Acute and Chronic Injuries

• Hard tissues are solid structures of musculo-skeletal system, like bones and cartilage.
• Injuries to hard tissues can result in internal bleeding, circulatory problems, joint instability and usually require hospital treatment.
• Soft tissues are non-solid structures of musculo-skeletal system, like ligaments, tendons and muscles.
• Injuries to soft tissues result in inflammation and bruising (internal bleeding) and require immediate attention to minimise recovery times.
• Acute injuries result from a sudden stress to the body, associated with a traumatic event.
• Acute injuries can be injuries to soft tissue or hard tissue.
• Chronic injuries are as a result from continuous stress to the body over time (overuse injuries).
• Chronic injuries can be injuries to soft tissue or hard tissue.
• Common causes of acute sports injuries are collisions, falls, overestimating ability, being struck by an object, and not warming up properly.
• Acute soft tissue injuries include sprains, strains, exercise induced muscle damage, and haematoma's.
• A sprain occurs when one or more ligaments have been overstretched, twisted or torn, usually as a result of excessive force being applied to a joint.
• Ligaments are strong bands of tissue around joints that connect bones to one another.
• Common locations for sprains include the knees, ankles wrists and thumbs.
• There may be swelling soon after the sprain but the bruising may not show until later or it may not show at all.
• Bruising sometimes develops away from the sprained joint, as blood seeps along the muscles before surfacing to the skin.
• The severity of a sprain ranges from overstretch of a few ligaments (1st degree sprain), partial tear (2nd degree sprain), total rupture (tear) or detachment of ligament from bone (3rd degree sprain).
• A common cause of a sprain is a sudden twist.
• A common cause of a sprain is an impact or fall forcing the joint beyond its extreme range of motion.
• A common cause of a sprain is returning to sport before a previous sprain has healed.
• A symptom of a sprain is pain around the affected joint.
• A symptom of a sprain is inability to use the joint normally or put weight on it.
• A symptom of a sprain is swelling, bruising and tenderness.
• Knee ligament damage is common sport. The ACL is one of four ligaments in your knee. It can tear if you suddenly stop or change direction, or is you land badly from a jump. If you tear your ACL, you may hear a pop or crack at the time of injury.
• A symptom of a torn ACL is devere pain in your knee.
• A symptom of a torn ACL is instability in your knee, which means you cannot put much weight on it - especially when going up or down stairs.
• A symptom of a torn ACL is swelling in your knee.
• A symptom of a torn ACL is not having the full range of movement in your knee and, in particular, not being able to straighten you leg completely.
• A strain occurs when muscle fibres stretch or tear.
• A strain is usually the result of the muscle being stretched beyound its limits or forced to contract too quickly.
• Strain's are particularly common if a performer works at full intensity with an insufficient warm up, or if flexibiity in the area is poor.
• Muscle strains are particularly common in the legs and back, such has hamstring strains and lumbar strains.
• Strains are common in sports that involve dynamic lunging and explosive movements.
• A grade 1 strain is a mild muscle pull or strain.
• A grade 2 strain is a partial muscle tear.
• A grade 3 strain is a complete muscle tear.
• The length of time it takes to recover from a strain or tear will depend on how severe the injury is.
• A minor muscle pull or strain (grade 1) may take a few days to heal.
• A muscle tear (grade 2 or 3) could take weeks or months to recover fully.
• A symptom of a strain is swelling, bruising, or redness.
• A symptom of a strain is pain in the affected muscle at rest.