Soft Tissue Injuries

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Soft Tissue Injuries

• Chapter 2

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Soft Tissue Injuries

• Soft tissue injuries are often called wounds and
  are commonplace in athletics
• When a tissue is injured it may bleed, become
  inflamed, or produce extra fluid

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Soft Tissue Injuries

• Sprains and strains are wounds that bleed
  internally, which may cause a fluid buildup.
• Sprains are injuries to ligaments (connect bone
  to bone) or tendons (connect muscle to bone
• Strains are injuries to muscles

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Categorizing Strains and Sprains

• Sprains and strains are categorized in order of
  severity as first-, second-, or third- degree
  injuries
• 1st Occurs when there is no loss of motion
• 2nd Occurs when there is some loss of motion
• 3rd Occurs when the athlete cannot move the body
  part

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Nerve Injuries

• Another soft tissue that can be injured is a
  nerve
• Nerve tissue connects the brain and spinal cord
  with all of the parts of the body
• Nerves transmit the sensations of touch, pain,
  hot, and cold.

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Nerves

• Nerves relay messages from the brain to signal a
  muscle to contract or relax
• Therefore when a nerve is injured the athlete may
  experience a lack of sensation and even of
  movement

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Nerves

• A stretched nerve can send a message of extreme
  pain
• An injury to a nerve takes a long time to heal,
  and if the damage is severe, it will not heal
• Thus leading to spinal injuries that can cause
  people to become paralyzed permanently

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Soft Tissue Injuries

• The following are a list of many different types
  of soft tissue injuries

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Incision

• An incision is an open wound made by a cutting
  object such as a scalpel. It is rarely seen in
  athletics.

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Abrasion

• An abrasion results from scraping off a layer of
  skin.
• It may or may not bleed, depending on its depth
• A base runner in softball or baseball may acquire
  an abrasion when sliding into a base

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Abrasion
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Contusion

• A contusion is a closed wound, commonly called a
  bruise
• It bleeds under the skin, which can cause
  swelling and discoloration
• An athlete receives a contusion from running into
  something
• Ex When an athletes eye runs into another
  persons elbow

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Contusion
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Laceration

• A laceration is a jagged, irregular open wound
  created by a non-cutting object such as a steel
  pole or a wall
• Ex a lacrosse player who runs into the goalpost
  may receive a laceration

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Laceration
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Avulsion

• An avulsion is a partial tearing away of a body
  part
• An avulsion of a finger may occur if one catches
  a ring on the basketball hoop when dunking a
  basketball

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Avulsion
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Amputation

• An amputation is an open wound in which a part is
  completely cut away from the body
• Ex Cutting off a finger with an ice skate

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Puncture

• A puncture wound occurs when a pointed object
  enters the body
• Ex stepping on a nail
• Puncture wounds do not bleed much, so they are
  more likely to become infected than freely
  bleeding wounds

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Puncture
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Countrecoup

• A countrecoup injury occurs on the opposite side
  of the initial injury
• This usually occurs in the brain when the head
  hits against an unyielding object or surface
• The impact to the back of the head forces the
  brain against the anterior part of the skull
  resulting in the countrecoup injury

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Countrecoup