Adventure And Extreme Sports Injuries

Adventure and extreme sports are increasing in popularity and it is not surprising that commercial adventure tourism and the accompanying life style and fashion, have become increasingly important to world economy. These unique sports involve not only major physical endurance and mental challenges but interaction and bonding with nature. They also tend to attract and excite audiences, both at the event and in the media. They are exciting to watch and redraw the boundaries of human achievement with the accompanying risks of injury and death. Adventure sports are usually performed in beautiful, exciting and remote locations or in extreme environments far away from medical assistance. Extreme sports usually involve an element of increased risk. These risks are highlighted by the media, usually after a reported accident or fatality but may vary according to the involvement of the participant; the weekend recreational adventure sports athlete or the experienced professional. A wide variety of sports fall into the category of adventure and extreme sports and with an increasing number of disciplines, this field is ever expanding. Sports are performed in contact with the “ground”; mountain running and biking, rock climbing, ice climbing and mountaineering. In the air: skydiving and base jumping. On water: surfing, white water kayaking and rafting, board sailing and diving. And also involve mechanical vehicles and animals! Some sports may be performed as a combination of few disciplines, such as water and air, e.g. kite surfing, and as so involve very unique mechanisms of injury. Sports events can also be merged to form a multi-sport race comprising many disciplines lastly from single to multi day races. Sports may involve competition with others, against the environment or with oneself, frequently the most ferocious adversary. Adventure sports are becoming increasingly popular in the general public and a few take these sports to an extreme level with the accompanying risks. Those that do, bring such time and dedication that they become professional in terms of training, preparation and finance. More and more people are enjoying adventure sports and unfortunately increased numbers are becoming injured as a result. Future research is progressing alongside the sport development, to allow the sport mechanisms, injury patterns and predisposing factors to be better understood. It is the hope of all researchers to make the sports safer without detracting from their adventurous nature. The aim and scope of our book would be to bring the sports medicine involved ineach of these sports into one volume. We would explain each sport including subtle similarities and differences, the common injury mechanisms, patterns of injury and treatment options. Additional chapters would include the mental characteristics of adventure racers and extreme sports athletes, together with the complexities of competing in hot and cold extreme environments. The book will present chapters focussing on the sports listed below, concentrating on published literature and newly formed studies by experts in the fields of injury epidemiology, prevention, management and rehabilitation.

This book reviews the existing data on the frequency and distribution of injuries and the factors contributing to injuries in adventure and extreme sports. Further, it suggests injury prevention strategies and provides recommendations for future research. Providing the first comprehensive compilation of epidemiological data over a range of new age sports considered to be adventurous and extreme, this publication is also the first of its kind to track down all of the major literature associated with the topic.A uniform and evidence-based approach to organizing and interpreting the literature is used in all chapters. All of the sport-specific chapters are laid out with the same basic headings making it easier for the reader to find common information across chapters.Sports physicians, physical therapists, recreation managers, researchers, injury prevention specialists, the adventure and extreme sport industry, and the adventure and extreme sport participants themselves will find the book useful in identifying problem areas in which appropriate preventive measures can be initiated to reduce the risk and severity of injuries. They will also want to use the book as a source for future research related to injuries in adventure and extreme sports.

This technically oriented book on medicine as applied to extreme sports offers broad coverage of the field extending well beyond the usual focus on major trauma and acute injuries. In addition to the injuries and diseases associated with individual extreme sports, this book also addresses the topics of psychology, dermatology, ophthalmology, infectious diseases, physiology, nutrition, training, injury prevention strategies, rehabilitation, doping, treatment in hostile environments, and legal aspects. Innovative and less frequently considered topics are also discussed, such as recent advances in protective equipment and materials, the effects of exposure on whole-body vibration, and cold exposure risk management. More than 60 of the most authoritative experts from across the world have contributed to this book, drawing on their personal experiences and including practical examples whenever relevant. Both subject matter and illustrations have been selected with the utmost care, the latter including photographs of world-class athletes.The book’s multidisciplinary approach to the subject ensures that it will be relevant to a wide readership.

The first comprehensive examination of injuries associated with adventure and extreme sports This book reviews the existing data on the frequency and distribution of injuries and the factors contributing to injuries in adventure and extreme sports. Further, it suggests injury prevention strategies and provides recommendations for future research. Providing the first comprehensive compilation of epidemiological data over a range of new age sports considered to be adventurous and extreme, this publication is also the first of its kind to track down all of the major literature associated with the topic. A uniform and evidence-based approach to organizing and interpreting the literature is used in all chapters. All of the sport-specific chapters are laid out with the same basic headings making it easier for the reader to find common information across chapters. Sports physicians, physical therapists, recreation managers, researchers, injury prevention specialists, the adventure and extreme sport industry, and the adventure and extreme sport participants themselves will find the book useful in identifying problem areas in which appropriate preventive measures can be initiated to reduce the risk and severity of injuries. They will also want to use the book as a source for future research related to injuries in adventure and extreme sports.

Extreme sports are highly popular among young people today. These sports include a wide variety of activities—from surfing and skateboarding to mountaineering and parachute jumping—but one characteristic unites them all: their inherent risk of injury. This book details the injuries most often experienced in extreme sports, including common injuries such as severe strains, sprains, bruising, and cuts; and serious problems, such as hypothermia, fractures, and dislocations. The book then focuses on several different ways to prevent such injuries from occurring. Treatments are explained in detail, with emphasis on getting professional medical advice for any serious or unexplained injury. Read this book and learn about: • Warm-up routines that help prevent injuries. • The importance of mental preparation. • Overuse injuries and sprains and strains. • The importance of good nutrition. • The dangers of performance-enhancing drugs.

Introduces extreme sports such as parachuting, snowboarding, skiing, surfing and rock climbing and provides information on how to prevent and treat the most common injuries related to these sports.

Extreme sports, those activities that lie on the outermost edges of independent adventurous leisure activities, where a mismanaged mistake or accident would most likely result in death, have developed into a significant worldwide phenomenon (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2017a). Extreme sport activities are continually evolving, typical examples include BASE (an acronym for Buildings, Antennae, Span, Earth) jumping and related activities such as proximity flying, extreme skiing, big wave surfing, waterfall kayaking, rope free solo climbing and high-level mountaineering. While participant numbers in many traditional team and individual sports such as golf, basketball and racket sports have declined over the last decade or so, participant numbers in so called extreme sports have surged. Although extreme sports are still assumed to be a Western pastime, there has been considerable Global uptake. Equally, the idea that adventure sports are only for the young is also changing as participation rates across the generations are growing. For example, baby boomers are enthusiastic participants of adventure sports more generally (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2017b; Patterson, 2002) and Generation Z turn to extreme sports because they are popular and linked to escapism (Giannoulakis & Pursglove, 2017). Arguably, extreme sports now support a multi-billion dollar industry and the momentum seems to be intensifying. Traditional explanations for why extreme sports have become so popular are varied. For some, the popularity is explained as the desire to rebel against a society that is becoming too risk averse, for others it is about the spectacle and the merchandise that is associated with organised activities and athletes. For others it is just that there are a lot of people attracted by risk and danger or just want to show off. For others still it is about the desire to belong to sub-cultures and the glamour that goes with extreme sports. Some seek mastery in their chosen activity and in situations of significant challenges. This confusion is unfortunate as despite their popularity there is still a negative perception about extreme sports participation. There is a pressing need for clarity. The dominant research perspective has focused on positivist theory-driven perspectives that attempt to match extreme sports against predetermined characteristics. For the most part empirical research has conformed to predetermined societal perspectives. Other ways of knowing might reveal more nuanced perspectives of the human dimension of extreme sport participation. This special edition brings together cutting-edge research and thought examining psychology and extreme sports, with particular attention payed to the examination of motivations for initial participation, continued participation, effective performance, and outcomes from participation. References Brymer, E. & Schweitzer, R. (2017a) Phenomenology and the extreme sports experience, NY, Routledge. Brymer, E, & Schweitzer, R, D. (2017b) Evoking the Ineffable: The phenomenology of extreme sports, Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice 4(1):63-74 Giannoulakis, C., & Pursglove, L., K., (2017) Evolution of the Action Sport Setting. In S.E. Klein Ed. Defining Sport: Conceptions and Borderlines. Lexington Books, London. 128-146 Patterson, I. (2002) Baby Boomers and Adventure Tourism: The Importance of Marketing the Leisure Experience, World Leisure Journal, 44:2, 4-10, DOI: 10.1080/04419057.2002.9674265

This concise yet comprehensive book covers epidemiology of injuries in 24 different sports ranging from football, volleyball, athletics, to less explored ones, like archery and Formula 1. For each discipline the authors present and analyze the sport’s main characteristics, physiological and biomechanical demands on athletes, epidemiology of injuries, prevention strategies, rehabilitation and return to play. Based on an updated overview of sport specific data, this book equips the reader with a solid understanding of sports injury epidemiology and its importance for the implementation of preventive measures. Written in collaboration with ESSKA by almost 100 international experts, sharing the belief that prevention is the first mission of sports medicine, this book is an excellent source of knowledge for sports physicians, researchers, residents, fellows and trainers alike.