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Sports Injuries and Prevention

July 2008: We have expanded our Sports Injuries and Prevention coverage. Our initial new 2008 injury coverages include selections from recent years.

For Head Injury information, visit our Neural Injury, Concussion topic.

Also, warm/hot temperatures and activity can be dangerous. Visit our Water, Fluids, Dehydration and Heat Stroke topic for important information.

REVIEW our Selected Sports Injuries and Prevention Articles in 2008. Stay informed and updated!

If you have any questions regarding our Search Reports, please contact us at info@infomedsearch.com.

Sports Injuries and Prevention

NIH – NIAMS Sports Injuries “What Are Sports Injuries? Fast Facts: An Easy-to-Read Series of Publications for the Public "Sports injuries" are injuries that happen when playing sports or exercising. Some are from accidents. Others can result from poor training practices or improper gear. Some people get injured when they are not in proper condition. Not warming up or stretching enough before you play or exercise can also lead to injuries. The most common sports injuries are: • Sprains and strains • Knee injuries • Swollen muscles • Achilles tendon injuries • Pain along the shin bone • Fractures • Dislocations. “

NHS - Sports injuries “Symptoms: Virtually any part of your body can be injured during sport or exercise. The most common sports injuries and their symptoms are: • Sprains - this is a stretch or tear to a ligament; the tissue that holds two or more bones together. Symptoms of a sprain include pain, swelling, bruising and restriction of movement in the affected area. Sprains are common injuries in many sports and can be treated with rest and anti-inflammatory medication if necessary. • Strains - this is a twist, pull or tear of a muscle or tendon (the tough, narrow tissue at the end of a muscle that connects it to the bone). It is caused by overstretching or over-contracting a muscle. Symptoms of a strain include pain, muscle spasm and loss of strength in the muscle. Strains are common injuries in many sports, particularly those that involve running, jumping or rapid changes of direction. • Tennis elbow - symptoms include swelling around the outer edge of the elbow (because the tendon is inflamed), tenderness around the elbow and pain during movement of the elbow. Tennis elbow is due to repetitive movement of the muscles in the lower arm and can be treated with anti-inflammatory drugs, an elbow splint to support the arm, or a cortisone injection. • Golfer's elbow - this condition has similar symptoms to tennis elbow (above), with the difference that the swelling appears on the inside of the elbow due to the difference in arm movement during sport. • Jogger's nipple - this term is used to describe dermatitis (itchy, inflamed skin) around the nipples and is due to constant chafing of clothing against the nipple. Spreading petroleum jelly on your skin before running can help prevent it. Hydrocortisone cream may help to reduce symptoms once the condition has developed. • Runner's knee - this is swelling at the back of the kneecap (chondromalacia) and can cause a grating sensation in the knee. Runner's knee is due to repeated impact through running on hard surfaces. • Blisters - these are small swellings filled with serum, which are caused by friction on soft skin. Blisters are a common minor injury for athletes who take part in prolonged sports, such as long distance running or football. Rowers often develop blisters on the palms of their hands. • Head injuries - many athletes receive blows to the head during contact sports such as rugby, boxing, ice hockey, and football. This can cause concussion and even brain damage. Even if the knock is not severe enough to cause the skull to fracture, the brain bangs against the skull and can be damaged. A knock to the head can cause symptoms such as loss of consciousness, light-headedness, dizziness, nausea, and sickness. These are signs of concussion and will need medical treatment. • Tendonitis - this is an uncomfortable condition caused by overuse, strain, or a tear in a tendon. Symptoms include swelling, redness, and pain at the injured area, restricted movement of the area, and sometimes a change in appearance of the area, such as a lump or visible change in position of an affected limb. • Shin splints - this is pain along the shin bone (the bone at the front of the lower leg between the knee and the ankle), caused by inflammation and tiny fractures (microfractures) in the surface of the bone. Shin splints are common in any sport involving running and are usually caused by too much training too soon, although they can be caused by running on a hard surface or by running in shoes that do not have enough support for the foot and ankle. “

Highlighted Articles

Prevent injuries in young athletes (2008) “Participation in sports is an excellent opportunity for kids to keep busy, release energy, learn teamwork and develop healthy lifestyles. However, many children and adolescents today are involved in multiple sports and teams year-round, which has resulted in an increase in overuse injuries and burnout syndrome in youths. Some studies suggest that up to 50 percent of pediatric sports injuries fall under this classification. Overuse injuries are common due to overtraining, improper technique and limited recovery time between both sporting activities and competitive seasons. This type of injury involves microtrauma to the bone, tendons or muscles due to repetitive stress, without enough time for these structures to heal and repair naturally. “

To Stretch or Not to Stretch? The Answer Is Elastic (2008) "The truth is that after dozens of studies and years of debate, no one really knows whether stretching helps, harms, or does anything in particular for performance or injury rates. Yet most athletes remain convinced that stretching helps, and recently more and more have felt a sort of social pressure to show that they are limber, in part due to the popularity of yoga. Flexibility has become another area where many athletes want to excel. . If your goal is to prevent injury, Dr. Gilchrist said, stretching does not seem to be enough. Warming up, though, can help. If you start out by moving through a range of motions that you'll use during activity, you are less likely to be injured. . Some athletes - gymnasts, hurdlers and swimmers among them - may need to stretch to gain the flexibility they need for their sport, Dr. McHugh said. But distance runners do not benefit from being flexible, he found. The most efficient runners, those who exerted the least effort to maintain a pace, were the stiffest. . "Runners don't need to stretch," she insists. Dr. Charles Kenny, an orthopedist in private practice in Stockbridge, Mass., is even more adamantly opposed to stretching. The practice, he said, weakens performance and makes an injury more likely. "If stretching was a drug, it would be recalled," Dr. Kenny said. Stretching the hamstring muscle, for example, teaches the muscle to relax when the knee is fully extended, Dr. Kenny said. But that is not what a runner needs. Instead, runners need to have their hamstrings stiff and activated when the knees are extended. Of course, one test of how passionate researchers are about stretching is to ask them whether they themselves stretch. Many say they do. "

Overuse injuries in female athletes. (Croat Med J. 2007 ) “The last three decades have witnessed a tremendous increase in female sports participation at all levels. However, increased sports participation of female athletes has also increased the incidence of sport-related injuries, which can be either acute trauma or overuse injuries. Overuse injuries may be defined as an imbalance caused by overly intensive training and inadequate recovery, which subsequently leads to a breakdown in tissue reparative mechanisms. This article will review the most frequent overuse injuries in female athletes in the context of anatomical, physiological, and psychological differences between genders.”

The long-term consequence of anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus injuries: osteoarthritis. (Am J Sports Med. 2007 ) “At 10 to 20 years after the diagnosis, on average, 50% of those with a diagnosed anterior cruciate ligament or meniscus tear have osteoarthritis with associated pain and functional impairment: the young patient with an old knee. These individuals make up a substantial proportion of the overall osteoarthritis population. There is a lack of evidence to support a protective role of repair or reconstructive surgery of the anterior cruciate ligament or meniscus against osteoarthritis development. A consistent finding in a review of the literature is the often poor reporting of critical study variables, precluding data pooling or a meta-analysis. Osteoarthritis development in the injured joints is caused by intra-articular pathogenic processes initiated at the time of injury, combined with long-term changes in dynamic joint loading. Variation in outcome is reinforced by additional variables associated with the individual such as age, sex, genetics, obesity, muscle strength, activity, and reinjury.”

Internet Sites

NIH - Sports Injuries

NIH – NIAMS Childhood Sports Injuries and Their Prevention: A Guide for Parents with Ideas for Kids

NIH - Preventing Childhood Sports Injuries

CONTINUE YOUR INFOMEDSEARCH RESEARCH with our previous InfoMedLinks. Start with InfoMedLinks 2008.

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Sports Injuries and Prevention

General Information

NEWS:

A pragmatic randomised trial of stretching before and after physical activity to prevent injury and soreness (Br J Sports Med. 2009) “Conclusion: Stretching before and after physical activity does not appreciably reduce all-injury risk, but probably reduces the risk of some injuries, and does reduce the risk of bothersome soreness.”

Athletes Not Spared From Health Risks Of Metabolic Syndrome

Athletic Trainers Issue Heat-Acclimatization Guidelines for High School Athletes “The guidelines define the heat-acclimatization period as the first 14 consecutive days of preseason practice. Days 1 through 5 of the heat-acclimatization period consist of the first 5 days of formal practice. During this time, athletes may not have more than 1 practice per day and total practice time should not exceed 3 hours in any 1 day, according to the guidelines. During the first 5 days of the heat-acclimatization period, the guidelines allow for a maximum 1-hour "walk-through" -- defined as a teaching opportunity without any protective gear or sports-related equipment -- but a 3-hour recovery period should be inserted between the practice and walk-through (or vice versa). During days 1 and 2 of the heat-acclimatization period, in sports requiring helmets or shoulder pads, a helmet should be the only protective equipment permitted; goalies should not wear full protective gear or perform activities that would require full gear. During days 3 through 5, shoulder pads can be added and on day 6, all protective equipment may be worn and full contact may begin. Beginning no earlier than day 6 and continuing through day 14, a single-practice day must follow all double-practice days. On single-practice days, one walk-through is permitted, separated from practice by at least 3 hours of continuous rest. When a double-practice day is followed by a rest day, another double-practice day is permitted after the rest day. On double-practice days, the guidelines state each practice should not exceed 3 hours and student-athletes should not participate in more than a total of 5 total hours of practice. Warm-up, stretching, cool-down, walk-through, conditioning, and weight-room activities are included as part of the practice time. The two practices should also be separated by at least 3 continuous hours in a cool environment. Because the risk of exertional heat illness during the preseason heat-acclimatization period is high, the guidelines "strongly recommend" that an athletic trainer be on site before, during and after all practices. “

Ballerinas And Female Athletes Share Quadruple Health Threats

"Boomeritis" hits aging athletes “Middle-aged people today are a lot more active than their parents were, he added, which is a good thing. "We're basically fitter and more athletic now longer into our lives than we ever were." But, he added, older athletes need to take a few precautions to protect themselves from injuries like rotator cuff tears, tendonitis and stress fractures. “

Catastrophic Sports Injury Report Released

Cheerleading Is Leading Cause Of Catastrophic Injury In Young Women

Chronic Ankle Pain May Be More Than Just A Sprain

Dead athletes' brains show damage from concussions “Until recently, the best medical definition for concussion was a jarring blow to the head that temporarily stunned the senses, occasionally leading to unconsciousness. It has been considered an invisible injury, impossible to test -- no MRI, no CT scan can detect it. But today, using tissue from retired NFL athletes culled posthumously, the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE), at the Boston University School of Medicine, is shedding light on what concussions look like in the brain. The findings are stunning. Far from innocuous, invisible injuries, concussions confer tremendous brain damage. That damage has a name: chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).”

Dementia Risk Seen in Players in N.F.L. Study

Eating disorders may be rising among male athletes “More and more male athletes are developing unhealthy eating behaviors after seeing the competitive advantage a leaner physique can bring, a sports medicine doctor warns in a new report. Recent deaths among wrestlers have raised awareness of eating disorders and their potentially deadly consequences among male athletes, but Dr. James L. Glazer told Reuters Health he's increasingly seeing problematic eating behavior among men engaged in other sports at the recreational level, such as cyclists, triathletes and Nordic skiers.“

Exercise No Danger For Joints: Non-Elite Level Activity Does Not Increase Risk Of Osteoarthritis, Review Suggests

Football Injuries In U.S. High School Athletes More Severe During Kickoff, Punting

Hidden Heart Disease Impacts Endurance Athletes

High School Football, Wrestling Athletes Suffer Highest Rate Of Severe Injuries

Intense exercise may lower your blood count “So why the higher risk? Potential reasons include drinking lots of water, which temporarily dilutes the blood and damage to blood cells that can result from high levels of physical activity. "The prevalence of iron deficiency in new recruits indicates a military public health issue, and the preventive and therapeutic implications of these findings require further evaluation," Merkel and colleagues conclude. “

Many Football Players Begin Practice Dehydrated

Massage After Exercise Myth Busted “Kinesiology MSc candidate Vicky Wiltshire and Dr. Tschakovsky set out to discover if this untested hypothesis was true, and their results show that massage actually impairs blood flow to the muscle after exercise, and that it therefore also impairs the removal of lactic acid from muscle after exercise.”

New National Study Finds More Than Half Of Cheerleading Injuries In U.S. Due To Stunts

NSAIDs: Take 'Em Early and Often When Competing? Think Again

Patterns of Recurrent Injuries Among US High School Athletes, 2005-2008. (Am J Sports Med. 2009)

Rock-Climbing Injury Rate Soaring

Rotator Cuff Tears: Are They All In The Family?

Skimboarding: a new cause of water sport spinal cord injury. (Spinal Cord. 2009)

Sports creams may do little for pain “The review looked at 16 clinical trials investigating topical remedies containing salicylates, a group of compounds, including aspirin, used to ease aches, inflammation and fever. Many familiar sports rubs, like Aspercreme, Ben Gay and Icy Hot, contain one or more salicylates, often in combination with other active ingredients like menthol. "The point is, you go to any pharmacy in the U.S. and find tons of these things, but they don't work," Andrew Moore, a biochemist at Oxford University in the UK and the senior researcher on the review, said in a written statement. "I wouldn't waste the money," he advised. "You might as well rub your skin with a bit of spit." "

Sports Injuries Cause 1 In 5 Emergency Department Visits For Kids

Study: Young Athletes Need Multiple Screenings for Heart Defects “Early signs of life-threatening heart defects in young athletes are best detected using two popular diagnostic tests -- not just one of them, according to new research from heart experts at Johns Hopkins. Sudden cardiac death due to heart rhythm disturbances is blamed for more than 3,000 deaths a year in young people, especially athletes who have inherited tendencies to develop overly enlarged and thickened hearts, says Theodore Abraham, M.D., an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart and Vascular Institute. In some instances, top athletes have died from heart conditions while seemingly in peak physical form, something that can hide warning signs and allow many cases to go undiagnosed.”

Triathlons More Risky Than Marathons “Ironmen, beware: Triathlons can be downright deadly. Participants in the swim-bike-run competitions face twice the risk of sudden death as marathoners, according to the first study to look at the issue. The most risky leg of the events is the swimming leg, says study leader Kevin Harris, MD, of the Minneapolis Heart Institute. Overall, the rate of sudden death was 15 per million participants, the study showed. “While not a large risk, this is not an inconsequential number,” he tells WebMD. In contrast, the risk associated with running in a marathon is eight per million, Harris says.”

Young Athletes at Risk of Heat Injury “The American College of Sports Medicine offers these guidelines for coaches: • Don't hold practices between noon and 4 p.m., which are typically the hottest hours of the day. • In extremely hot weather, hold practices indoors or limit outdoor practices to lighter walk-through sessions. • Increase the number and length of rest breaks in the shade and give athletes plenty of opportunities to drink sufficient fluids. “

Young Athletes Most At Risk Of Knee Injuries Reap Big Benefit From Warm Up Exercises “The intervention involved warm-up activities designed to increase players' flexibility, balance and strength, as well as their foot planting, jumping and cutting skills, since previous research has shown that approximately 70 percent of ACL injuries are the result of such noncontact movements. The routine took 10 to 12 minutes before every game and practice, and was used in place of the jogging and stretching warm ups the players had been using previously. … Researchers also noticed that the older children in the study responded better to the warm-up exercises than the younger ones did. "That's a take away from this study," Padua said. "The younger kids may need to be trained differently. Things that are successful in older populations may not work in younger children."”

Young Tennis Players Who Play Only One Sport Are More Prone To Injuries “Injuries in young tennis players typically include muscle strains, ankle sprains, hip injuries, knee cap instability, stress fractures in the spine and tendonitis of the wrist and rotator cuff. "But one injury you rarely see in kids is tennis elbow," Jayanthi said. "That's because they learn to hit the ball correctly."”

ARTICLES:

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

A dose of fructose induces oxidative stress during endurance and strength exercise. (J Sports Sci. 2009)

A review of fluid and hydration in competitive tennis. ( Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2008)

Changes on magnetic resonance tomography in the knee joints of marathon runners: a 10-year longitudinal study. (Skeletal Radiol. 2008) “CONCLUSION: Non-physiological maximal loads secondary to the marathon race do not cause any permanent damage in the internal structures of the knee joint in individuals without significant pre-existing damage. A disposition for premature arthrosis was not registered in the population investigated. A protective value of long distance running on the internal structures of the knee joint is discussed.”

Do minor head impacts in soccer cause concussive injury? A prospective case-control study. (Neurosurgery. 2009) “CONCLUSION: A reduced neuropsychological performance was found after minor head impacts in soccer, even in allegedly asymptomatic players.”

Endurance Sport Practice as a Risk Factor for Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter (Europace. 2009)

Epidemiology of cheerleading fall-related injuries in the United States. (J Athl Train. 2009)

Epidemiology of cheerleading stunt-related injuries in the United States. (J Athl Train. 2009)

Epidemiology of Severe Injuries Among United States High School Athletes: 2005-2007. (Am J Sports Med. 2009)

Evidence Supporting Balance Training in Healthy Individuals: A Brief Review. (J Strength Cond Res. 2009)

Exercise-associated hyponatremia. (Semin Nephrol. 2009)

Imaging plays growing role in soccer injuries (Diagnostic Imaging Europe 2009)

Injuries in youth football: national emergency department visits during 2001-2005 for young and adolescent players. (Acad Emerg Med. 2009)

Sudden Deaths in Young Competitive Athletes. Analysis of 1866 Deaths in the United States, 1980-2006. (Circulation. 2009)

The effects of omega-3 supplementation on pulmonary function of young wrestlers during intensive training (Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 2009)

The epidemiology of United States high school soccer injuries, 2005-2007. (Am J Sports Med. 2008)

Wrist injuries in nonprofessional tennis players: relationships with different grips. (Am J Sports Med. 2009) “CONCLUSION: In nonprofessional tennis players with wrist injuries, different grips of the racket are related to the anatomical site of the lesion: Eastern grip with radial-side injuries and Western or semi-Western with ulnar-side injuries. Knowledge of this relationship may influence training, prevention, diagnosis, and therapy of wrist problems in nonprofessional tennis players.”

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