Contact sports

Injuries to the hand and wrist are common in contact sports, such as football, hockey and basketball. Any sport where player to player contact occurs legally or illegally is classed as a contact sport. In the area of hand and wrist injury, sports involving uncontrolled contact of the player with a ball or equipment can also be regarded as 'contact' because of the injury patterns seen.

The role of an individual within a team contact sport will also affect their likely injury patterns. For example, goalkeepers are at risk of different injuries to outfield players in football. Thought must be given to the exact injury mechanism and action of the player at the time of injury, in order to accurately diagnose the problem.

Generally speaking, contact sports injuries differ from collision sports injuries because the impact forces are usually significantly lower. In spite of that, fractures of the fingers, hand and scaphoid occur regularly.

For certain positions, such as goalkeepers, preventative strapping and taping techniques can be taught to reduce the incidence of finger injuries. These techniques should be used regularly - during both training and playing - to reduce injury risk.

As Club Surgeon for Leeds United, and Adviser to a number of different Premiership, Championship and League One clubs, Mr Campbell has built up an experience of early assessment and management for specific injuries in specific players, as well as supporting their rehabilitation programmes to ensure an early return to match fitness.