Injuries
Content
Participating in Safety//pass
Part A
Sport of Choice: Netball
Classifications//
Direct: Caused by an external object or force, injury
occurs at site of impact.
Overuse: Caused by repetitive and excessive force.
Indirect: An injury resulting from internal forces built up
by the actions of the performer.
Soft Tissue: Damage to the soft organs, muscles,
ligament and tendons, including strains, sprains,
contusions, skin abrasions, lacerations and blisters.
Hard Tissue: Injuries involving damage to the bones of
the skeleton, including fractures and dislocations.
Injury One: Acromioclavicular (AC) Joint Injury aka “shoulder
separation”, a different injury to the dislocation of the shoulder.
An AC joint sprain occurs when the ligaments supporting the
joint are overstretched.
Classification: either a direct or indirect soft tissue
injury.
Cause: Can be cause by direct contact can injure your
AC when a person collides with a solid object or force
such as a fall on the netball court where the shoulder
hits the ground.
May also be injured indirectly when a person falls on
an outstretched arm. The contact force is transmitted
though the arm and ligaments are overstretched and
damaged in the process.
Injury Two: Achilles Tendon Rupture, the snapping of the
Achilles Tendon, located in the heel.
Classification: Indirect/Overuse, soft tissue injury.
Cause: Most often occurs in sports that require short
bursts of jumping, pivoting and running (netball, tennis,
racquetball, soccer, squash, basketball, badminton and
softball). Often an Achilles will rupture unexpectedly
without any symptoms prior. E.g. you trip or fall and
place your foot in front to break the fall, accidentally
forcefully overstretching the tendon.
Injury Three: Knee Bursitis
Classification: Either overuse or direct, soft tissue injury.
Cause: A bursa is a bag of synovial fluid that allows
various tissues to slide over bone without catching. A
bursa is usually thin, but they may become inflamed and
irritated. This is what we call bursitis. Examples of
causes include direct trauma to the knee, frequent
landing on the knee or repeated pressure on the knee.
Prevention of these Injuries
Injury ONE//AC JOINT INJURY: Stretching and strengthening
are the best defence against shoulder injuries. A general warm
up before use will reduce friction on the joint (one cause of an
Acromioclavicular Injury). Eliminate or reduce activities that
aggravate the shoulder joint e.g. bench presses. Stretch the
shoulder girdle to keep muscles and ligaments loose, in the
event that trauma is inevitable this will minimise the damage
done. Wear correct protective equipment in contact and
collision sports to protect the shoulder. Rest in between
sessions and allow the body to heal minor injuries.
Injury TWO//ACHILLES TENDON RUPTURE: Stretch and
strengthen calf muscles, this allows the muscle and tendon to
absorb more of the impact/force and prevent injury. NEVER
bounce during a stretch. Vary activities so that you are not
constantly overworking your Achilles Tendon and avoid running
uphill and jumping activities that place extra stress on the
tendon. Avoid running on hard or slippery surfaces. Increase
your training intensity slowly. Achilles Tendon injuries frequently
occur after a sudden increase in training intensity, increase
activity intensity by no more than 10% each week.
Injury THREE//KNEE BURSITIS: Maintain flexible thigh
muscles and reduce time spent kneeling as overworking the
knees and extending the thighs past their flexibility will damage
the area and place stress on the patella. Post excessivekneeling ice the area to avoid inflammation, the first stage of
bursitis. Don’t overwork the knees, pace yourself in activities
that require repetitive bending and kneeling e.g. squatting and
alternate between activities. Excessive weight places additional
pressure on the knees and weight management is another way
to avoid knee bursitis. It’s all about balance.
Injury Rehabilitation
AC// (mobilization) AC joint exercises should begin when the
ligament has healed and is free of pain. Initially what is
necessary is: complete rest, immobilization and regular
application of ice/ cold therapy to reduce pain and
inflammation. (stretching) Begin with pendulum exercises,
front shoulder stretch and external rotation stretch, then move
onto isometric shoulder strengthening and resistance band
exercises. (fitness and training) Returning to sport may occur
once full range of motion is achieved and is pain free, whilst
easing back into play continue rehabilitation exercises. Ease
back into training, for example instead of resuming shoulder
passes straight away work up to them by first starting with
bounce and chest passes. (taping) The shoulder may be aided
with strapping or support until a full return to sport.
Achilles// Rest, listen to your body and if it hurts, rest it. Cold
therapy may be applied for fifteen minutes, up to three times a
day. Taping the Achilles Tendon will reduce the load and serve
to relieve pain, for example strips of elastic tape from the top of
the calf muscle to under the heel are beneficial in the early
stages of injury, when resting the tendon is the dominant aim.
Improve flexibility and stretch the calf muscles. After a full
week without pain with a dramatic improvement in the range of
motion you may begin to return to training after training apply
ice or cold therapy to the tendon for ten minutes to prevent
inflammation from returning.
Knee Bursitis// Immediate treatment with RICER. Once you tone
down activity the symptoms of bursitis tend to disappear. If you
know the precise action that is causing the bursitis, ease off for
a while e.g. if the issue is how you land after catching a ball
midair work on your footwork and change your style. The pain
may entirely dissipate after a few days of rest. This doesn’t
mean that you need to cease all movement, continue to move
the joint, take it easy and try to avoid the movement or activity
that brought on the pain.
Part B
A Student is playing Basketball in an Under 14s game,
they make a drive towards the basket. A guard moves to
stop the play and in the process drives their knee
straight into the quadriceps of the offensive player,
causing immediate swelling and colouring of the area.
As the player falls to the ground they twist their ankle,
feeling severe pain.
I would immediately lay the patient down, releasing weight out
of their wounded ankle. Then I would resume RICER for the
bruised quadriceps, but more importantly TOTAPS focussed on
the twisted ankle.
FOR THE ANKLE
TALK//ask what happened? How did it happen?
OBSERVE//look at the ankle, searching for obvious deformity
(unnatural positioning etc.)
TOUCH//gently apply pressure, pinpointing area of pain and
searching for swelling/deformities in the ankle joint.
ACTIVE MOVEMENT//ask the basketball to move their foot left,
right, up, down and in circles.
PASSIVE MOVEMENT//if successful, mobilise the joint, moving it
in a similar pattern. If pain occurs DO NOT complete the skills
test.
SKILLS TEST//ask player to sidestep up and down the court, jog
whilst dribbling and finally sprint.
FOR THE BRUISE/ANKLE
R: Rest
I: Ice the bruised quad + ankle
C: Compression bandage, above and below the injured area.
E: Elevate, depending on the severity, either lay or seat the
player with the ankle and quad resting up.
R: Referral, send player to a qualified physician
Considering the severity of the injury and pain experienced by
the student it is likely that this player will have either the
entirety of the game off or at the least, a rest.
Part A
Sport of Choice: Netball
Classifications//
Direct: Caused by an external object or force, injury
occurs at site of impact.
Overuse: Caused by repetitive and excessive force.
Indirect: An injury resulting from internal forces built up
by the actions of the performer.
Soft Tissue: Damage to the soft organs, muscles,
ligament and tendons, including strains, sprains,
contusions, skin abrasions, lacerations and blisters.
Hard Tissue: Injuries involving damage to the bones of
the skeleton, including fractures and dislocations.
Injury One: Acromioclavicular (AC) Joint Injury aka “shoulder
separation”, a different injury to the dislocation of the shoulder.
An AC joint sprain occurs when the ligaments supporting the
joint are overstretched.
Classification: either a direct or indirect soft tissue
injury.
Cause: Can be cause by direct contact can injure your
AC when a person collides with a solid object or force
such as a fall on the netball court where the shoulder
hits the ground.
May also be injured indirectly when a person falls on
an outstretched arm. The contact force is transmitted
though the arm and ligaments are overstretched and
damaged in the process.
Injury Two: Achilles Tendon Rupture, the snapping of the
Achilles Tendon, located in the heel.
Classification: Indirect/Overuse, soft tissue injury.
Cause: Most often occurs in sports that require short
bursts of jumping, pivoting and running (netball, tennis,
racquetball, soccer, squash, basketball, badminton and
softball). Often an Achilles will rupture unexpectedly
without any symptoms prior. E.g. you trip or fall and
place your foot in front to break the fall, accidentally
forcefully overstretching the tendon.
Injury Three: Knee Bursitis
Classification: Either overuse or direct, soft tissue injury.
Cause: A bursa is a bag of synovial fluid that allows
various tissues to slide over bone without catching. A
bursa is usually thin, but they may become inflamed and
irritated. This is what we call bursitis. Examples of
causes include direct trauma to the knee, frequent
landing on the knee or repeated pressure on the knee.
Prevention of these Injuries
Injury ONE//AC JOINT INJURY: Stretching and strengthening
are the best defence against shoulder injuries. A general warm
up before use will reduce friction on the joint (one cause of an
Acromioclavicular Injury). Eliminate or reduce activities that
aggravate the shoulder joint e.g. bench presses. Stretch the
shoulder girdle to keep muscles and ligaments loose, in the
event that trauma is inevitable this will minimise the damage
done. Wear correct protective equipment in contact and
collision sports to protect the shoulder. Rest in between
sessions and allow the body to heal minor injuries.
Injury TWO//ACHILLES TENDON RUPTURE: Stretch and
strengthen calf muscles, this allows the muscle and tendon to
absorb more of the impact/force and prevent injury. NEVER
bounce during a stretch. Vary activities so that you are not
constantly overworking your Achilles Tendon and avoid running
uphill and jumping activities that place extra stress on the
tendon. Avoid running on hard or slippery surfaces. Increase
your training intensity slowly. Achilles Tendon injuries frequently
occur after a sudden increase in training intensity, increase
activity intensity by no more than 10% each week.
Injury THREE//KNEE BURSITIS: Maintain flexible thigh
muscles and reduce time spent kneeling as overworking the
knees and extending the thighs past their flexibility will damage
the area and place stress on the patella. Post excessivekneeling ice the area to avoid inflammation, the first stage of
bursitis. Don’t overwork the knees, pace yourself in activities
that require repetitive bending and kneeling e.g. squatting and
alternate between activities. Excessive weight places additional
pressure on the knees and weight management is another way
to avoid knee bursitis. It’s all about balance.
Injury Rehabilitation
AC// (mobilization) AC joint exercises should begin when the
ligament has healed and is free of pain. Initially what is
necessary is: complete rest, immobilization and regular
application of ice/ cold therapy to reduce pain and
inflammation. (stretching) Begin with pendulum exercises,
front shoulder stretch and external rotation stretch, then move
onto isometric shoulder strengthening and resistance band
exercises. (fitness and training) Returning to sport may occur
once full range of motion is achieved and is pain free, whilst
easing back into play continue rehabilitation exercises. Ease
back into training, for example instead of resuming shoulder
passes straight away work up to them by first starting with
bounce and chest passes. (taping) The shoulder may be aided
with strapping or support until a full return to sport.
Achilles// Rest, listen to your body and if it hurts, rest it. Cold
therapy may be applied for fifteen minutes, up to three times a
day. Taping the Achilles Tendon will reduce the load and serve
to relieve pain, for example strips of elastic tape from the top of
the calf muscle to under the heel are beneficial in the early
stages of injury, when resting the tendon is the dominant aim.
Improve flexibility and stretch the calf muscles. After a full
week without pain with a dramatic improvement in the range of
motion you may begin to return to training after training apply
ice or cold therapy to the tendon for ten minutes to prevent
inflammation from returning.
Knee Bursitis// Immediate treatment with RICER. Once you tone
down activity the symptoms of bursitis tend to disappear. If you
know the precise action that is causing the bursitis, ease off for
a while e.g. if the issue is how you land after catching a ball
midair work on your footwork and change your style. The pain
may entirely dissipate after a few days of rest. This doesn’t
mean that you need to cease all movement, continue to move
the joint, take it easy and try to avoid the movement or activity
that brought on the pain.
Part B
A Student is playing Basketball in an Under 14s game,
they make a drive towards the basket. A guard moves to
stop the play and in the process drives their knee
straight into the quadriceps of the offensive player,
causing immediate swelling and colouring of the area.
As the player falls to the ground they twist their ankle,
feeling severe pain.
I would immediately lay the patient down, releasing weight out
of their wounded ankle. Then I would resume RICER for the
bruised quadriceps, but more importantly TOTAPS focussed on
the twisted ankle.
FOR THE ANKLE
TALK//ask what happened? How did it happen?
OBSERVE//look at the ankle, searching for obvious deformity
(unnatural positioning etc.)
TOUCH//gently apply pressure, pinpointing area of pain and
searching for swelling/deformities in the ankle joint.
ACTIVE MOVEMENT//ask the basketball to move their foot left,
right, up, down and in circles.
PASSIVE MOVEMENT//if successful, mobilise the joint, moving it
in a similar pattern. If pain occurs DO NOT complete the skills
test.
SKILLS TEST//ask player to sidestep up and down the court, jog
whilst dribbling and finally sprint.
FOR THE BRUISE/ANKLE
R: Rest
I: Ice the bruised quad + ankle
C: Compression bandage, above and below the injured area.
E: Elevate, depending on the severity, either lay or seat the
player with the ankle and quad resting up.
R: Referral, send player to a qualified physician
Considering the severity of the injury and pain experienced by
the student it is likely that this player will have either the
entirety of the game off or at the least, a rest.
