This first dot point for Sports Medicine: ways to classify sports injuries walks you through the three (3) methods for classifications of sports injuries. These ways to classify sports injuries focus on: 

• how the injury occurred. That is, was it a direct injury, indirect injury or caused by overuse? Direct injuries occur at the site of contact, while indirect injuries occur away from the site of contact and as a result of internal forces. Overuse injuries occur because of poor technique, or lack of recovery.
• The type of tissue injured, soft tissue or hard tissue is the other method of classification. Hard tissue includes bone and teeth, while soft tissue is everything else, mainly muscle, tendons, and ligaments in sport.

The key in this dot point is to remember that each injury has two (2) classifications for it. e.g.) a pulled hamstring is an indirect soft tissue injury, while a dislocated collar bone from a poorly executed rugby league tackle is a direct hard tissue injury.

Students learn about:

• ways to classify sports injuries
  • direct and indirect
  • soft and hard tissue
  • overuse

Students learn to:

• identify specific examples of injuries that reflect each of the classifications