The Acute Injuries and the Rehabilitation Phases Essay

Imaging

Plain radiographies are not as efficient in examination of acute injuries as ultrasound and MR imaging. MR imaging is superior when it comes to the evaluation of injuries deep in muscle portions. Location of an injury and the seriousness based on examinations and MR imaging is essential for determination of rehabilitation program duration (Bunguric, Undated). 

Rehabilitation Plan for the Sports Injury

Exercise programs are essential for rehabilitation after an injury and can be administered during the early stages. Getting an injured part into motion speeds up the healing process. Rest should also be emphasized at this stage as these aids with healing (NIAMSD, 2013). Rehabilitation exercises can be categorized according to body area and by type. Example include exercises for the ankles comprise rehabilitation exercise for the calf muscles, Achilles tendon etc. on the other hand stretches exercise major parts of the body, back, neck, groin, etc (Sports Injury Clinic, Undated).

Other therapies that are always used in rehabilitation for sports injuries include, electrostimulation, cold/cryotherapy, heat/thermotherapy, ultrasound and massage and can only be administered by licensed personnel (NIAMSD, 2013).

Strengthening Program after Sports Injury

The initial step through the deigning of a strengthening program for an athlete who has suffered injury in the past is to know the type of injury, the specific injured part and intensity of the injury. As mentioned earlier, injuries are categorized in to first, second or third degree category. The next instance is the identification of the age bracket of patient. This will guide the therapist on types of exercises that can be supported by the bones (Lorenz and Reiman, 2011). The muscle injuries will then be classified according to the below table. 

Table 5 muscle injury classification system (Sherry and Best, 2004). 

Grade Pathophysiology Signs and symptoms

First degree Tearing of a few muscle or tendon fibers Minor swelling and discomfort with no or negligible loss of strength

Second degree More severe partial tear without complete disruption of the musculotendinous unit Clear loss of strength with more discomfort

Third degree A complete rupture of the musculotendinous unit A total lack of muscle function 

The rehabilitation program afterwards is represented in phases. The initial face involves low intensity exercise with increase in duration as the phase continues by. The exercise intensity progresses with subsequent progress in the rehabilitation phases. The final rehabilitation phase should render athlete fit to carry out normal activities even if the athlete cannot go back to sporting.

For grade one injuries, rehabilitation will be conducted in phases that might comprise of initial management which is conducted for 48 to 72 hours after an injury, phase one which can be between 2 to 7 days, phase two might be a one day rest then followed by phase three that can be within 7 to 14 days. The length of the faces varies with injury grades. For grade two and three, phase one is between 3 to 1 days, phase two between 3 to 4 weeks (Parker, Gilroy and Kumar, Undated).