Sports and physical activity may create related injuries named as sports injuries which can be seen in athletics. Most of the injuries in athletics are not severe, but athlete might lose their time due to inappropriate or the poor-quality treatment. Professional athlete has access to the good quality treatment facilities, but school and development level athlete have few chances to access professional treatment facilities in some regions in Asia. Prevention of sports injuries can be achieved by improving the knowledge among sports coaches/ trainers and the support staff of athletics. This article brief about types of injuries, composition of the sports medicine team, basic first aid, PRICE treatment and coaches’ responsibility during treatment for injuries and rehabilitation.
Sports injuries can be categorised as acute or overuse (chronic) injuries, mainly depend on the onset of symptoms. Most of the acute injuries may be due to extrinsic causes, such as direct blow or due to the contact with another person or equipment. Acute injuries classified according to the injured part like muscular injuries, ligament injuries, bone injuries etc. Overuse injuries occur due to the prolong sports and physical activities and may be related with several factors like poor biomechanics, training errors, poor nutrition, overload etc. Overuse injuries are difficult to diagnose and treat. Coaches’ involvement during any of the injury treatment and rehabilitation is very important for better recovery of athlete.
Athletic coaches need proper understanding about sports medicine personal to help the athletes during treatment. Though the best care for athlete is multidisciplinary approach, sports physician or the team doctor can lead the sports medicine team. Proper sports medicine team consists of sports physician, physiotherapist, massage therapist, trainer, psychologist, dietitian, and other relevant specialists. Understanding their exact role in the team is important of each the person.
Sports physician – who is a medical doctor, will lead the team and prescribe medication in illness and refer the athlete to other sports medicine team members.
Physiotherapist or the physical therapist, mainly involve in musculoskeletal injury treatment and rehabilitation.
Massage therapist (Masseur) – Involve in massage therapy for athletes.
Dietician/Nutritionist – Involve in preparing diet and advising on nutrition.
Physical trainer – Involve in fitness training and testing.
Psychologist – Involve in solving the psychological problems and prepare athletes for competition.
This type of team may not be available in all regions of Asia, even in developed regions and this model may not be available during the training sessions. Therefore, coaches should maintain the contact with the team physician continuously.
If athlete is contracted acute sports injury, recovery depends on various factors, like initial first aid, early diagnosis and treatment, rest and rehabilitation. All athletic coaches must be aware about these steps and support the athletes for better recovery. Partially recovered acute injuries can recur and the athlete will not perform better. In case of sudden injury coach should start initial first aid and contact the relevant medical personal immediately. All athletic coaches must undergo basic first aid courses to develop their knowledge.
If your athlete contracted overuse injury, coachers’ must discuss the treatment and rehabilitation process with the medical team. Some of the overuse injuries might take few months to recover. Therefore, athlete may need changes in training schedules, diet, rest and competition schedules. Hence, multi-disciplinary approach is an essential component in the management of sports injuries which merits the respect of all.
Following mnemonic will help to remind you the basic first aid. That is indicated by “DRABC”.
D indicates Danger in the scene. Please assess before attending the injured.
R indicates Response of the injured player.
A indicates Air way management of the player.
B indicates Breathing assessment of the player.
C indicates Circulation assessment of the player.
During any type of injury please follow above mnemonic because you should not miss life-threatening injuries/conditions. If injury is severe, it is mandatory to contact relevant medical personals or the emergency services.
If acute or acute aggravation in chronic injury is in the upper or lower limb or the superficial part of the body after completing the basic first aid you can practise “PRICE” treatment. This mnemonic indicate as follows.
P for the Protection of injured person.
R indicate Rest for the injured part of the body.
I indicate the Ice treatment. (You can use Ice bag or ice can be wrapped in a towel and keep over the injured part nearly 10 to 15 minutes. This can be repeat every three hours up to 48 hours)
C indicate the Compression of the injured part.
E indicate the Elevation of the injured part.
If your athlete is not improving with this treatment, please contact emergency services.
Dr Dhammika Senanayake
Sports Physician
Medical committee member
Aian Athletics Association
Email-dhammikawdw@yahoo.com
