Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries Exam #1

Strength and Conditioning Coaches

• Conduct team and individual training sessions.
• Collaborate closely with athletic trainers (ATs) and team coaches.
• Ensure athlete readiness for competition.
• Certification in CPR and AED is required.

Personal Fitness Trainers

• Develop personalized fitness programs tailored to client’s health and goals.
• No single standard qualification is necessary, but a degree in exercise science may be required by some organizations.
• Certification in CPR and AED is essential.

Athletic Administrator

• Hires sports medicine personnel and establishes policies and risk management plans.
• Responsible for budgeting and overall administrative duties within the sports organization.

Coaches

• Must understand limitations as healthcare providers and prioritize athlete safety.
• Focus on preventing injuries through equipment safety and knowledge of sport specifics.
• CPR and AED certification is mandatory.

Athletic Trainer

• Manages athletes from injury onset through rehabilitation.
• Responsibilities include prevention, assessment, immediate care, treatment, and rehabilitation.

Team Physician

• Compiles medical histories, diagnoses injuries, and decides on participation eligibility.
• Holds ultimate authority regarding athlete health status.

Injury Prevention

• Involves appropriate training, environmental monitoring, fitting protective gear, nutrition, and medication use.

Pre-participation Exam

• Involves medical history, physical and orthopedic screenings, and wellness assessments.
• Aims to identify at-risk athletes and determine disqualification conditions.

Sports Medicine

• Encompasses various medical practices related to physical activity, including physiology, biomechanics, psychology, and pathology.

Record Keeping

• Essential for maintaining injury reports, treatment logs, and seasonal assessments, with implications for litigation.

Major Causes of Injury

• Physical fitness deficits and muscular fatigue are the primary contributors.

Periodization Training

• A conditioning strategy that optimizes performance through organized training cycles: preseason, in-season, and off-season.

Principles of Conditioning

• Key elements include warm-up/cool-down, overload, consistency, progression, and safety.

Warm-Up

• Prepares the body through temperature increase, muscle stretching, and ligament elasticity.
• Recommended duration: 10-15 minutes.

Cool-Down

• Facilitates gradual return to resting levels post-activity.
• Suggested duration: 5-10 minutes.

Flexibility

• Represents the joint’s range of motion; critical for performance and injury prevention.

Active vs. Passive Range of Motion

• Active ROM: Athlete initiates movement.
• Passive ROM: Movement is assisted by another person, with no muscle contraction involved.

Muscle Contraction Types

• Agonist: Prime mover in muscle contraction (e.g., quadriceps in knee extension).
• Antagonist: Muscle stretched during agonist contraction.

Stretching Techniques

• Ballistic Stretching: Involves bouncing movements.
• Dynamic Stretching: Matches athletic movements.
• Static Stretching: Involuntary stretch held over time; considered safer.
• PNF Stretching: Combines stretching with alternating contractions.

Muscular Strength and Endurance

• Strength: Maximum force in a single contraction, influenced by muscle size and neuromuscular efficiency.
• Endurance: Capacity to perform repeated contractions against resistance.

Power

• Ability to generate force rapidly.

Hypertrophy and Atrophy

• Hypertrophy: Increase in muscle size.
• Atrophy: Decrease in muscle size.

Training Principles

• Overload Principle: Requires working harder than usual for improvement.
• SAID Principle: Body adapts specifically to imposed demands over time.

Physical Fitness Components

• Includes flexibility, neuromuscular control, core stability, balance, muscular strength, endurance, and cardiovascular fitness.

Techniques for Improving Muscular Strength

• Methods include isometric, PRE (Progressive Resistance Exercise), circuit, plyometric, calisthenics, and functional strength training.

Cardiorespiratory Endurance

• Involves sustained activities engaging large muscle groups over time.

Female Athlete Triad

• Combination of disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis leading to various health risks.

Heat-Related Illnesses

• Heat Syncope: Physical fatigue and collapse from heat exposure.
• Heat Cramps: Painful muscle spasms caused by electrolyte loss.
• Heat Exhaustion: Resulting from dehydration with various symptoms.
• Exertional Heat Stroke: Critical condition requiring immediate cooling intervention.

Hyponatremia

• Low sodium concentration in the blood, often due to excessive fluid intake; can lead to central nervous system dysfunction.

Vital Signs

• Important for assessing physiological status: level of consciousness, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, body temperature, skin color, and pupil response.

Emergency Action Plan

• Established procedures for effective emergency response, preventing litigation, and ensuring quality care.

Shock Management

• Defined by inadequate blood flow; managed by addressing underlying causes and maintaining body heat.

Bloodborne Pathogen Prevention

• Emphasizes hygiene, safe practices, and effective disinfection to prevent transmission.

Nutritional Considerations for Injury Prevention

• Nutrient-rich, balanced diets enhance overall health and reduce injury risks.

Macros and Micros

• Macronutrients: Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats essential for energy.
• Micronutrients: Vitamins, minerals, and water necessary for bodily functions without providing energy.

Sweating

• The primary mechanism for heat loss, affected by humidity and surface area exposed.