brief overwiev of the most common kinds of sport-related injuries

1. Sport – related injuries
Silvia Gerčáková
JLF UK
UNIcert 2016

2. • Sports injuries are injuries that occur in
athletic activities or exercising.
• They can result from accidents, poor training
technique in practice, inadequate equipment,
and overuse of a particular body part.
• Collisions with the ground, objects, and other
players are common, and unexpected dynamic
forces on limbs and joints can cause injury.

3. Contusion/Bruise
• damage to small blood vessels which causes
bleeding within the tissues.

4. Muscle cramp
• a strong muscle contraction that can be very painful lasting in few
minutes
• The symptoms of muscle cramps usually come on quickly and intensely.
• The most obvious symptom of a muscle cramp is a sharp, acute pain in
the affected muscle or muscles.
• If it’s a large muscle that is involved, like the one in the calf of your leg,
you may be able to feel a knot or hard lump in the muscle, just under
the skin.
• There are also cramps that occur after the fact. These delayed or
nocturnal cramps can affect athletes.

5. prevention
• warm up and stretch
their muscles first
• Stretch slowly and
hold each stretch for
30 seconds
• remember to stretch
after the activity to
allow the muscles to
cool down
• drink enough fluids to keep
your body’s electrolytes from
depleting
• using ice packs can help relax
the tense muscles
• massage

6. Muscle strain
trauma to a muscle due to overstretching and
tearing of muscle fibers
• Symptoms :
Swelling, bruising, or redness due to the injury
Pain at rest
Pain when the specific muscle or the joint in
relation to that muscle is used
Weakness of the muscle or tendons
Inability to use the muscle at all

8. Treatment
• P – Protect
• R – Rest
• I – Ice
• C – Compression
• E – Elevation
• S - Stabilize

9. Sprain
• an injury in a joint, caused by the ligament being stretched beyond its
own capacity
• Grade 1 sprain (mild): Slight stretching and some damage to the
fibers (fibrils) of the ligament.
• Grade 2 sprain (moderate): Partial tearing of the ligament. There is
abnormal looseness (laxity) in the joint when it is moved in certain
ways.
• Grade 3 sprain (severe): Complete tear of the ligament. This causes
significant instability and makes the joint nonfunctional.

10. • Signs and symptoms will vary, depending on
the severity of the injury.

11. Wound
 Abrasion: a wearing
or rubbing away of skin
tissue by friction.
 Incision: a smoothly-cut
skin wound made by a
sharp object.
 Laceration: a torn or
ragged skin wound.
 Puncture: a skin wound
caused by an object
piercing the skin and
creating a small hole.

12. How to help?
• Washing a cut or scrape with soap, and
water and keeping it clean and dry is all
that is required to care for most wounds.
• Cleaning the wound with hydrogen
peroxide and iodine is acceptable initially,
but can delay healing and should be
avoided long-term.
• Apply antibiotic ointment and keep the
wound covered.
• Seek medical care within 6 hours if the
bleeding does not stop, as the wound might
need stitches. A delay can increase the rate
of wound

13. Bone fracture
• The most common injuries include fractured wrists, hands,
collarbones and bones in the ankle and feet.
• Stress fractures are very common in sports which involve repetitive
movements; long distance runners often suffer from stress
fractures in the foot, for example.
Symptoms of fractures
• Common symptoms include swelling, redness and pain;
• many fractures can be extremely painful and most will swell
immediately.
• More complex fractures may break the skin; in this case the injury
will be clearly visible and immediately diagnosable.
• Fractures generally restrict or prohibit movement in the area for a
period of time

15. Treating a fracture
• Application of ice to reduce swelling.
• Anti-inflammatory medication and pain relief
to ease pain and further reduce swelling.
• immobilisation for a period of time; this may
involve having a plaster cast fitted, wearing a
sling or using crutches; this will allow the bone
time to heal.
• a course of physiotherapy to strengthen the
area and improve flexibility and movement.

16. Head injury
• concussions
a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) that
happens when the brain is shaken hard
enough to bounce against the skull.
• Contusion
a bruise on the brain that can cause
swelling, and a hematoma, which
is bleeding in the brain that collects and
forms a clot.
• A skull fracture
pieces of bone can cut into the brain and
cause bleeding

17. Indications of severe head trauma
• Changes in size of pupils
• Clear or bloody fluid draining
from the nose, mouth, or ears
• Convulsions
• Distorted facial features
• Drop in blood pressure
• Facial bruising
• Fracture in the skull or face
• Impaired hearing, smell, taste,
or vision
• Inability to move one or more
limbs
• Irritability
• Loss of consciousness
• Low breathing rate
• Restlessness, clumsiness, or lack
of coordination
• Severe headache
• Slurred speech or blurred vision
• Stiff neck or vomiting
• Sudden worsening of symptoms
after initial improvement
• Swelling at the site of the injury
• Persistent vomiting
Need to be managed by professional medical team!

18. Spinal cord injury