2. Assessment and Evaluation of Sport Injuries
Chapter 11
Assessment and Evaluation of Sport Injuries

3. Objectives Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to:
Explain the difference between assessment, evaluation, and diagnosis of an injury
Describe the various factors that influence the type and severity of athletic injuries
Evaluate an athletic injury using a systematic approach

4. Objectives (cont’d.)
Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to (cont’d.):
Explain the different methods and reasons for documenting injuries

5. Assessment and Evaluation of Athletic Injuries
Orderly collection of objective and subjective data on health status
Based on professional knowledge and knowledge of events that occurred
Knowledge of ATC helps in getting proper aid to the athlete quickly
ATC can evaluate injury, but they cannot diagnose
Licensed health care providers diagnose

6. Assessment and Evaluation of Athletic Injuries (cont’d.)
Diagnosis
What licensed provider states to be the problem, based on skills, expertise, and training
Physician uses all information obtained to arrive at a diagnosis
ATC uses information to set short- and long-term goals for recovery

7. Factors Influencing Athletic Injuries
Anthropomorphic data
Size, weight, structure, gender, strength, and maturity level
Mechanism of force
All forces involved at the time of an impact
Speed
Greater speed, greater injury chances

8. Factors Influencing Athletic Injuries (cont’d.)
Protective equipment
Reduces risk of injury
Absorbs and distributes force
Skill level
Beginners are at greater risk

9. Recognition and Evaluation
Recognition of injuries
ATC determines probable cause and mechanism of injury
May be based on direct observation or second-hand accounts

10. Recognition and Evaluation (cont’d.)
Primary injury survey
Determining if injury is serious or life-threatening
ABCs: airway, breathing, and circulation
High-quality bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation can double or triple survival rates from cardiac arrest

11. Recognition and Evaluation (cont’d.)
Secondary injury survey
Methodical evaluation of an athlete’s overall health
H.O.P.S. (history, evaluation, palpation, special tests) method
Be thorough
Gather a history
Expose the injury
Perform a physical evaluation

12. Recognition and Evaluation (cont’d.)
Observation
Compare the injured side to the uninjured
Palpation
Touching to determine the extent of the injury
Active motion
Athlete attempts to move body part through full range of motion

13. Recognition and Evaluation (cont’d.)
Passive motion
Movement through a range of motion performed by examiner while athlete relaxes muscles
Strength test
Begin isometrically without resistance, and then through the range of motion against resistance

14. Recognition and Evaluation (cont’d.)
Stability test
Investigates ligamentous laxity
Special examinations
Functional activity test
Determines level of activity athlete may resume
Specific sport activity test
Determines if it is safe to resume activities of a particular sport

15. Return-to-Play Criteria
Full strength
Damage to surrounding soft tissue must be healed
Muscles supporting injury must be 100% pre-injury strength
Free from pain
True pain is an indication of an unhealed injury
Mild soreness is okay

16. Return-to-Play Criteria (cont’d.)
Skill performance tests
Simulate skills required for the sport
Should begin at a low level of intensity and gradually increase

17. Return-to-Play Criteria (cont’d.)
Emotional readiness
Counseling will help the athlete work through any hesitation about returning to play
Athletes who do not perform at 100% will be prone to new injuries
Always ask the athlete if they are ready
An athlete who is hesitant or does not feel ready should not be allowed to return

18. Documentation of Injuries
Important for many reasons
Most important is follow-up care
Helps keep the athlete from going without care needed
Database creation helps uncover trends
Allows coaching staff to target areas of concern
Beneficial in case of lawsuits

19. Documentation of Injuries (cont’d.)
Formats for reporting injuries:
SOAP notes
Daily sideline injury reports
Training-room treatment logs
Daily red-cross lists
Athlete medical referral forms

20. Conclusion Athletic injuries are inevitable
Care and treatment of injuries constitute an important aspect of a sports medicine program
Certified athletic trainers complete assessments and write referrals

21. Conclusion (cont’d.)
Physicians diagnose the injury and prescribe a treatment plan
Accurate record keeping is important