Sport injuries

  

Those who are involved in sports should read this article….

Sports injuries are injuries that occur to athletes participating in sporting events. In many cases, these types of injuries are due to overuse of a part of the body when participating in a certain activity. For example, runner’s knee is a painful condition generally associated with running, while tennis elbow is a form of repetitive stress injury at the elbow. Other types of injuries can be caused by a hard contact with something. This can often cause a broken bone or torn ligament or tendon.

Injuries are a common occurrence in professional sports usually under a team leader’s supervision with close connection to the medical community. There are decisions made that could threaten a player’s long-term health for short term competitive gain.

TYPES

Sports injuries can be broadly classified as either traumatic or overuse injuries. Injury can be in the form of:

-  A bruise where damage to small blood vessels causes bleeding within the tissues.
-  A muscle strain is a small tear of muscle fibers and
-  A ligament sprain is a small tear of ligament tissue.

Overuse injuries

Exercises put repetitive stress on many parts of your body such as muscles, tendons, bursae, cartilage, bones and nerves which lead to micro-traumas — minor injuries that would heal with enough rest.  If you exercise regularly, make sure the body has ample time to recover, best within 48 hours. If micro-traumas is allowed to build up over time, you become prone to overuse injuries, such as:

+  Damage to elbow cartilage in athletes who throw.
+  Heel bursitis and stress fractures in runners.
+  Nerve entrapment in rowers.
+  Kneecap tendinitis in volleyball players.

Traumatic injuries

Traumatic injuries account for most injuries in contact sports such as soccer, rugby and basketball due to the dynamic and high collision nature of these sports. These injuries range from bruises and muscle strains, to fractures and head injuries.

To build strength and endurance from exercise, you must slowly and gradually push your body beyond its limits. Attempts to quick start can result in traumatic injuries such as sprains and fractures. Many seasonal sports injuries occur when athletes rush their reconditioning, overstretching their bones, joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles which are ignored in the off-season. In most instances, the experience in the initial five day period immediately following the traumatic incident is inflammation.


SIGNS & SYMPTOMS


Inflammation is characterized by pain, localized swelling, heat, redness and functional loss. To reduce swelling, apply ice for no longer than 20 mins.  Do not use heat immediately following an injury.  Apply ice intermittently every 4 hours for the first 1-2 days. When the inflammation has subsided, heat can then be applied for 20 min periods 2-3 times a day. For significant swelling, seek medical consultation right away.  Injuries with wrists and ankles may need x-rays to ensure the bones are not broken. 


MECHANISM

All of these traumatic injuries cause damage to the cells that make up the soft tissues. The dead and damaged cells release chemicals, which initiate an inflammatory response. Small blood vessels are damaged and opened up, producing bleeding within the tissue. In the body’s normal reaction, a small blood clot is formed in order to stop this bleeding and from this clot special cells (called fibroblasts) begin the healing process by laying down scar tissue. If the early inflammatory response is excessive, the healing process takes longer and a return to activity is delayed. Hence, it delays the overall healing process, both internally and externally.


PREVENTION


Injury can be minimised by doing an effective warm up exercise to rev up your pulse, to follow by sport specific dynamic stretches (stretches whilst moving). Currently, most fitness experts agree static stretching before exercise is futile and potentially damaging as by over-stretching, a muscle is being pulled hard, resulting in our body thinking it is at risk of being over-expanded and thus compensates by contracting instead. As such, warm-up techniques like light jog or sport-specific exercises are preferred. Before a game of tennis, few serves can increase the heart rate and blood flow to the muscles, warming up the body temperature ready for a full range of motions.


Doctors believe fatigue can be a contributing factor in sports injuries because it is more difficult for the body to protect itself when fatigued. As such stopping an activity at the first sign of fatigue can prevent sports related injuries.


RISK FACTORS 
In general, you are more likely to be injured if:

+  The duration, intensity or frequency of your exercise is excessive or rapidly increasing.
+  The terrain or weather conditions are extreme or irregular.
+  You use incorrect equipment including athletic shoes.
+  You have been injured in the past.
+  You smoke, drink or have led a sedentary lifestyle.
+ You have low aerobic or muscle endurance/low or imbalanced strength/ abnormal or imbalanced flexibility.
+  You have high arches in your feet, bowed legs or legs of different lengths.
+  You run with your heels landed first were found to be two times more likely to suffer from repetitive stress injuries than those who landed on the forefoot.  Such injuries include foot pain, shin splints and stress fractures. 


RECOVERY

It is difficult to return to competitive athletics after any serious injury, but knee injuries takes a lot longer to get over and often end a career.  Athletes in contact sports are 10 times more likely to have a serious knee injury than in non-contact sports, with knee injuries accounting for approximately a quarter of the injuries and generally taking two to three times longer to recovery than injuries to other parts of the body.

Leg bones are connected to the kneecap by four strong ligaments.  Around 60% of ligament tears are Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) - which provides stability and controls stress across the kneecap and keeps the knee from rotating too much or moving too far forward.  It does not heal on its own and requires a reconstruction surgery which usually take 6 to 9 months to recover.

Exercise with care. Enjoy the process and build a strong endurance gradually.

Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_injury

Why muscle SORE after Exercise?

  

People who work out rigorously with weights, muscle tears and rebuilds form part of the natural growth and conditioning process.  Unfortunately, active sporting people are not taking this problem seriously and thus subject to more significant injuries including muscle strains, sprains and even serious tears.


As for inactive people who have not been exercising for a long time and decide to go for a run to wake up the next morning with two heavy legs.  Why?


Characteristics


The soreness is perceived as a dull, aching pain in the affected muscle, often combined with tenderness and stiffness. The pain is felt only when the muscle is stretched, contracted or put under pressure, not when it is at rest.  Although there is variance among exercises and individuals, the soreness usually increases in intensity in the first 24 hours after exercise, peaks from 24 to 72 hours, then subsides and disappears after about five to seven days after exercise.


Cause


The soreness is caused by eccentric exercise, that is, exercise consisting of eccentric (lengthening) contractions. Isometric (static) exercise causes much less soreness, and concentric (shortening) exercise causes none.

When a muscle lengthens against a load – like in weightlifting the flexed arms attempt to catch the loaded weight and the muscle contraction is said to be eccentric. In other words, the muscle is actively contracting, attempting to shorten its length, but it is failing. These eccentric contractions have been shown to result in more muscle cell damage than is seen with typical concentric contractions, in which a muscle successfully shortens during contraction against a load.  Aerobic exercises can also involve many eccentric contractions, such as downhill running where body impact on the legs is intense, even without any noticeable burning sensations in the muscles during the event.

Mechanism


As our bodies perform strenuous exercise, we begin to breathe faster as we attempt to shuttle more oxygen to our working muscles. The body prefers to generate most of its energy using aerobic methods, meaning with oxygen.

Some circumstance like lifting heavy weights require energy production faster than our bodies can adequately deliver oxygen. In those cases, the working muscles generate energy anaerobically. This energy comes from glucose through a process called glycolysis, in which glucose is broken down or metabolized into a substance called pyruvate through a series of steps. When the body has plenty of oxygen, pyruvate is shuttled to an aerobic pathway to be further broken down for more energy. When oxygen is limited, the body temporarily converts pyruvate into a substance called lactate, which allows glucose breakdown, and thus energy production to continue. The working muscle cells can continue this type of anaerobic energy production at high rates for one to three minutes, during which time lactate can accumulate to high levels. 


A side effect of high lactate levels is an increase in the acidity of the muscle cells, along with disruptions of other metabolites around them.  The body starts to complain about tiredness and needs to recuperate to prevent further or permanent damage.  Once the body is allowed to slow down, oxygen becomes available and lactate reverts back to pyruvate and clear off other metabolites along the way, allowing continued aerobic metabolism and energy for the body’s recovery from the strenuous event.


Prevention/Treatment

+  Delayed onset muscle soreness can be reduced or prevented by gradually increasing the intensity of a new exercise program, thereby taking advantage of the repeated-bout effect.

+  Soreness can theoretically be avoided by limiting exercise to concentric and isometric contractions, but this may also not be practical depending on the mode of exercise.  Eccentric exercises are advisable for stronger individuals or the weaker ones certified fit by medical practitioners to undertake on gradual basis.

+  Stretching or warming up the muscles does not prevent soreness.  Instead, overstretching can by itself cause soreness.

+  Taking a hot shower can relax the muscle for faster recovery.

+  By soaking three times each week in a warm tub scented with 10 drops of peppermint oil, your muscles will relax, whilst the peppermint oil soothe your nerves. The effect can be 25% more effectively than over-the-counter painkillers, and cut the frequency of future flare-ups in half.

+  Taking enough vitamins and other nutrients can aid in recovery from muscles injuries.

-  Co-enzyme Q10 may boost athletic performance and reduce muscle injury according to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition measuring elite practitioners of the Japanese martial art kendo.  Besides helping the body to utilise oxygen and generates energy, it also plays an important role in preserving levels of vitamin E and vitamin C.

-  Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that can neutralise free radicals produced during strenuous exercise.  Thus, it may reduce muscle pain and expedite recovery following intense workouts.  For weightlifters, it helps to avoid injury because of its ability to produce collagen for a stronger connective tissue.

-   Vitamin E is another potent antioxidant that may neutralise free radicals leading to muscle damage.  It is much needed for rebuilding and repairing muscles between workouts.

-   Glutamine is a popular amino acid amongst weight trainers.  It is known to boost glutathione, an antioxidant that helps the body to recover from intense workouts and prevents muscle breakdown.  Hence, it is a great supplement for overall muscle recovery and health. 


-  Nitric acid - Increasing nitric oxide has become the new secret weapon for athletes and bodybuilders. Supplements with L-arginine and L-citrulline promote production of nitric acid that support the flow of blood and oxygen to the skeletal muscle as well as facilitate the removal of exercise-induced lactic acid build-up for faster recovery.



VIVA corner


Over-exercise can cause muscle fatigue due to eccentric contractions and excessive buildup of lactic acid. Taking good supplements can help to mitigate the negative effects.

+  VIVA Guard’s antioxidant enzyme formulation prevents free radical damage and aids in recovery of injuries (eg. pain and inflammation) and removes lactic acid expeditiously.

+  VIVA Oxypower, with its strong Coenzyme10 element lessens the risk of injury due to excessive exercise as the muscle cells are able to uptake more oxygen effectively.  The exclusive antioxidant formulation includes Vitamin A, C and E.

+  The free form amino acids in VIVA Ageguard provides the body the necessary nutrients to rebuild healthy tissues arising from muscle wear and tear during the exercise process.  Glutamine is available as one of its key ingredients. Its high arginine content helps to boost nitric acid level as enumerated above.