Science of Sport Injury & Rehabilitation

Course Description

Have you experienced a sport-related injury? With 80% of high school athletes experiencing a significant sport-related injury at some point in their career, chances are you have, or know someone who has. Have you ever considered how the body heals from injury and what you can do to accelerate recovery? This interactive course examines the role science plays in athletic injuries, tissue response to injury, and rehabilitation.

In this interactive course we will examine fundamental principles in the science of tissue injury. We will introduce students to the process of rehabilitation from the moment of injury to a successful return to play. We will explore the relationship between injury, injury prevention and movement competency. This course offers clarity on what really matters in prevention, rehabilitation, and return to sport to enjoy a lifetime of activity.

We begin with a deep dive into the physiological phases of the healing process and consideration of an athletes response to injury. Students will be encouraged to integrate their relationship with athletic injury with course content by narrating their own sports profiles and collaboratively constructing lessons learned in the arena of sports injury and rehabilitation.

Next, introducing the concepts of mechanotransduction and mechanotherapy, we will explore how the body converts mechanical loading into cellular responses to promote structural change. We will then discover how exercise heals at a cellular level to stimulate repair and remodelling in tendon, muscle, cartilage and bone. Students will have the opportunity to transform their understanding of physiology into a movement-based injury prevention screen where they will learn to see movement and performance in a new way while discovering where opportunity awaits.

Finally, students will explore strategies that can speed the rehabilitative process and assist young athletes in overcoming worries related to re-injury and transitioning into the game. This course offers a deep inquiry into a theoretical framework for a complete holistic recovery process. Students will describe the structure of rehabilitation phases while recognizing key responses towards athletic injury and recovery. At the conclusion of this course, you will learn to make better decisions in sport injury management.

Learning Objectives:
1. Students will be able to describe the process of mechanotransduction and its role in stimulating tissue repair.
2. Students will be able to explain an objective classification system and treatment algorithm for muscle, tendon, ligament, and bone injuries.
3. Students will be able to explain the injury process of muscle, tendon, and bone injuries including the elements of a complete holistic recovery process.
4. Students will be able to identify athletic competencies that create movement efficiency in sport.

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course, but a strong interest or some background in the subject material is expected.