Chapter 4

Sports-Injury Prevention

Causative Factors
Extrinsic Factors equipment, environment, type
of activity, and conditioning errors
Intrinsic Factors age, gender, body size, injury
history, fitness level, muscle strength, skill, and
psychological status

Intervention Strategies
Members of the Sports Medicine Team
must identify causative factors.
Pre-participation physicals are just one
of the ways in which the Sports Medicine
Team tries to decrease risk of injury.
These were put in place due to the
increase in participation numbers and a
society that has become more litigious.
Shawn Pecor/ShutterStock, Inc.

Pre-Participation Exam (PPE)

Purpose: To identify any preexisting injury risk factors
Administered by a licensed
physician
Station-based screenings:
evaluating large numbers of
athletes
Office-based screening:
physician is familiar with
athlete and history, but
increased costs

Injury Prevention and Preseason

Conditioning
Many intrinsic risk factors can be modified with an
effective conditioning program. A fit athlete is
less likely to suffer an injury.

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

Aerobic Fitness
A.k.a. Power: the amount of work that can be
accomplished using the oxidative system of
converting nutrients into energy. Activities
that last longer than a minute.
Helps athletes avoid injuries that result from
general fatigue
Regular participation in running, bicycling,
swimming
Athletes that do not participate in an aerobic sport
should train aerobically at least 3x per week.

Muscle Strength, Power, and Endurance

Strength: the maximum amount of force that
can be produced in one repetition.
Power: the time rate of performing work. *more
important in performance than strength
because performance often time dependent*

Endurance: the ability to sustain muscle activity

Weight Training
Periodization: arranging training around specific
goals and objectives with pre-determined
amounts of recovery time and training.
Strength training improves muscle strength,
reducing the risk of injury.
Connective tissues become stronger, bone density
increases, bone becomes less susceptible to trauma and fracture.

Flexibility
The range of motion (ROM) in a given joint of
combination of joints. increased flexibility
decreased risk of injury
Static Flexibility: ROM achieved through
passive manipulation of a given joint by
another person while muscles are relaxed
Dynamic Flexibility: ROM achieved by
contracting muscles around the joint.

Stretching
Ballistic: powerful
contractions of
muscles to force a
joint to greater
ROM.
Static: moving a joint
to a position of
stretch that is
sustained for 3
seconds or longer

Proprioceptive
Neuromuscular Facilitation
(PNF): uses the bodys
proprioceptive system to
stimulate muscles to relax.
Passive: having someone
other than the athlete
move the joint

Periodization
Organization of training into a cyclic structure, to
attain the optimal development of an athletes
performance capacities.
Macrocycle: one-year training cycle
Microcycle: smallest component of training cycle
(2-4 week periods)
Mesocycle: several successive microcycles leading
to a specific goal.
Transition phase: 2-4 week period between training
and seasons or between successive mesocycles.

Modification of Extrinsic Factors

Practice/Competition Environment: whether an
activity is outdoors or indoors, the
environment must be assessed to determine
if it represents a potential health risk (heat
and humidity)
Facilities: must be designed, maintained, and
frequently inspected for the safety of
participants (playing surfaces, location of
fences, location of restrooms)
Protective Equipment: plays a vital role in
prevention of injuries (helmets, shin guards,
mouth pieces, ankle braces)