By Mira, Sampsa and Tommi, SPO10S

Table of contents  Specific injuries for a thrower  Avoiding injuries  Most common injuries  Tero Pitkämäki  Critical research, motivate  Demonstration  References

Specific injuries for a thrower  Anatomical structures under a great deal of torsional, shearing and impact forces, which can reach and exceed the tolerance limits.  Radin et al. (1979): damage of the joint structures and the musculoskeletal tissues can occur by repeated loadings even when each load is below the tolerance threshold of the structures.  Mainly to the ankle of the front leg, the knees, the lower back, the shoulder and the elbow of the throwing arm. 75% occur in training.  Additional sources of injuries:  Incorrect throwing technique, using too heavy training loads, performing when fatigued.

Avoiding injuries  General and special warming-up exercises before training.  General and special stretching exercises before and after training.  Proper technique and loads.  Do not train or compete while fatigued.

Most common injuries  Rear leg knee (33%, ligament damage)  Rotational stress and shearing forces by striking the ground in an angle  Prevention: keep the angle at 45 degrees to the throwing direction’  First Aid: Cold, raise the leg above heart % localization of injuries in the throwing events From Pförringer et al  Elbow (37,8%, joint injuries)  Ligament and joint damage  Poor mechanics, decreased flexibility or fatigue  Avoid training in while fatigue or improve flexibility  First Aid: Cold, raise the arm above heart

Most common injuries  Back (29%)  Lumbar spine injuries, intervertebral disc degeneration  No stress on bony, disc and joint structures while making lower trunk motions -> proper technique, no training while fatigued, making sure that the range of motion is correct (flexibility), not too big loads  First Aid: call help (spine injuries have to be taken care of by professionals)

 Tero Pitkämäki, correct technique is key in preventing injuries

Critical research, motivate  Additional injuries a javelin thrower may suffer, as listed on HowToThrowTheJavelin.com, include tripping while running and hitting oneself in the head while attempting to throw. Proper training can help an athlete avoid both of these issues.

Demonstration  Sampsa demonstrates ankle injury  Three groups: Mira 1, Sampsa 2, Tommi 3  Elbow joint injury  Knee ligament injury

References  Biomechanics in sport: performance enhancement and injury prevention [Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky,IOC Medical Commission, International Federation of Sports Medicine]  Biomechanics and Rehabilitation of Elbow Injuries During Throwing [Michael M. Reinold; Glenn S. Fleisig, PhD; and James R. Andrews, MD, American Sports Medicine Institute]  Is the 'Crunch Factor' an Important Consideration in the Aetiology of Lumbar Spine Pathology in Cricket Fast Bowlers? [Paul S. Glazier, Centre for Sports Engineering Research, Sheffield Hallam University, Collegiate Campus, Sheffield, UK]

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