Therefore, it is in the medical staff's best interest to maintain the patient in a positive, reinforcing paradigm in order to create an atmosphere of positive goal-orientation so the patient may experience significantly reduced levels of anxiety during post-operative procedures as well as reduced rehabilitation time. Annotated Bibliography

N.A.. (2010). Ligament Injury Recovery. Available: http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/ligament-injury.html. Last accessed 17th Nov 2010.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, the University of Houston and NASA severed the medically collateral ligaments in the knees of lab rates. Three to seven weeks after the incision mechanical and morphological properties were measured in ligaments, bones and muscles. Ligament testing revealed that there were significant reductions in maximal force, stress tolerance and elastic property in the ligaments. The researchers concluded that "stress level from ambulation" are necessary to form structurally competent, continuous, collagen fibers in ligaments which are engaged in healing following an injury. The final conclusion was that leg unloading following an injury impaired the healing of connective tissue. Judicious weight bearing activity appears to be beneficial for ever fairly traumatic injuries to ligaments such exercise stimulates a process by which the collagen in ligaments forms structurally competent fibers.

Atkinson, K (2005). Physiotherapy in orthopedics: a problem-solving approach. New York: Elseiver Health Sciences. 7-311.

This book covers a variety of topics including changes in the musculoskeletal system, decision making and clinical reasoning, management of fractures, soft tissue repair, Rheumatic conditions, total joint replacement, bone diseases, gait assessment and hydrotherapy in orthopedics. The others attempt to explain the basic premises concepts and principles of Orthopedics. Good knowledge of the principles of Orthopedics is essential to fundamental practice. This work seeks to draw on the years of experience of clinical work in various orthopedic settings and of teaching of both the undergraduate and graduate levels of each of these surgeons. The authors express the view that Orthopedics should learn to examine the patient in front of them and make a decision based on that information. Also these orthopedics assert that a variety of injuries may exist; however the symptoms are the same. Finally this work attempts to explain the process of treating more complex orthopedic injuries.

Wiese-Bjornstal, D.M.. (2004). Psychological responses to injury and illness. In G.S. Kolt and M.B. Anderson Psychology in the Physical and Manual Therapies . London: Livingston Publishing. 34-56.

This comprehensive text addresses a number of important issues. It features extensive coverage of psychological principles as they relate to illness, injury, and rehabilitation. It covers key concepts relevant to psychological care in physical therapies, with special focus on approaches to client care. This unique text also includes material on specific client populations. This chapter describes the philosophical influences in professional perceptions of health and illness. Furthermore this chapter identifies the role played by personal health beliefs on an individual's perception of illness and injury. Also, this chapter identifies the various coping styles that may be adopted by those recovering from illness and injury...

Additionally this chapter describes the process of psychological adaptation following illness and injury. The essential components of effective psychological are also identified. The main concept of this chapter is that there is not one and only one response to the experience of illness, injury or recovery. To this end, this chapter dictates that the responses and process of treating illness cannot be readily ascertained or predicted. Therefore, it is imperative to determine and analyze the various types of emotional, behavioral, psychological and interpersonal ramifications each patient is going through with regard to their various injury. According to this chapter, these concepts could play a pivotal role in determining the appropriate level of treatment.
Dick, R. (2007). Descriptive Epidemiology of Collegiate Men's Football Injuries: National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System, 1988 -- 1989 Through 2003 -- 2004. J Athl Train. 42 (2), 221-233

The purpose of this article was to review 16 years of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) injury surveillance data for men's football and identify potential areas for injury prevention initiatives. Football is a high-velocity collision sport in which injuries are expected. Football tends to have one of the highest injury rates in sports. Epidemiological data helps certified athletic trainers and other clinicians identify injury trends and patterns to appropriately design and institute injury prevention protocols and then measure their effects. During the 16-year reporting period, about 19% of the Division I, II, and III NCAA institutions sponsoring football participated in the Injury Surveillance System. The results from the 16-year study period show little variation in the injury rates over time: games averaged 36 injuries per 1000 athlete-exposures (a-Es); fall practice, approximately 4 injuries per 1000 a-Es; and spring practice, about 10 injuries per 1000 a-Es. The game injury rate was more than 9 times higher than the in-season practice injury rate (35.90 versus 3.80 injuries per 1000 a-Es, rate ratio = 9.1, 95% confidence interval = 9.0, 9.2), and the spring practice injury rate was more than 2 times higher than the fall practice injury rate (9.62 versus 3.80 injuries per 1000 a-Es, rate ratio = 2.5, 95% confidence interval = 2.5, 2.6). The rate ratio for games vs. fall practices was greatest for upper leg contusions (18.1 per 1000 a-Es), acromioclavicular joint sprains (14.0 per 1000 a-Es), knee internal derangements (13.4 per 1000 a-Es), ankle ligament sprains (12.0 per 1000 a-Es), and concussions (11.1 per 1000 a-Es).

Van Rijn, R. (2007). Supervised exercises for adults with acute lateral ankle sprain: a randomized controlled trial. Br J. Gen Pract.. 57 (543), 793-800

Ankle sprains are one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries. In the Netherlands an estimated 600-000 people sustain ankle injuries each year. Roughly half of these people visit GPs or, on their own initiative, emergency departments. In Dutch general practice there is an incidence of 12.8 ankle injuries per 1000 patients per year. Experimental studies of ligaments healing indicate that gradually-increasing and functional load exercises stimulate healing and increase the strength of ligaments after injury. While injury to the ligaments may result in decreased mechanical stability of the ankle, neuromuscular deficits are also likely…