Editing Sports injury (section)

== Prevention ==

[[Preventive healthcare|Prevention]] helps reduce potential sports injuries. Benefits include a [[health]]ier athlete, longer duration of participation in the sport, potential for better performance, and reduced medical costs. Explaining the benefits of sports [[injury prevention program]]s to coaches, team trainers, sports teams, and individual athletes will give them a glimpse at the likelihood for success by having the athletes feel they are healthy, strong, comfortable, and capable to compete. Better training and better exercises can help prevent injuries from even happening. 

=== Primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention ===
[[Preventive healthcare|Prevention]] can be broken up into three broad categories primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.<ref name="woj">{{cite journal |vauthors=Wojtys EM |title=Sports Injury Prevention |journal=Sports Health |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=106–107 |date=2017 |pmid=28225690 |pmc=5349399 |doi=10.1177/1941738117692555}}</ref> Primary prevention involves the avoidance of injury. An example is [[ankle brace]] being worn as a team. Even those with no history of previous ankle injuries participate in wearing braces. If primary prevention activities were effective, there would be a lesser chance of injuries occurring in the first place. Secondary prevention involves an early [[diagnosis]] and [[Medical case management|treatment]] once an injury has occurred. The goal of early [[diagnosis]] is to ensure that the injury is receiving proper care and recovering correctly, thereby limiting the concern for other medical problems stemming from the initial traumatic event. 

Some sports leagues have gone further in terms of secondary prevention by incorporating live sensing data to allow early diagnosis and treatment: Some teams in the [[National League (ice hockey)|Swiss National Ice Hockey League]] are testing out systems that combine helmet-integrated sensors and analysis software to reveal a player’s ongoing brain injury risk during a game.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-31 |title=Smart hockey helmet assesses players' knocks to the noggin |url=https://newatlas.com/health-wellbeing/bearmind-impact-sensing-hockey-helmet/ |access-date=2023-09-04 |website=New Atlas |language=en-US}}</ref> These sensors provide players and coaches with real-time data on head impact strength, frequency, and severity. The sensors are planned to be integrated into the foam padding used inside hockey helmets to serve as pressure detectors. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Nagalwade |first=Vidya |date=2023-04-01 |title=Smart helmets to protect against head trauma |url=https://www.techexplorist.com/smart-helmets-protect-against-head-trauma/58321/ |access-date=2023-09-04 |website=Tech Explorist |language=en-US}}</ref>

Lastly, tertiary prevention is solely focused on [[Physical therapy|rehabilitation]] to reduce and correct an existing [[disability]] resulting from the traumatic event. Thus, for an athlete with an ankle injury, rehabilitation would consist of balance exercises to recover [[Physical strength|strength]] and mobility, as well as wearing an ankle brace while gradually returning to the sport.

=== Season analysis ===
It is most essential to establish participation in [[Warming up|warm-ups]], stretching, and exercises that focus on main muscle groups commonly used in the sport of interest. This decreases the chances of getting [[Exercise-associated muscle cramps|muscle cramps]], [[Strain (injury)|torn muscles]], and [[stress fracture]]s. A season analysis is an attempt to identify [[risk]]s before they occur by reviewing training methods, the competition schedule, traveling, and past injuries. If injuries have occurred in the past, the season analysis reviews the injury and looks for patterns that may be related to a specific training event or competition program. For example, a [[stress fracture]] injury on a soccer team or cross country team may be correlated to a simultaneous increase in running and a change in running environment, like a transition from a soft to hard running surface. A season analysis can be documented as team-based results or individual athlete results. Other key program events that have been correlated to injury incidence are changes in training volume, changes in climate locations, selection for playing time in important matches, and poor sleep due to tight chaotic scheduling.<ref name=woj/> It is important for team program directors and staff to implicate testing to ensure [[health]]y, [[Competition (companies)|competitive]], and [[Confidence|confident]] athletes for their upcoming season.

=== Preseason screening ===
Another beneficial review for preventing player sports injuries is preseason screenings. A study found that the highest injury rate during practices across fifteen Division I, II, and III NCAA sports was in the preseason compared to in-season or postseason.<ref>"Epidemiology of Collegiate Injuries for 15 Sports</ref> To prepare an athlete for the wide range of activities needed to partake in their sport pre-participation examinations are regularly completed on hundreds of thousands of athletes each year. The [[Physical examination|physical exam]] must be done properly to limit the risks of injury and also to diagnose early onsets of a possible injury. Preseason screenings consist of testing the mobility of [[joint]]s (ankles, wrists, hips, etc.), testing the stability of joints (knees, neck, etc.), testing the [[Physical strength|strength]] and power of muscles, and also testing [[Breathing|breathing patterns]]. The objective of a preseason screening is to clear the athlete for participation and verify that there is no sign of injury or illness, which would represent a potential medical risk to the athlete (and a risk of liability to the sports organization).<ref name=woj/> Besides the physical examination and the fluidity of the movements of joints the preseason screenings often take into account a nutrition aspect as well. It is important to maintain normal [[Iron tests|iron levels]], [[Blood pressure|blood pressure levels]], [[fluid balance]], adequate total energy intake, and normal glycogen levels. Nutrition can aid in injury prevention and rehabilitation if one obtains the body's daily intake needs. Obtaining sufficient amounts of [[calorie]]s, [[carbohydrate]]s, fluids, [[protein]], and [[Vitamin|vitamins and minerals]] is important for the overall health of the athlete and limits the risk of possible injuries.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncaa.org/health-and-safety/nutrition-and-performance/nutrition-and-injured-athlete|title=Nutrition and the Injured Athlete|website=NCAA|date=3 January 2014 |access-date=24 April 2016 |author1=Nslabaugh }}</ref> [[Iron deficiency]], for example, is found in both male and female athletes; however 60 percent of female college athletes are affected by iron deficiency.<ref name=":0" /> There are many factors that can contribute to the loss of iron, like menstruation, gastrointestinal bleeding, inadequate iron intake from the diet, general [[Fatigue (medical)|fatigue]], and weakness, among others. The consequences of iron deficiency, if not solved, can be impaired athletic performance and a decline in immune and cognitive function.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rowland|first=Thomas|date=2012|title=Iron Deficiency in Athletes|journal=American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine|volume=6|issue=4|pages=319–27|doi=10.1177/1559827611431541|s2cid=71319560}}</ref>

==== Functional movement screen ====
One technique used in the process of preseason screening is the functional movement screen (FMS). Functional movement screening is an assessment used to evaluate movement patterns and asymmetries, which can provide insight into mechanical restrictions and potential risk for injury. Functional movement screening contains seven fundamental movement patterns that require a balance of both mobility and stability. These fundamental movement patterns provide an observable performance of basic locomotor, manipulative, and stabilizing movements. The tests place the individual athlete in extreme positions where weaknesses and imbalances become clear if proper stability and mobility are not functioning correctly.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Cook|first1=Gray|last2=Burton|first2=Lee|date=2006|title=Pre-Participation Screening: The Use of Fundamental Movements as an Assessment of Function – Part 1|pmc=2953313|journal=North American Journal of Sports Physical Therapy|pmid=21522216|volume=1|issue=2|pages=62–72}}</ref> The seven fundamental movement patterns are a [[Squat (exercise)|deep squat]], hurdle step, in-line lunge, shoulder mobility, active straight-leg raise, trunk stability push-up, and rotary stability. For example, the deep squat is a test that challenges total body mechanics. It is used to gauge bilateral, symmetrical, and functional mobility of the hips, knees, and ankles. The dowel held overhead gauges bilateral and symmetrical mobility of the shoulders and the thoracic spine. The ability to perform the deep squat technique requires appropriate pelvic rhythm, closed-kinetic chain [[Anatomical terms of motion|dorsiflexion]] of the ankles, flexion of the knees and hips, extension of the thoracic spine, as well as flexion and [[Anatomical terms of motion|abduction]] of the shoulders. There is a scoring system applied to each movement as follows a score of 3 is given to the athlete if they can perform the movement without any compensations, a score of 2 is given to the athlete if they can perform the movement, but operate on poor mechanics and compensatory patterns to achieve the movement, a score of 1 is given to the athlete if they cannot perform the movement pattern even with compensations, and finally, a 0 is given to the athlete if one has pain during any part of the movement or test. Three of the seven fundamental tests including shoulder mobility, trunk stability push-up, and rotary stability have a clearance score associated with them meaning a pass or fail score. If the athlete fails this part of the test a score of 0 is given as the overall score. Once the scoring is complete the athlete and medical professional can review the documentation together and organize a set prevention program to help target and strengthen the areas of weakness to limit the risks of possible injuries.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Beardsley|first1=Chris|last2=Contreras|first2=Bret|date=2014|title=The Functional Movement Screen|journal=Strength and Conditioning Journal|volume=36|issue=5|pages=72–80|doi=10.1519/SSC.0000000000000074|s2cid=26755273|issn=1524-1602|doi-access=free}}</ref>