Cold-Related Injuries
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Original Editor - Puja Gaikwad
Top Contributors - Puja Gaikwad, Kim Jackson, Reem Ramadan, Vidya Acharya and Wanda van Niekerk
Introduction[edit | edit source]
Cold injuries are a result of exposure to cold environments during physical activity. Many athletes participate in fitness pursuits and physical activity year-round in environments with cold, wet, or windy conditions or a combination of these, thereby putting themselves in danger of cold-related injuries. Cold exposure can be uncomfortable, can impair performance and can be life-threatening.[1] Cold injuries and illnesses usually affect military personnel, traditional winter-sport athletes, and outdoor-sport athletes, like those involved in running, cycling, mountaineering, and swimming etc.[2][3] Traditional team sports like football, baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, and track and field have seasons that stretch into late fall or early winter or begin in early spring when weather conditions may rise vulnerability to cold injuries.[4]
The NATA position statement states that the occurrence of these injuries depends on Low air or water temperatures (or both) and The influence of wind on the body's ability to take care of a normothermic core temperature, due to localized exposure of the extremities to cold air or surfaces.[5]
Alpine Environments[edit | edit source]
Cold conditions are often expected in alpine environments. Furthermore, open exposed areas, like mountain peaks, mean that windy conditions are also commonplace in these environments and may contribute significantly to cold temperatures (also referred to as the 'wind chill factor').[6] The collective effect of those conditions is heat loss, which places extra demands on the body. For instance, a decrease in core body temperature of just 1°C causes the muscles to shiver, which in turn can lead to low blood glucose levels (hypoglycaemia) and thereby reduced sporting performance.[4]
Types[edit | edit source]
Cold injuries are classified into 3 categories:
- Decreased core temperature (hypothermia)
- Freezing-tissue injuries of the extremities
- Non-freezing injuries of the extremities[1]
Hypothermia[edit | edit source]
Sub Heading 3[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
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References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Long III WB, Edlich R, Winters KL, Britt LD. Cold injuries. Journal of long-term effects of medical implants. 2005;15(1).
- ↑ Candler WH, Ivey H. Cold weather injuries among US soldiers in Alaska: a five-year review. Military medicine. 1997 Dec 1;162(12):788-91.
- ↑ Castellani JW. Running in Cold Weather: Exercise Performance and Cold Injury Risk. Strength & Conditioning Journal. 2020 Feb 1;42(1):83-9.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nagpal BM, Sharma R. Cold injuries: The chill within. Medical Journal, Armed Forces India. 2004 Apr;60(2):165.
- ↑ Cappaert TA, Stone JA, Castellani JW, Krause BA, Smith D, Stephens BA. National Athletic Trainers' Association position statement: environmental cold injuries. Journal of Athletic Training. 2008 Nov;43(6):640-58.
- ↑ Osczevski R, Bluestein M. The new wind chill equivalent temperature chart. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 2005 Oct;86(10):1453-8.
- ↑ Ulrich AS, Rathlev NK. Hypothermia and localized cold injuries. Emergency Medicine Clinics. 2004 May 1;22(2):281-98.
