Chronic Sports Injuries

CHRONIC SPORTS INJURIES

GROUP 2 PPPHC 500L MB;BS/BDS

OUTLINE    

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INTRODUCTION TYPES OF SPORTS INJURIES CHRONIC SPORTS INJURIES: TYPES INVESTIGATION OF CHRONIC SPORTS INJURIES PREVENTION OF CHRONIC SPORTS INJURIES CONCLUSION REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION 

What is a sport? § any individual or group competitive activity involving physical exertion or skill, governed by rules, and sometimes engaged in professionally. Examples include tennis, hockey, boxing, gymnastics, athletics and of course football. §  What is an injury?  physical damage to the body or a body part.

INTRODUCTION contd What Are Sports Injuries?  The term sports injury, in the broadest sense, refers to the kinds of injuries that most commonly occur during sports or exercise. Some sports injuries result from accidents; others are due to poor training practices, improper equipment, lack of conditioning, or insufficient warm up and stretching.  Common types of sports injuries include muscle sprains and strains, tear of tendons and ligaments, dislocations and fractures. 

TYPES OF SPORTS INJURY 

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There are two broad categories of sportsrelated injuries — acute and chronic Acute injuries occur from a single, welldefined incident, such as dislocating your shoulder during a fall or twisting your ankle while running. Sprains and dislocations are

TYPES OF SPORTS INJURY contd 

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Chronic injuries result from an accumulation of damage to the bones, joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons. Chronic injuries are generally considered lifestyle-threatening injuries — that is, they inhibit your ability to perform many of your normal activities. Tennis elbow and stress fractures (a fracture caused by repeated stress on the bone) are both examples of chronic injuries.

TYPES OF SPORTS INJURY contd 

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Signs of acute sports injury include sudden severe pain, swelling, inability to place weight on a lower limb, extreme tenderness in an upper limb, visible dislocation or break of bone. Signs of chronic sports injury include pain when performing activity, dull ache at rest and swelling.

CHRONIC SPORTS INJURY (CSI) 

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Chronic injuries usually result from overusing one area of the body while playing a sport or exercising over a long period. Often overuse injuries seem less important than acute injuries. If left untreated, a chronic injury will probably get worse over time.

TYPES OF CSI  

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These include: stress fractures — tiny cracks in the bone's surface often caused by repetitive overloading (such as in the feet of a basketball player who is continuously jumping on the court) tendinitis — inflammation of the tendon caused by repetitive stretching epiphysitis or apophysitis — growth plate overload injuries.

INVESTIGATIONS 

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There are several investigative modalities used in sports medicine. However, the most useful in evaluating CSIs include: X-rays MRI Ultrasonography Electromyography Bone scan Arthrography

TREATMENT 

Treatment of chronic sports injury is in two phases, short term and long term

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Short term i. Relative or complete rest ii. Drugs e.g. NSAIDS, topical anaesthetics, steroids iii.Electrical stimulation iv.Muscle stretching v. Iontophoresis, phonophoresis, ice vi. 

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TREATMENT contd Long term i. Proper shoe wearing ii. Strength training iii.Activity modification iv.Orthototic intervention v. Nutrition counselling and weight management vi.Surgery for refractory cases 

PREVENTION 

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Like most other pathologies, CSIs can be prevented by several measures which include: Avoid bending knees past 90 degrees when doing half knee bends. Avoid twisting knees by keeping feet as flat as possible during stretches. When jumping, land with your knees bent. Do warm up exercises not just before vigorous activities like running, but also before less vigorous ones such as golf. Don’t overdo.

PREVENTION contd Do warm up stretches before activity. Stretch  the Achilles tendon, hamstring, and quadriceps  areas and hold the positions. Don’t bounce.  Cool down following vigorous sports. For  example, after a race, walk or walk/jog for  five minutes so your pulse comes down  gradually. 

PREVENTION contd Wear properly fitting shoes that provide  shock absorption and stability.  Use the softest exercise surface available, and  avoid running on hard surfaces like asphalt  and concrete. Run on flat surfaces. Running  uphill may increase the stress on the Achilles tendon and the leg itself. 

CONCLUSION The unprecedented level in popularity  over the last few decades of increased participation in athletic sporting events has  led directly to an increase in chronic overuse  sports injuries.  It remains in the medical/health personnel’s domain to properly identify and assist the athlete in correcting these conditions to treat, prevent, and possibly reverse the detrimental effects. As always, prevention is always the best treatment but, failing that, the next best thing is proper and successful  rehabilitation. 

REFERENCES 1. Microsoft Encarta 2009 2. Tri Rivers surgical associates inc. 3. U.S department of health and human services. 4. Chronic overuse sports injuries by Dr. Elmer Pinzon 5.

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X-ray showing periosteal new bone formation indicative of a stress fracture