The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 75

mi.nr th ltlilNH in it mini tnwimmummmMUHHMHiiiiimmimiit mnmnmi iMMWailllllllllWUMUIMI S3 She Sim-ffiffiilp CTi I com (Ci hi 1 I water. fyMj ACHILLES TENDON FLExmiLmnN Xsm 3 Fgu1SpE arch support nmSAR. Jl PREVENTION Do drink two to four 100ml glasses of water before the game, and if you're competing for over half an hour, drink more fluid. Don't drink sugared or salted drinks pure cold water is best and is absorbed quickly. Do slow stretching exercises as part of your normal warm up with the coach before and after the game in sets of five or 10 for 15 seconds each.

Don't bounce when you're stretching. Do wear the right shoes and clothes and use the correct equipment. Buy the best shoes cheap supermarket brands with plastic soles can lead to trouble. Look for arch support, the heel higher than the sole, flexibility in the mid foot, a firm toe guard and heel cup, well padded tongue and achilles tendon (see diagram). Wear mouth guards for all contact sports.

Make sure the guard fits correctly ask your dentist. Wear loose fitting, light-coloured cotton clothing to allow good heat loss. Wear a warm track suit after games on cool days. Use equipment designed lor children and nuke sure knee or leg pads, catching gloves etc fit properly. Don't overload yourself that's when you can get injured.

Overuse injuries, manifested often as pain the back, knee or arm, should be referred early for medical opinion by parent or coach. If using weights to train: Do make sure to use light weights to improve flexibility and muscle response and allow 48 hours between each training session. Don't use heavy weights to try and improve bulk. Do get injuries checked by a sports doctor early pain is a warning sign which should be heeded. MUSCLE INJURIES SYMPTOMS: For muscle and ligament tears, corks and bruises a tearing sensation in the muscle, tenderness when the area is stretched, bruising, swelling and pain.

Rest in the first 48 hours, particularly the injured part. Apply ice to the muscle for 20 minutes every 4 hours. Use a bag of frozen peas or an ice pack through a towel. Compress the area with a wide firm bandage. Elevate the injured part.

Have the injury diagnosed. Don't ignore pain it's a reliable warning signal. Don't massage exercise the muscle take a spa, sauna or hot shower CUTS SYMPTOMS: Should be clear. Clean with antispetic solution Keep clean to stop infection, cover with gauze bandage to allow to breathe and change bandage regularly Deep or long cuts should be referred to a doctor or hospital for stitching. Remember deeper cuts may cut nerves, tendons or blood vessels and contain foreign material check with doctor or hospital if in doubt.

1 BREAKS fractures) By MAEVE O'MEARA Children should be especially careful when playing sport, according to. the Australian Sports Medicine Federation. Because they are growing, their actual age in years may be very different to their body age, leading to injuries if matched vomiting, increasing headaches and visual disturbances. Symptoms can come on immediately or up to three weeks later due to the brain swelling or blood collecting there. The suspected concussion victim should never be left alone and must be observed constantly for changes.

If there is any doubt, go to hospital for observation. Rest Miss training the following week and the next game. EYE INJURIES SYMPTOMS: Pain, a gritty feeling or visual disturbances such as blurred or double vision. Even if sight is apparently normal, eye injuries can be very serious and should be seen by a doctor and often an eye specialist. After a blow to the eye blindness may occur later from a detached retina or bleeding inside the eye.

EAR INJURIES SYMPTOMS: Knocks can often result in ruptured ear drums. Warning signals are ringing in the ears and difficulty in hearing. See your doctor if symptoms occur. SYMPTOMS: Tenderness, marked swelling, bruising, a feeling that the bone is moving on itself and pain, particularly with movement. Immobilise and splint the injured limb (try a rolled up newspaper) to minimise the swelling and pain and lessen the risk of damage to nerves, muscles and blood vessels.

Apply ice through a wet towel if the skin is not broken to relieve pain and lessen swelling. Observe the colour and warmth of the hand or foot if the break is in the arm or leg. Check pulse. Definitely no food, drink or painkillers until seen by a doctor an operation may be necessary. Take to hospital.

against larger, stronger players of the same age. dehydrate more quickly. Tbey have less reserves of energy, oxygea-carrying Children's muscles are tighter than those of adults because of accelerated bone growth and can tear more easily. And fractures, which are common, often damage children's important growth plates in knees, heels, elbows, wrists, etc. Bones are softer and tend to bend rather than break, though breaks are quite common.

Children suffer front heat stress and capacity ana muscular strength. The Federation stresses that appropriately trained people be in attendance when children are playing sport. The Federation runs a national sports trainers course, sponsored nationally by Beirsdorf, to train parents and coaches in sports first aid. CONCUSSION SYMPTOMS: A "fuzzy" feeling, disorientation, change of mood, loss of consciousness, nausea. OH UlUllltUuiUIUltHUllUulWUUuuiaMumiiiUltiHWIilllUUhuiutlllliMiliulUlinuiii Two Sydney women who took up sailing only seven months ago for recreation will be in the NSW team for the Australian women's titles in Perth next Friday.

Dr Inge Saarepere and Mary- got together only a year earlier. Anne Barlas. an occupation sorship to cover the minimum $3,000 to compete there and in the world titles in Scotland. Cowra Amateur Athletic Club must be the only athletic organisation not overjoyed with 1984 being an Olympic year. The club relies on their annual carnival to raise money for equipment, charging a modest 50 cents to $2 entry fees for events and depending upon the big name visiting competitors to boost attendances.

This year most of the big names won't be competing on Sunday, April 22, due to Olympic commitments or because they can't risk injury on country track. Despondent organisers were hoping that the introduction of a 10km fun run with a $100 trophy for first male and first female would lure others to the carnival, but hadnt counted on similar events being held at Griffith on Saturday and Parkes on Monday. overall women's title at the nationals last January. Melanie leaves for Italy on Saturday to defend the World teamsailing title she won last year with two other Sydney sailboarders, Greg Butchart, 20, of Seaforth, and Stuart Gilbert, 21, of Hunters Hill. The year before, the same trio came second in the teams event in France.

It will be a busy year for Melanie, who is sitting for her HSC at Queenwood Girls School, Mosman. She has managed to schedule a quick trip to Adelaide to qualify for the Los Angeles event, a 10-day visit to Italy, her trial HSC in July, Los Angeles in August, the HSC in October and the Windsurfer World onships in Perth after Christmas. Sarah, a Law student at Sydney University who has to cope with a heavy year of study, is not going to Perth for monetary reasons. She lacked spon specifically to encourage and teach more women to sail and not just the Since then 500 women and girls and 20 men have been through the school. NSW will not be represented in the sailboard event at the women's sailing championships.

Of our two top sailboarders, Melanie Braund, of Mosman, the defending champion, is not free to contest her title and Sarah Kenny, of Northbridge, has withdrawn due to lack of sponsorship. Both girls have been selected to represent Australia at the windsurfing demonstration events during the Los Angeles Olympics, and every time they meet there is a battle royal. Melanie, 17, the more experienced, beat Sarah, 19, for the therapist, joined the Middle Harbour Yacht Club Sailing Birds school to learn sailing last September and have become so keen on their new-found sport they have entered, albeit nervously, in the inaugural Mirror dinghy races at the championships. These have been included to give competitive experience to crews not seeking selection for the World Women's Championships in Scotland next September. Saarepere and Barlas may be.

lacking competitive experience, but they are receiving plenty of encouragement from clubmates, as it was the Sailing Birds who organised the first Australian Championships in 1978 so that our women could compete in the world titles. The Sailing Birds themselves 77 THB SUN-HERALD, APRIL IS, 1984 7f.