EXSC515 - Exercise Prescription for Sports Injury Management Across the Lifespan

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Unit rationale, description and aim

With increased participation in sport across the lifespan there is an increased need for rehabilitation programs to support individuals to recover from injuries sustained during this activity. The purpose of this unit is to support the specific populations (ie children, adolescents, adults, older adults, postnatal women, etc) and those individuals who present with changes in performance during sport participation due to injury or pre-existing conditions. In this unit you apply principles of sport performance under adversative environments and conditions. You will develop specialised skills in specific populations, as well as interpret the link between decline in physiology and sport performance. Finally, this unit integrates the use of current research, critical thinking and the interpretation of that research to inform evidence based practice. The aim of this unit is to apply specialist concepts of strength and conditioning to develop safe and effective rehabilitation programs, exercise prescriptions and interventions to allow a person to return to pre-injury performance levels..

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Critically analyse current evidence and demonstrate specialist knowledge of exercise prescription that may impact sport performance and participation in physical activity and sport across the lifespan (GA8, GA10) 

LO2 - Demonstrate specialized skills in testing, exercise prescription with respect to the individual to improve performance for specific populations (GA1, GA5, GA7)

LO3 - Apply sound theoretical knowledge and skill for the development of individualised exercise prescription through the use of advanced strength and conditioning concepts (GA3, GA4, GA6)

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity 

GA3 - apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.

Content

Topics will include: 

• Return to sport performance in the young and adolescent sport participant 
• Growth and development and its impact on movement 
• Monitoring maturation and growth in the competitive youth or adolescent 
• Return to sport performance in the adult sport participant 
• Return to sport performance in the older adult 
• Aged-related physiological change 
• Return to sport performance in those with pre-existing conditions 
• Return to sport following pregnancy 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Learning and teaching strategies include active learning, case-based learning, cooperative learning, web-based learning, and reflective/critical thinking activities, delivered across 12 weeks. These strategies will provide students with access to required knowledge and understanding of unit content, and opportunities for application of knowledge and understanding for monitoring training load and fatigue. These strategies will allow students to meet the aim, learning outcomes and graduate attributes of the unit. Learning and teaching strategies will reflect respect for the individual as an independent learner. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and to participate actively in the online environment. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to best enable students to achieve unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes, standards-based assessment is utilised, consistent with University assessment requirements. A range of assessment strategies are used including: a written assignment to assess student learning of unit content and an oral presentation to assess student understanding and application of unit content.  

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Colberg, S.R. (2009). Diabetic Athlete’s Handbook. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics 

Lawless, C.E. (2011). Sports Cardiology Essentials. New York: Springer. 

Nagi, D., (2006). Exercise and Sport In Diabetes. (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NK: Wiley 

Thompson, P.D. & Fernandez, A.B. (2017). Exercise and Sports Cardiology (3 volumes). Singapore: World Scientific Publishing.