’
Which injury occurs at a joint when bones are forced out of their normal position?
What is the difference between a sprain and a strain?
Where is cartilage found?
Name an overuse injury.
How are soft tissue injuries treated?
State 3 factors to be considered to reduce the chances of injury.
What are the 3 aspects of a warm up?
State one benefit of a cool down.