Year
2024Credit points
5Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitPrerequisites
Nil
Incompatible
EXSC651 Sports Injury Prevention , EXSC669 Exercise Rehabilitation for Return to Sports Performance
Teaching organisation
This unit consists of 75 hours of focused learning.
Unit rationale, description and aim
The ability to develop evidence-based, best practice, strategies to prevent sporting injury and return athletes to sport performance following injury, is essential in high performance sport. This requires understanding and interpreting injury epidemiology research as well as detailed knowledge of the aetiology, mechanisms, risk factors and prevention strategies of injuries. This unit will develop knowledge and critical thinking pertinent to the prevention of tendinopathy, as well as integrating the use of current research, developed critical thinking, and the interpretation of that research to inform evidence-based practice in exercise rehabilitation program development. This unit makes use of mechanical analysis concepts to performance testing will guide exercise prescription and return to sport. Further the unit provides students with consideration of the impact of the human-surface environmental interface, and psychological readiness in the return to performance process. The aim of this unit is to develop students understanding of tendinopathy, to improve their ability to critically analyse the literature, and to advance their ability to deliver evidence-based programs for the prevention of injury and for safe and effective return to sport performance following injury.
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.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description |
|---|---|
| LO1 | Demonstrate the development of specialist knowledge of evidence-based practices in tendinopathy prevention and return to sport exercise rehabilitation programs relevant to the multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary environment of high-performance sport. |
| LO2 | Plan and present individualised, safe and effective exercise interventions for athletes, directed at prevention, rehabilitation and return to sport performance following tendinopathy. |
Content
Topics will include:
• Understanding sports epidemiology research and an approach to the critical appraisal of the evidence base.
• Aetiology, mechanisms, risk factors and preventative strategies for tendinopathy.
• Key principles of exercise prescription for sports injury rehabilitation and return to sports performance.
• Exercise rehabilitation and return to sports performance strategies for tendinopathy.
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Learning and teaching strategies include active learning, case-based learning, cooperative learning, and reflective/critical thinking activities. Comprehension will be supported through information from applied sports injury prevention experts with experience in high performance environments. These strategies will provide students with access to required knowledge and understanding of content, and opportunities for development and application of knowledge and understanding of prevention and exercise rehabilitation for return to sports performance. These strategies will allow students to meet the aims, learning outcomes and graduate attributes of this learning package. 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 demonstrate unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes, standards-based assessment is utilised, consistent with University
assessment requirements. A two-part assessment that offers an authentic learning opportunity that will be transferable to a work situation is used. This includes appraising
and applying literature and creating a tendinopathy prevention program, along with the development of an individualised exercise rehabilitation program based on a
case study. The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for you to demonstrate your achievement of each learning outcome.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Case Study Scenario - (Part A) Enables students to independently research tendinopathy as well as assimilate expert knowledge and key research presented to them throughout semester in order to develop an evidence-based exercise rehabilitation program | 50% | LO1, LO2 |
Case Study Scenario - (Part B) Enables students to independently research tendinopathy as well as assimilate expert knowledge and key research presented to them throughout semester in order to develop an evidence-based prevention strategy | 50% | LO1, LO2 |
Representative texts and references
Cook JL, Purdam CR. Is tendon pathology a continuum? A pathology model to explain the clinical presentation of load-induced tendinopathy. Br J Sports Med. 2009 Jun;43(6):409-16.
Rio E, Kidgell D, Purdam C, Gaida J, Moseley GL, Pearce AJ & Cook J. (2015) Isometric exercise induces analgesia and reduces inhibition in patellar tendinopathy. Br J Sports Med 49:1277-1283.
Murphy, M. C., Travers, M. J., Chivers, P., Debenham, J. R., Docking, S. I., Rio, E. K., & Gibson, W. (2019). Efficacy of heavy eccentric calf training for treating mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British journal of sports medicine, 53(17), 1070-1077.
Malliaras, P., Cook, J., Purdam, C., & Rio, E. (2015). Patellar tendinopathy: clinical diagnosis, load management, and advice for challenging case presentations. journal of orthopaedic & sports physical therapy, 45(11), 887-898.
Silbernagel KG, Hanlon S, Sprague A. Current Clinical Concepts: Conservative Management of Achilles Tendinopathy. J Athl Train. 2020 May;55(5):438-447. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-356-19.
Baxter JR, Corrigan P, Hullfish TJ, O'Rourke P, Silbernagel KG. Exercise Progression to Incrementally Load the Achilles Tendon. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2021 Jan;53(1):124-130.
Breda SJ, Oei EHG, Zwerver J, Visser E, Waarsing E, Krestin GP, de Vos RJ. Effectiveness of progressive tendon-loading exercise therapy in patients with patellar tendinopathy: a randomised clinical trial. Br J Sports Med. 2021 May;55(9):501-509.