PEAK PERFORMANCE

Dislocation is where..

• a joint becomes misaligned

OR

• the bones are disconnected from the joint

EXAMPLE: leg displaced from the hip socket

A sprain is where..

• the ligament is strectched beyond its natural capacity

Treating a sprain?

Rest - patient rests and does not put pressure on the injury

Ice - to reduce swelling and bleeding

Compression - to reduce build-up of fluid that causes swelling

Elevation - to reduce blood pressure and aid blood flow

Torn Ligaments and Tendons are caused by?

• a particularly sever sprain could mean that a ligament/tendon has been torn

What is special about them?

• The blood supply to ligaments/tendons is poor compared to other body parts
• The materials needed for repair (proteins etc) are slower to arrive

Further consequence?

• The bones connected to the ligament/tendon may not be in the correct position
• If the tendon is torn, there is no way the limb can move - the muscle is effectively detached
• Surgery may be required

What do they specialise in?

• They specialise in the treatment of skeletal-muscular injuries

How do they help?

• They help a patient to re-train or reuse a part of the body that is not functioning properly

How is this achieved?

• This is achieved through various exercises to strengthen muscles that may have weakened
• It is the job of the physiotherapist to choose the best course of treatment for each patient

Example - An injured leg may be treated with what exercises?

• Raising the leg whilst laying on the stomach
• Riding a stationary exercise bike, then straightening and raising the leg
• Exercising in a swimming pool, performing small kicks whilst holding onto pool side

What does a practitioner need to know? And why?

SYMPTOMS - visible or noticeable effects of a disease or condition on the body that have been recognised by the patient, that can be used to identify problems. This can be helpful in staying away from areas that may cause trouble during exercise and to help diagnose a problem

CURRENT MEDICATION - different medicines can sometimes conflict with each other and affect how the body responds under certain conditions (e.g stress)

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION - high levels of alcohol consumed on a regular basis can cause physical problems. Body weight can increase to unhealthy levels and the kidneys and liver can be damaged

TOBACCO CONSUMPTION - there are many diseases and disorders directly related to smoking. Such as; lung cancer, bronchitis and emphysema. Smokers have a higher risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. If a person exercises too much with these conditions, it could trigger heat failure

LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY - in general, the more exercise a person takes, the healthier they are. An individual who does little exercise is likely to get tired quicker, may have weaker bones and have problems sleeping and concentrating. In such as case, an exercise regime would have to account of the fact that the individual is not used to putting their body under physical stress.

FAMILY MEDICAL HISTORY - some medical conditions can be genetic, and therefore inherited. Genetic conditions such as heart disease need to be identified. If a family member is affected then the person undertaking the exercise programme may also be.

PREVIOUS TREATMENS - if a persn is undertaking an exercise regime, it is useful to know what treatmens they have had in the past. This can be a guide to designing the new regime, building on what previously worked and avoiding anything that did not.

WHY? - using this information can guide a physical trainer on the type and intensity of exercises that are suitable for an individual. Meaning that they can develop a safe regime that will not injure or cause harm to an individual

What is a joint?

• It is where two bones meet and work together
• The bones have to be connected in some way that allows them to move, whilst also staying in the same place relative to each other
• This requires a number of different proteins to work together

What is in a joint?

• Cartilage - a smooth layer of a stiff, inflexible protein
• Synovial fluid - a viscous fluid

Purpose of cartilage and synovial fluid?

• To reduce firction and wear and tear between bones

LIGAMENTS - an elastic, fibrous tissue, made from collagen, which join bones together and stabilise them while still allowing movement

TENDONS - a tough, fibrous tissue, made from collagen, which connect a muscle to a bone. Purpose is to transmit a pulling force between the two.

ALL IN ALL

taken together, the specific properties of each part of a joint enable it to function correctly. If there is a problem with one part, the joint will not work correctly.

EXAMPLE

• If a tendon snapped there would be no way of moviing the bone.
• If knee cartilage was damaged then moving the leg would be a painful process, rather than a smooth one, due to the friction caused.

WHAT ARE VERTEBRATES? - Animals that have an internal skeleton

WHAT ARE INVERTEBRATES? - Those that do not have an internal skeleton

WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE SKELETON?

• Movement - the skeleton enables complex movement, from standing to sitting and from walking to running. Muscles are attached to various bones that enable arms and legs to act as levers to enable those movements. These movements could not happen in organisms without an internal skeleton

• Support - the skeleton enables us to stand as well as enclosing important organs for protection. The brain is enclosed by the skull, and the ribs enclose and protect the heart and lungs.

MUSCLES can only move bones by contracting. So, two mucles working in opposiont to one another are needed to move an arm up an down, i.e one muscle contracts while the other relaxes. In other words, they work in antagonistic pairs.

EXAMPLE

• to lift the lower arm, the biceps contracts and the triceps relaxes
• to lower the arm, the triceps contracts and the biceps relaxes

BMI - BODY MASS INDEX

A healthy BMI is between 18.5 and 25

BMI FORMULA TRIANGLE

WHAT IS A PROBLEM WITH BMI?

BMI does not take into account the proportion of body fat. So, along with the BMI, a physical test should be carried out to determine the percentage  of body fat a percent has. This can be done using callipers to measure the thickness of folded skin.

IS FAT ESSENTIAL? WHY?

Yes, fat is essential for the body. If the level of fat drops to below 6% in a man and 14% in a woman, then natural body processes that rely on fat are affected.

However the amount of body fat required does depend on what the person is doing. For example, a female athelete would need 14-20% and a male athlete 6-13%.

Generally a person is regarded as obsese if their body fat is more than 25% in males, and 32% in females, altought age will alter this boundary.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

It means that the heart pumps the blood twice for each trip round the body.

Blood enters the heart on the right side and is then pumped to the lungs by the pulmonary artery.

In the lungs the blood gives up carbon dioxide and takes in oxygen, the blood slows down to do this

so when it comes back to the heart along the pulmonary vein it is at low pressure.

It comes back to the much larger left side of the heart, which then gives the blood another pump before it leaves at high pressure along the aorta.

This means that the blood can travel quickly in the aorta at 1.2 metres per second. When it reaches the capillaries it slows down to only 1.1 cm every second.

ADVANTAGES; blood is pumped quicker. allows us to get rid of waste. allows different pressures.

• TWO ATRIA - which are the smaller, less muscular upper chambers, that recieve blood coming back to the heart from the veins

• TWO VENTRICLES - which are the larger, more muscular lower chambers

• THE VENA CAVA - is a larger vein that returns blood from the body into the right atrium

• THE PULMONARY ARTERIES (one for each lung) - transport blood to the lungs, blood travels from the right ventricle to the lung. The pulmonary arteries are the only arteries to carry deoxygenated blood

• THE PULMONARY VEIN - returns blood from the lungs to the left atrium. It is the only vein that transports oxygenated blood

• THE AORTA - is the largest artery in the body, taking oxygenated blood at high pressure to the whole body from the left ventricle

• The pressure that builds up inside the atria and ventricles are very high

• Valves between each chamber and the arteries leaving the heart, prevent the back flow of blood - which would stop the circulatory system from working

• Valves are also found in veins in the rest of the body.

• Blood must only travel in one direction - if it moves back it causes the valve to close (to prevent further backflow).

EXAMPLE

If the valves in veins in legs fail, varicose veins could form. This means that blood does not move to where it should and instead drops to the next working valve, causing inflammation and clots

The heart is a muscular organ in the circulatory system that beats automatically pumoing blood around the body.

The rate at which the heart beats varies according to stress, exertion and disease.

The left side of the heart is more muscular than the right because it pumps blood around the whole body. Whereas the right side only pumps to the lungs.

RED BLOOD CELLS - Transports oxygen from the lungs to the body. They have no nucleus which means they can be packed full with haemoglobin, which binds to oxygen to form oxyhaemoglobin. Their biconcave shape provides a larger surface through which oxygen can diffuse

WHITE BLOOD CELLS - Have a nucleus and come in a variety of shapes. They defend the body against micro-organisms, some white blood cells (Neutrophils) engulf and kill micro-organisms whilst others (B cells) produce antibodies to attack the micro-organisms

PLATELETS - Tiny particles found in plasma. They are not cells and have no nucleas. When a blood vessel is damaged, they trigger and clump together to form a meshwork of fibres to create a clot and prevent blood leaving the body 

PLASMA - Is a straw coloured liquid that makes up around 55% of blood volume. It transports; Nutrients ( such as glucose and amino acids). Antibodies (which defend against infection). Hormones (such as insulin+ oestrogen). Waste (such as CO2 from respiration + urea from the liver 

Blood flows at high pressure from the heart in the artery. The blood reaches its destiantion via arterioles that branch off the arterty and into capillary beds that surround cells

WHAT HAPPENS?

The flow of blood through a capillary bed is very slow. The plasma leaves the blood and becomes tissue fluid. The fluid enables the nutrients required by the cells, (glucose for respiration, oxygen and hormones) to diffuse into the tissue cells

The tissue fluid also collects and carries away some cellular waste products, carbon dioxide and urea.

About 90% of the tissue fluid returns to the capillary bed, where it again becomes plasma.  (almost like a cycle)

It leaves the capillary bed via venules and from there goes to the veins to continue its journey through the body

WHAT IS IT? Homeostasis is the maintenance of a constant internal environment.

HOW? It is achieved by balancing bodily inputs and outputs, while removing waste products. The body has automatic control systems, which ensure that correct, levels temperature and water are maintained. To maintain a constant body temperature, the heat gained by the body, has to be balanced with the heat that is lost.

CONTROLLING BODY TEMPERATURE REQUIRES; Temperatures receptors in the skin to detect the external temperature. Temperature receptors in the brain to measure the temperature of the blood. Effectors (sweat glands+muscles) which carry out the response. The brain which acts as a processing centre to receive information from the temperature receptors and to send signals to trigger the effectors.

BODY TEMP TOO HIGH? Heat needs to be transferred to the environment. Through sweating, since evaporation from the skin releases more heat from the body. BODY TEMP TOO LOW? Shivering is the rapid contraction&relaxation of muscles. These contractions require energy from increased respiration and heat is released as a by product, warming surrounding tissue.

VASODILATION is the widening of the capillaries

VASOCONSTRICTION is the narrowing of the capillaries

In hot conditions, blood vessels in the skin dilate causing greater heat loss, (i.e more heat is lost from the surface of the skin by radiation)

In cold conditions, blood vessels in the skin constrict to reduce heat loss, (i.e less heat it lost from the surface of the skin by radiation)

WHAT IS IT NEEDED FOR?

Glucose is needed for respiration.

WHAT DO CARBOHYDRATES HAVE TO DO WITH IT?

When we eat foods containing carbohydrates, enzymes are needed to break them down into monomers (e.g the starch polymer is broken down into glucose monomers by the enzyme, amylase)

The sugar, surcose is broken down in the small intestine into glucose and fructise. Fructose travels to the liver and is metabolised, while glucose can then travel immediately in the blood, this cause an immediate increase in blood sugar level, which can cause problems for the body.

WHAT IS INSULIN?

Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas. Insulin causes cells to take in glucose from the blood. It effectively unlocks the cells so that glucose can enter

WHAT HAPPENS WITHOUT INSULIN?

Without the presence of insulin, glucose cannot pass into the cell.

Inside the liver and muscle cells, the glucose, if not immediately used in respiration, is converted into a storage carbohydrate called glycogen. Glycogen is a polymer made up of glucose monomers.

When glucose is absent, the body starts using fat as a source of energy instead. The body alters the amount of insulin produced, depending on the amoutn of glucose in the blood.

WHAT IS DIABETES? It is a condition that develops when glucose can no longer enter a cell to be used in respiration. This can be caused by a variety of reasons. There are two types of diabetes. Which are caused in different ways

TYPE 1 DIABETES

Typically develops in young individuals. It is where the insulin producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed, so the pancres can no longer produce insulin. The reason why this happens is not yet known, however, sometimes it is triggered by a virus or other infection. Treated by monitoring blood sugar levels and injecting insulin

TYPE 2 DIABETES

Known as late on-set diabetes, usually affects people over 40. Is where the body does not produce enough insulin, or the cells do not respond in the right way to insulin - as a result the cells are not unlocked to allow the glucose in. There has been an increase, due to a poor diet (high in processed foods) or obesity. Treated by controlling diet and exercising

HOW DOES IT HELP?

Following a diet in which sugar is released slowly from food is a way of preventing or controlling type 2 diabetes. This is achieved by eating foods with a low glycemic index (GI)

The glycemic index is a measure of the complexity of the carbohydrate inside the food. The more complex the carbohydrate, the lower the GI. If the carbohydrate is more complex then it will take longer to digest and break down into sugars, thereby preventing a sugar rush

LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH GI FOODS?

LOW GI FOOS: WHOLEMEAL BREAD, FRUIT AND YOGHURT

MEDIUM GI FOODS: BASMATI RICE AND TABLE SUGAR

HIGH GI FOODS: WHITE BREAD, CORNFLAKES AND POTATOES

DIETARY FIBRE

Eating foods high in fibre also helps to reduce blood sugar levels. Studies show that a high fibre diet can reduce blood sugar content by nearly 10%

THE IMPORTANCE OF EXERCISE

Exercise, along with a healthy healthy diet (high in fibre and complex carbohydrates), helps to prevent cardiovascular disease and maintain a healthy BMI. When the body exercises, fat reserves are broken down and muscle is built up. This helps to keep the BMI in the correct range.