Sports and Fitness Sports and Fitness Injury Prevention & Rehabilitation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of athletic taping and bracing applied to a previously injured joint?
- To replace the need for rehabilitation exercises after clearance
- To provide mechanical support and enhance joint proprioception (Correct answer)
- To increase muscular strength surrounding the joint
- To accelerate ligament healing through compression alone
Correct answer: To provide mechanical support and enhance joint proprioception
Taping and bracing limit excessive joint motion mechanically while also stimulating skin and joint receptors that improve proprioceptive feedback.
Question 2: A runner complains of rapidly intensifying lower leg pain after a race, with the compartment feeling rock-hard and pain unrelieved by rest. Which condition should be suspected?
- Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS)
- Medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints)
- Acute compartment syndrome (Correct answer)
- Grade I muscle strain
Correct answer: Acute compartment syndrome
Acute compartment syndrome is a surgical emergency characterized by rising intracompartmental pressure that does not respond to rest and causes severe, unrelenting pain.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes a stress fracture?
- A hairline crack in bone caused by repetitive mechanical loading (Correct answer)
- A complete fracture resulting from a single high-impact collision
- A fracture at a growth plate in skeletally immature athletes
- A fracture complicated by bacterial infection
Correct answer: A hairline crack in bone caused by repetitive mechanical loading
Stress fractures are small, incomplete cracks that develop when repetitive loading exceeds the bone's remodeling capacity, common in runners and military recruits.
Question 4: Which rehabilitation approach is most evidence-supported for reducing hamstring strain re-injury rates?
- Complete rest until pain-free, then immediate return to full sprint training
- Ultrasound therapy applied daily for six weeks
- Passive static stretching of the hamstrings twice daily
- Progressive eccentric loading exercises such as the Nordic hamstring curl (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Progressive eccentric loading exercises such as the Nordic hamstring curl
Progressive eccentric loading programs, particularly the Nordic hamstring curl, significantly increase hamstring strength and reduce re-injury rates according to multiple RCTs.
Question 5: A standard objective criterion for return-to-play after ACL reconstruction is that the injured limb achieves what level of symmetry compared to the uninvolved limb on functional tests?
- 70% limb symmetry index
- 80% limb symmetry index
- 90% limb symmetry index (Correct answer)
- 100% limb symmetry index with zero pain
Correct answer: 90% limb symmetry index
A 90% limb symmetry index on hop tests and strength assessments is the widely accepted functional threshold for safe return to sport after ACL reconstruction.
Question 6: Which common running injury is characterized by sharp heel pain that is typically worst during the first steps after waking or after prolonged sitting?
- Plantar fasciitis (Correct answer)
- Achilles tendinopathy
- Morton's neuroma
- Peroneal tendinosis
Correct answer: Plantar fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis involves inflammation and degeneration of the plantar fascia at its calcaneal attachment, causing characteristic pain with initial weight-bearing after rest.
Question 7: In the acute phase of a musculoskeletal injury (0–72 hours), how does cryotherapy (ice application) reduce swelling and pain?
- By increasing local blood flow to flush out inflammatory mediators
- By permanently destroying pain nerve endings in the area
- By causing vasoconstriction that limits secondary tissue damage and activates pain-gate mechanisms (Correct answer)
- By stimulating collagen synthesis to begin repair immediately
Correct answer: By causing vasoconstriction that limits secondary tissue damage and activates pain-gate mechanisms
Cold application causes local vasoconstriction, reducing extravasation of fluid and inflammatory cells into the tissue, while also modulating pain signals through the gate-control mechanism.
Sports and Fitness Sports and Fitness Injury Prevention & Rehabilitation 2
What is the primary purpose of athletic taping and bracing applied to a previously injured joint?