Sports Hernia (Athletic Pubalgia)

• Very Painful soft tissue injury that occurs in the lower abdominal or groin area.

• Occurs in sports that involve sudden change of direction or intense twisting movement.

• Most often affects the muscles within the lower abdominal.

Mechanism of Injury

• Sudden Change in direction or twisting movement. • Tendons attached to the oblique muscles to the pubic

bone are most vulnerable • Sports hernias occur mainly in vigorous sports such

as ice hockey, soccer, wrestling, and football

Treatment

• 4-6 week injury • Non-Surgical treatment: First 7-10 days, rest and ice

(not directly to the skin) 15-20 minutes, 3-4 times a day.

• 2 weeks in you may start physical therapy exercises to improve strength and flexibility.

• NSAID’s• If pain returns after 4-6 weeks one may need surgery

Treatment cont.

• Surgical Treatment: Can be done as a traditional open procedure or an endoscopic procedure.

• Most athletes are able to return to sports 6 to 12 weeks after surgery.

• Your recovery should be guided by the absence of symptoms, not a specific length of time on the calendar.

Prevention

• Strengthening the Pelvic floor muscles. • Maintain muscle balance.• Never increase training intensity, duration, and

frequency by more than 10 percent a week.• Proper Warm up/cool down• Yearly physical

Blow to Solar Plexus

• Commonly known as “getting the wind knocked out”• Caused by a sudden blow or impact to the stomach or

sometimes from a fall onto the back. • The athlete will have difficulty breathing deeply and

possibly difficulty breathing at all.

Treatment

• Encourage calm slow breathing in the nose and out the mouth

• If the winded athlete suffers from asthma, they may require additional care such as their inhaled medication.

• The player can return if their breathing and pulse return to normal with no pain/deformity

Prevention

• No true way to prevent this type of injury. • If there is still signs of pain or deformity there

maybe a serious internal injury. • Tighten core muscles• Anyone is vulnerable

Rupture Spleen

• Occurs when the capsule-like covering of the spleen breaks open, pouring blood into your abdominal area.

• Can rupture when the abdomen suffers a severe direct blow or blunt force.

• Fist-sized organ under your left rib cage near your stomach.

• Motor vehicle accidents,

Injury during contact sports, such as

football and hockey

Signs and Symptoms

• Pain in the abdomen, left rib cage, or left shoulder region. • Signs of internal bleeding include:

Blurred vision, Confusion, Light-headedness, Fainting, Signs of shock, including restlessness, anxiety, nausea, and paleness.• Diagnoses: Physical exam, CT scan (not recommended), and

Focused abdominal sonographic technique (FAST).

Grading Scale of Injury

• http://radiopaedia.org/articles/splenic_injury_grading

• Treatment:– Require immediate medical attention. – Can be a life threating injury.– Grade I&II may not require surgery.– A risk to live without.

• Prevention:– Using proper equipment– Very vulnerable– No true way of prevention

Sources• http://www.sportsherniasouth.com/ • http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/sports-hernia-topic-overview• http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00573 • http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/aches/winded.html • http://www.sportmedbc.com/news/“getting-wind-knocked-out-you”• http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/chest-abdomen-pain/

winded • http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ruptured-spleen/basics/d

efinition/con-20029359

• http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/ruptured-spleen• http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/432823-treatment