Injuries and Treatment

Types of Injuries

• Muscle Cramp: a sudden and involuntary contraction of one or more of your muscles. Muscle cramps can result in intense pain and leave you temporarily unable to use the affected muscles.

• Causes: Overuse, dehydration, heat.

• Sudden sharp pain, and/or a hard lump of muscle tissue

Types of Injuries

• Muscle Strain: Damage to a muscle or its attaching tendons

• Causes: overuse, strenuous activity, normal tasks preformed with poor form

• Symptoms: Swelling, bruising or redness, pain at rest, pain for certain movements, muscle weakness

Types in Injuries

• Sprain: stretching or tearing of ligaments

• Causes: overextending while joint is under stress, landing awkwardly, uneven surfaces.

• Mild: Your ligament stretches excessively or tears slightly.

• Moderate: The fibers in your ligament tear, but they don't rupture completely.

• Severe: One or more ligaments tear completely.

Treatment

• Rest – avoid use of hurt muscle

• Ice – Reduce pain and swelling, 20/20

• Compression – lightly wrapped

• Elevation – raise above heart level

Major Injuries

Fracture

• Any type of break on the bone. – Casts– Immobilization – Clamps – Screws

Dislocation

• A bone separates from its normal position in the joint– Football: Fingers– Hockey: shoulders

• Doctor must put it back in place

• Rest is required for full healing

Tendonitis

• Tendons (muscle to bone) stretched or torn from over use. – Rest– Medication– Physical therapy

Blows to the Head

• Swelling of the brain, concussion– Unconsciousness – Dizzy– Blurry Vision

• Tell the coach, trainer, friend or some one that can get you to the hospital

• Be aware of bruising behind the ears

Weather related risks

Overexertion

• Over working the body

• Dehydration

Heat cramps

• Muscle spasms that result because of a loss of large amounts of water and salt through perspiration

• Dehydration

Heat Exhaustion

• Very serious

• Overheating of the body resulting in cold, clammy skin, and symptoms of shock– Dizziness, headache, shortness of breath

• Move to a cool place, lay down, and raise feet

Heatstroke

• Body loses the ability to rid itself of heat through perspiration

• Body temperature rises, and breathing becomes difficult.

• Person will often collapse

Frostbite

• Body tissue become frozen

• Blood moves away from arms and legs, and into the core to protect vital organs– Dress in layers– Try not to sweat– Hand and feet warmers– Keep blood pumping

Protective Equipment

• Hot or cold gear

• Compression material (shorts)

• Simple braces

• Mouth guards

• Proper footwear (at the gym)

• Lifting belts

• Cup