An operational model to investigate contact sports injuries

Purpose: A cyclical operational model is proposed to examine the interrelat ionship of a number of factors that are involved in sports injury epidemiol ogy. In sports injury research, investigations often attempt to identify a unique risk factor that distinguishes an injured player. However, a wide va riety of factors can contribute to a sports injury occurring, and an unders tanding of the cause of injury is important to advance knowledge. Methods: The proposed model identifies a healthy/fit player initially, although the player may exhibit a number of intrinsic risk factors for sports injury. Be fore exposure to extrinsic risk factors, there is the opportunity for imple mentation of prevention strategies by coaching personnel and the sports med icine team. These strategies might include, among others, appropriate warm- up, adequate hydration, wearing protective equipment, and prophylactic tapi ng. Additionally, preventative screening could take place to assess the var ious intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors that could lead to sports injury. Discussion: Two examples of how the operational model relates to contact s ports injury cases are presented. Participating in sport inevitably exposes the player to external risk factors that predispose toward injury. The tre atment of the injured player aims to restore the player to preinjury playin g status and to prevent the injury from becoming chronic. Conclusions: It i s suggested that the application of this proposed cyclical model may lead t o greater success in understanding the multifaceted nature of sports injuri es and furthermore help minimize injury risk and support the rehabilitation of injured contact sports participants.