Unit 18 Task 2 Presentation

Physiological and Psychological Responses Common to Sports Injuries.

Psychological responses to a sports injury Often a sports injury leads recovery time which could possibly mean time off work, school, the sport etc. This could have very little to huge metal effects on the injured individual.

What effects can it have on people? Injuries can lead to many mental effects such as anger, anxiety, depression, frustration and isolation. Due to having time to recover, an individual may feel like they made a mistake, they may feel weak and they may feel alone and isolated from those that they did the sport with such as team mates.

Psychological responses to a sports injury Response to treatment and rehabilitation When someone is injured, there can also be psychological responses when they are recovering. During recovery exercises, someone may become nervous and anxious about injuring themselves again, causing further injury and pain. They may also fear never being able to return to the sport or not being as strong, quick or as good as they were, this could lead to the feeling of failure. The injured athlete may become stressed if they relied on the sport for their job and main source of income leading to financial issues. Also, they may become nervous when starting the sport again, for example their first football match in front of a crowd may be nerve wracking in case they don’t play as well as they used to.

Physiological Effects From a Sports Injury Inflammation occurs when the body is suffering from an injury, not only from a physical injury but may also occur from immune reactions, electrical injuries, thermal injuries or chemical injuries. Discolouration will often occur from an injury, for example being hit by a cricket bat will usually result in the area becoming a reddish purple due to the blood vessels becoming dilated and more visible. Usually lack of function occurs when the injured area becomes swollen, produces high amounts of pain, or is fractured or broken. Swelling occurs when blood vessels are ruptured, which allows blood to flow into the injured area and allowing tissue fluid to gather, resulting in a swollen area.

The Repair Phase As the damaged tissue begins to heal, circulation of blood improves, swelling reduces, discolouration begins to fade, and the lack of function improves due the pain reducing. Damaged tissue begins to heal by the body's clotting mechanism. The clotting mechanism seals the end of the torn blood vessels meaning that blood can not carry on leaking into the injured area. Once the immediate effects of the injury have passed the body begins the healing process. Growth of new capillaries begins and there is development of fibrous tissue. Within the first four days, new cells become active, new capillary blood vessels form and grow to create circulation for the area.

The Remodelling Phase Scar tissue that is being repaired contains collagen fibres which is fairly fragile. These collagen fibres are at first randomly arranged, however begin to become aligned with careful rehabilitation. Recovery exercises and regular exercise helps the scar tissue to recover and repair. It is important that this process is controlled carefully to allow the injury to heal properly to avoid further injury.

Sprains ( for example a sprained ankle) 1st Degree Sprain It is likely that the muscles have been over stretched or torn The ankle still has full function but has a small amount of pain Little bruising Little swelling or none at all Slight difficulty walking 2nd Degree Sprain Medium to severe pain Difficulty walking Large amounts of swelling around the joint Severe bruising after 4 days 3rd Degree Sprain Walking may not be possible at all Complete rupture to the surrounding ligaments Severe pain, swelling and bruising May require an operation

Shin Splints Shin splints are caused due to sudden stops and starts, which can be felt during or after strenuous exercise. The pain begins as a dull pain but can worsen when exercise is continued. It is very important that you stop exercise when dull pain begins in your lower legs, specifically your tibia. Why do they happen? They are caused by many different things such as; Non-Cushioned running trainers Running on hard surfaces When you have been running for less than a year It is most commonly caused by medial stress syndrome which is caused by intense and long exercise which your body isn’t used to.