UNAIR NEWS – Martial arts is a kind of a full body contact sport, in which musculoskeletal injury often happens. Many movements in martial arts often cause musculoskeletal injury. Martial athletes exercise programs, such as agility training, weight training for leg strength, and other exercises especially in the lower extremities can cause injuries, such as ankle sprain.
Ankle sprain may happens due to an overstretch in the lateral ligament complex of the ankle with the inversion and plantar flexion positions that suddenly happen when the legs do not rest perfectly on the floor / ground. This generally happens on uneven floor / ground surfaces.
In general terms, ankle sprain is also called twisted ankle. For this injury, RICE management can be used as the first aid. The RICE management has four actions: rest (resting the injured area), ice (compressing using ice), compression (stopping the bleeding), and elevation (elevating the injured area).
Adequate measures should be taken to minimize symptoms that occur in athletes with ankle sprain and prevent recurrent injuries. Athletes of Universitas Airlangga are in Taekwondo, Ju-Jitsu, Kempo, PSHT, Tapak Suci, Perisai Diri, Merpati Putih, Karate UKM.
Most athletes with ankle sprain injuries receive direct massage in areas of soft tissue injury. From interviews conducted to athletes UKM UNAIR, there is 43% of athletes know how to handle ankle sprain injury, but only 16% of athletes use RICE method in handling ankle sprain. 57% of the athletes do not know the correct technique of handling ankle sprain injury, and 13% of them let the injury untreated.
The knowledge of athletes in the handling of ankle sprain injury is still lacking. The phenomenon inspired five students from Faculty of Nursing Universitas Airlangga to conduct research in the Social Humanities Student Creativity Program (PKM-SH).
“The application of the RICE method for ankle sprain injuries to athletes until now is only at the stage of knowing, while there are values to be implemented and avoided to speed up the healing process and suppress the possibility of recurrent injuries. We hope this research can change the mindset and treatment given and provide appropriate solutions to related parties such as medical personnel and facilities to minimize injury, “said Moh. Baharuddin Fatih, head of PKM-SH.
Five students of FKp UNAIR, Moh. Baharuddin, Renny Mey Maghfiroh, Lisa Ardiavianti, Yenis Anggi Prastiwi, and Zaenab wrote their idea into a PKM-PSH proposal entitled “Analysis of Martial Athletes Knowledge Affecting Factor in Handling Ankle Sprain Injuries with Rice Method at Universitas Airlangga Self-Defense Club Athletes”. This proposal successfully passed Kemenristekdikti assessment in 2016 PKM.
Moh. Baharuddin explained that from the research, it was known that the factors of experience, culture, and environment can affect knowledge of martial arts athletes in handling ankle sprain. The experience includes past injury of ankle sprain experienced, how to handle and how to prevent them. The second factor is culture, which includes the habit of adopting role models (trainers and seniors) when doing prevention and treatment of ankle sprain injury and regulations applied to each UKM. Then the environment includes the availability of facilities and the condition of training and official match.
“It turns out that these three factors have a connection, especially on the experience factor. It shows that knowledge of athletes who have high experience, have good knowledge in handling injuries using RICE method, “said Baharudin.
Similarly, on the important cultural factor, any athletes’ habit will be a mindset in handling the injuries such as massage or letting the ankle sprain untreated. Environmental factor supporting the treatment for example the availability of facilities for safety. (*)
Editor: Bambang Bes.
