[Latest] Physiology And Injuries in Sports | Chapter 7 Notes 2025

Last updated on February 4th, 2025 at 09:46 pm

Physiology And Sports

Physiology and sports are about improving performance by knowing how our body works during exercise. By using scientific principles we can train our bodies in a better and effective way.

Our body has a complex function of various body systems. We need proper functioning of various systems, which makes us more efficient.

Physiology deals with the function of the body system and its effects. Through regular exercise, the physiological function of the body system can be improved and thus body efficiency increases a lot.

physiology and sports

Physiological Changes Determining Components of Fitness

Physiological Factors Determining Strength

Strength is the ability to overcome resistance.

  • Muscle Covering: The sarcolemma covering increases the muscle cross-sectional area and helps in the strength component
  • Size of the muscle: Every muscle is of different size. Long muscles have more potential to generate strength as compared to small muscles.
  • Muscular contraction: Concentric and Eccentric muscular contraction regulate our muscular action in a controlled manner
  • Neuromuscular response: Impulses produced by Nervous System controls muscle contraction.
  • White muscle fibers: White muscle fibers have more connective tissues and they bring fast and strong contraction
  • Age: Strength of muscles is maximum in age between 20- 40 years
  • Gender: Males have more strength as compared to females.

Physiological Factors Determining Endurance

Endurance is the ability to resist fatigue

  • Maximum Oxygen Intake ( VO2 Max ): More amount of oxygen taken up and utilized during exercise will improve endurance capacity
  • Pulmonary Diffusion: It is the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and the blood. More and faster this diffusion improves endurance
  • Cardiac Output: Ability of the heart to pump out in one minute. More output helps to circulate blood to working tissues, thus endurance is enhanced
  • Lactic acid tolerance: More lactic acid tolerance delays fatigue and tiredness, which improves endurance
  • Energy reserve: The endurance capacity depends upon the muscle glycogen and sugar level. More energy reserve enhances endurance capacity
  • Red muscle fiber: The red muscle fiber ( slow twitch muscle fiber) can carry more oxygen, thus helping Aerobic endurance.

Physiological Factors Determining Speed

Speed is the ability to do work at a faster rate

  • Fast twitch muscle fiber: The greater the percentage of fast twitch fiber faster the speed
  • Neuromuscular response: The higher and faster the neuromuscular response, the faster and stronger the muscular contraction, which increases the speed
  • Flexibility: The higher the range of movement determines the higher speed.
  • ATP energy store: The more ATP ( Phosphagen) stored, the faster the energy release, which helps to improve the speed

Physiological Factors Determining Flexibility

Flexibility is the ability of joints to move in the maximum range.

  • Joint structure: The Joint is attached to various muscles, ligaments, cartilages, and tendons, which makes the joint strong and flexible.
  • Ligament Elasticity: The ligament connects two bones.  More the elasticity of the ligament, the greater the flexibility of the joints
  • Age and gender: Flexibility decreases as the age progresses. Females are more flexible than males.
  • Diseases: Many types of diseases and injuries affect flexibility. 

Effect of exercises on various systems

Exercises are an integral part of our life. It increases various demands on our body, as a result, our body starts compensating demand by increasing muscle tissues and neural connections.

Exercises Physiology optimizes our body’s cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, muscular, and endocrine systems.

Effect On Cardiovascular System

  • Increase the size of the heart: With regular exercises enlargement of the heart takes place, as a result, stroke volume increases.
  • Increase Cardiac Output: Exercises increase the Cardiac output which increases the blood flow. More blood is pumped out
  • Resting Pulse Rate Decrease: Regular exercises decrease the resting Pulse Rate, and as a result heart gets more resting time
  • Increase in hemoglobin: Exercises increase hemoglobin content in blood, which can carry more oxygen
  • Decrease Blood Pressure: Regular exercises decrease blood pressure by up to 10mm Hg at rest
  • Faster healing: The increased blood circulation makes healing faster
  • Reduction in Cholesterol: Exercises reduce cholesterol levels in the blood which reduces heart attack risk
  • New Capillaries are formed: Regular exercises develop new Capillaries. This brings more blood to working tissues.
  • Return to normal pulse quickly: The pulse returns to normal quickly 

Effect on Respiratory System

  • Increase in tidal volume: With regular exercises tidal volume and vital capacity of the lung increase, by which more oxygen reaches working tissues.
  • Increase in Aerobic Endurance: With regular exercise less amount of lactic acid is produced which results from delayed fatigue
  • Decrease in rate of respiration: Regular exercises decrease respiration during rest
  • Improves Metabolic System: Exercises increase metabolic reaction for energy production with less consumption of oxygen.
  • Respiratory muscles become strong: The respiratory muscles become strong to work for a longer duration
  • Resistance power increases: Regular exercise improves our immune system, thus common health problems like colds, coughs, Asthma, etc can be prevented
  • Increase in Residual Air Volume: Residual Air is the amount of air left in the lungs after exhalation. Exercises increase Residual Air capacity.
  • Increase the number of Alveoli: Exercises increase the number of Alveoli and activate unused alveolus 

Effect on the Muscular System

  • Change in shape and size of muscle: Regular exercises change the shape and size of muscle, thus improving muscular capacity.
  • Faster recovery from injury: Trained muscle can recover from injury fast
  • Formation of more Capillaries: Exercises increase the number of Capillaries, which helps faster blood circulation
  • Delays fatigue: Regular exercises increase the ability of muscles to tolerate more lactic acid for a longer duration, which delays muscle tiredness.
  • Faster response: In trained muscle, the stimulus travels faster, thus muscle actions and responses are faster.
  • Efficient use of diet: Trained muscles can efficiently use all nutrients
  • Desired strength development: Systematic and scientific training can develop the desired strength and endurance
  • Better Neuromuscular Coordination: Regular exercises improve the neuromuscular coordination by which various skills can be performed efficiently
  • Increase in Aerobic and anaerobic endurance: Trained muscles have more Aerobic endurance, therefore, the capacity of muscles increases to work for a longer duration without fatigue

Physiological Changes Due to Aging

As we age, our bodies undergo several physiological changes that are a natural part of the aging process. These changes affect various systems and functions, leading to differences in how we feel and function as we get older. Here are some common physiological changes due to aging:

Cardiovascular system: The heart may pump less efficiently, and blood vessels can become less flexible, leading to decreased blood flow and potential increases in blood pressure.

Musculoskeletal system: Muscle mass and strength tend to decrease, while joints may become stiffer and less flexible, making movement more challenging.

Respiratory system: Lung capacity might decrease, leading to reduced overall lung function and possible shortness of breath during physical activities.

Nervous system: Nerve cells may decline in number, impacting cognitive functions such as memory and processing speed.

Digestive system: The digestive process might slow down, leading to potential issues with nutrient absorption and digestion.

Sensory systems: Vision and hearing can be affected, leading to changes in eyesight and difficulty hearing high-frequency sounds.

Immune system: The immune response might weaken over time, making older adults more susceptible to infections and illnesses.

Endocrine system: Hormone production and regulation can change, affecting various bodily functions and metabolism.

Skin: The skin becomes thinner and less elastic, leading to wrinkles, dryness, and an increased risk of skin injuries.

Sleep: Sleep patterns can change, with older adults experiencing more frequent awakenings during the night.

It’s important to note that while these changes are normal, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, a balanced diet, and staying mentally and socially active, can help mitigate some of the effects of aging and promote overall well-being.

Sports Injuries

physiology and sports

In sports, injuries are common and they can occur to anyone and at any time. Injury causes damage to any internal and external parts, which affects the health of individuals. It can be classified as:

Soft Tissue Injuries: Skin injuries and muscle injuries

Hard Tissue Injuries: Fracture and dislocation

Soft Tissue Injuries

Contusion

It happens due to a direct hit by any solid thing. In contusion, blood vessels in the muscle are broken and sometimes bleeding may occur. 

Stiffness and swelling are common features at the site of contusion 

Abrasion

Abrasion occurs due to friction or fall over the area where the bone is very close to the skin. 

When someone falls on the ground, layers of skin rub off due to friction. It generally occurs on a rough surface.

Bruises

Bruises are not seen because the upper skin remains unaffected, but inner tissues are damaged. Beneath the skin, blood collects near the surface skin. 

Bruises appear reddish at the beginning and turn blue after a few hours

Strain

Strain is a muscle injury which can be mild as well as severe. It is a tearing of a muscle or a tissue connecting muscle to bone (tendon).

It occurs usually due to fatigue, overuse, or improper use of a muscle. Strains can happen in any muscle, sometimes complete muscle gets raptured.

Chronic strains are usually caused by moving the muscles and tendons in repetitions.

Sprain

It is a ligament injury. It occurs due to overstretched or tearing of the ligament. Falling on the ground, twisting, or getting hit can force a point out of its normal position. 

In this injury swelling, inflammation, and severe pain are common symptoms. Generally, a sprain occurs at the wrist and ankle joints.

First Aid and Management of Soft Tissue Injuries

Fitness

The treatment referred to as PRICER

P = Protection, R = Rest, I = Ice, C= Compression,

E = Elevation, R= Rehabilitation

Rest: Completely restrict the movement

Compression: A crepe bandage should be applied to reduce swelling and reduce mobility of the injured part

Elevation: Elevate the affected part above the level of the heart

Rehabilitation: Perform some exercise to regain strength

Hard Tissue Injuries

( Bones and joint injuries)

Dislocation

It is a joint injury. In this injury, the ends of bones are forced out from the normal position. This type of injury is very painful, it temporarily deforms and immobilizes your joints. Dislocation is most common in the shoulders and fingers.

A dislocation occurs in contact sports or sports which involves falls like gymnastics, wrestling, football, etc.

  • Dislocation of the Shoulder joint: Dislocation of the Shoulder joint may occur due to a sudden jerk or fall on a hard surface. The end of the numerous comes out from the socket.
  • Dislocation of Wrist: A miscalculated landing can cause a dislocated wrist, especially when a person uses his hand to stop his fall.

Fracture

A fracture is a complete, partial break or cracks in a bone. There are many types of fractures that occur

  • Simple Fracture: In this Fracture, bone is broken in one place without any wound
  • Compound fractures: In this Fracture skin and muscles are also damaged along with fractures
  • Complicated Fracture: In this Fracture, a bone is broken and damages the internal organs.
  • Greenstick Fractures: This kind of fracture occurs when a bone bends and cracks. These fractures are generally seen in children because their bones are very soft and delicate. Whenever there is any stress on the bone, it is bent.
  • Comminuted Fracture: When any bone is broken into three or more pieces.

First Aid

First aid is the first help that is given to the wounded or accidental victim before taking him to the hospital. It is temporary and immediate care given to a victim of an accident or sudden illness.

Objectives of First Aid

To preserve life: Every possible effort is made to save the life of a wounded person with the help of First Aid.

To Alleviate pain: The major objective is to reduce unbear pain

To prevent the condition from worsening: It provides to prevent the condition from worsening before he gets the help of a doctor

To promote recovery: It is given to start the process of recovery as early as possible

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