Fencing

Fencing
Sports Injuries: Mechanisms, Prevention, Treatment

Visit & Buy from: http://www.drugswell.com/wow/index.php

23
FENCING
JULIE M. KNOWLES
REBECCA JAFFE
MARLENE ADRIAN

Rules of Play
Epidemiology
?
Acute Injuries
?
Overuse Injuries
Mechanisms of Injury
?
Fencing Environment
?
The Fencer
?
Techniques
Training, Conditioning, and Rehabilitation
?
General Concepts
?
Sport-Specific Training Techniques
?
Mental Training
?
Rehabilitation
Sport-Specific Treatment Concerns
?
Evaluation and Treatment of Emergencies
?
Special Supplies
?
Rules Influencing Medical Care
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Appendix A. USFA Fencing Treatment Form
Appendix B. USFA Injury Initial Evaluation Form
Appendix C. Fencingspecific Training Chart
Appendix D. Personnel Responsibilities for Medical Coverage
Appendix E. USFA Injury Waiver and Drug Testing Form
Chapter References

Fencing is a sport of European ancestry with origins in weapons of war and dueling. The latter could be thought of as a combination of war and sport, because the duelists did not fight to the death but only to save their honor. A cut across the cheek was a common trademark of dueling with the sword as late as the 20th century. Today, the sport involves blunted weapons and a linear fencing area in which two people attempt to score touch?s (contacts of the weapon to the body) on each other (Fig. 23.1). It is a sport of intense physical and mental activity, and the two opponents are within 6 feet (2 m) of each other most of the time.

FIGURE 23.1. Fencing is a sport in which two people attempt to score touch?s on one another by using blunted weapons on linear fencing area.

The U.S. competitions and rules are governed by the United States Fencing Association (USFA); fencing's National Governing Body, which is recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee; and the International Fencing Federation, or Federation Internationale d'Escrime (FIE). The USFA was founded as the Amateur Fencers League of America in 1891. The technical rules established by the FIE are, in most cases, the same rules adopted by the USFA and therefore are the rules used to govern fencing in the United States. These rules address such issues as equipment and technique, safety, injury timeouts, and drug testing.
The USFA also is the official body that chooses the national teams to represent the United States in international competitions, including world championships. Point-awarding competitions (North American circuit and national junior and senior championships) are offered for the purpose of selecting these teams. International competitions include world cups, world championships (junior and senior), the Pan American Games, the World University Games, and the Olympic Games.
Three weapons are used in fencing: the ?p?e, the foil, and the sabre (Fig. 23.2). Each weapon has its own design and rules of play. All three weapons are fenced by men in international contests, but only the foil and ?p?e are fenced by women in the Olympic Games, but all three weapons have World Cup events. National, sectional, and divisional USFA-sanctioned competitions are offered in all three weapons to both men and women. There are children's events (under 14 years and under 17 years), junior events (under 20 years), open events, and senior events (40 years and older). University and high school leagues also exist and are governed by the appropriate athletic governing bodies. In the schools, female competitions have been limited to the foil. There have been, however, instances when women have fenced on the male ?p?e and sabre teams, because there were no women's teams with these weapons.

FIGURE 23.2. The three weapons used in fencing are the ?p?e (top), the sabre (middle), and the foil (bottom).

Another form of fencing competition is designed for athletes with physical impairments. National and international wheelchair fencing require that the participants fence from a sitting position. These competitions are governed by the relevant national and international disabled sports organizations.
Fencing is offered throughout the United States in many major cities and in some remote towns through recreation programs, private clubs, health and sport clubs, and fencing clubs. The fencing club is known as a fencing salle, and the fencing coach, if a graduate of a fencing school, is known as a fencing master (maistro).
Fencing equipment is usually provided by the schools and by the facilities offering novice classes. After the class stage and as the fencers begin to compete and become members of a club, students usually must purchase their own equipment. The mask, weapon, glove, and uniform (exclusive of the shoes) cost approximately $200. If the equipment is certified for international competition, the price is approximately $500, which includes three weapons. All the equipment sold in the United States must meet the fencing standards approved by the FIE for safe fencing. All pertinent equipment must be properly inspected by the technical committee before competition. Most teams and competition sites have equipment specialists (armorers) as part of their entourage to ensure that the equipment meets FIE safety standards (Fig. 23.3). Because scoring is based on electrical contact, the armorer also ensures that the equipment has been assembled in such a way as to avoid a malfunction or misrepresentation of the electrical scoring system.

FIGURE 23.3. The armorer is the individual who officially inspects fencing equipment to ensure the athletes' safety.

Fencing equipment and wear has been designed with the athlete's safety in mind. For all three weapons, the protective jacket must overlap the knickers (or uniform of Kevlar-type material), a plastron is mandatory, and women must wear breast protectors. The glove must cover at least one half of the forearm so that the opponent's weapon cannot enter the sleeve. All masks must be checked by an instrument with a spring-loaded point before competition to ensure that the mask cannot be penetrated by the opponent's blade. This instrument must be able to withstand a 12-kg force (1).
To prevent injury, there are rules governing the methods by which one fences. It is strictly forbidden for a fencer to perform any abnormal motion, such as severe hits or opponent collision, that may be construed as discourteous and dangerous (1).
RULES OF PLAY
Fencing has several courtesies, including saluting of the opponent and the director (official) at the beginning of each match and shaking hands with the opponent afterward. The mask, weapon, and clothing of both fencers are evaluated by the director before the start of the bout. The fencers assume the ready position (en garde). The referee says ?Fence,? and fencers fence until the referee says ?Halt.? When there have been five touch?s scored by one fencer, the bout is ended and that fencer is declared the winner. During some competitions and at later stages of a large competition, fencers must win with a margin of two touch?s in two of three bouts, to a maximum score of 6 in each bout.
The area of fencing is a linear strip (piste) approximately 5 feet (1.5 m) wide and 47 feet (14 m) long (Fig. 23.4). The fencers exchange a series of offensive attacks and defensive actions consisting of advances, retreats, lunges, and fl?ches in which the feet are usually at right angles to each other and the legs are in continual semiflexion or vigorously extending (Fig. 23.5). Defense involves retreats and arm flexion movements. Attack arm actions are primarily elbow and wrist extension and lateral or circular movements of the hand and forearm.

FIGURE 23.4. The piste is the linear strip on which fencers compete.

FIGURE 23.5. A series of attacks and defensive actions produces vigorous extremity movements, and mechanical stresses are common in the sport of fencing.

Because of the rules and target area for valid touch?s, the actions of the arm when using the foil are more restrictive than with the other two weapons. Only the torso is a legal target. Lunges are prominent in the foil strategy. The rule of right-of-way results in a rather definite pattern of attack?defend?attack?defend before a hit (contact) is made. Right-of-way refers to the need of a fencer to initiate an attack before the opposing fencer does.
In the sabre competition, the target is expanded to include the head and arms. In addition, the cutting edge of the blade may be used to score a touch?. For these reasons, there is a greater variety of arm actions than with the foil. The fl?che is used more extensively than the lunge. The right-of-way rule also applies to the sabre.
The total body is the legal target in the ?p?e, and no right-of-way rule exists. Both fencers can score a touch? simultaneously as long as it is done within 1/25 second. As with the foil, only the point of the ?p?e can be used to score a legal touch?. Lunges are used, but the fencers rely frequently on their quickness or reaction time, and some do not often lunge.
EPIDEMIOLOGY
Acute Injuries
Because of the nature of the sport, fencing produces a wide diversity of acute injuries. A 2-year study was performed by the USFA's medical commission to investigate the actual frequency and distribution of such injuries. This study was conducted from 1988 to 1990 at all North American Circuit (NAC) events and two national championships (each weapon has three NAC events and nationals). During this time, 586 injuries were reported by the fencers to official medical personnel, in most cases a certified athletic trainer. Only 323 of the 586 reported injuries were acute injuries requiring medical attention. (Non acute injuries included sinusitis and diarrhea.) All acute injuries requiring medical treatment were documented on the Fencing Treatment Form IQ (Appendix A). In addition, for any significant injury that required stabilization, transport, and possible future medical treatment, the Injury Initial Evaluation Form was also completed (Appendix B); this form was reviewed by the physician onsite or on call whenever possible.
Relationship Between Acute Injuries and Weapons
To determine whether the differences in injury ratio (type of injury and body part injured) for each weapon (men's foil, women's foil, men's ?p?e, women's ?p?e, men's sabre, and women's sabre) were the result of chance alone or whether the results were caused by significant differences between groups, a statistical analysis using a chi-square and Cramer's V value was performed.
When weapons were compared with body parts injured, a statistical significance was found among the variables (p = .0177); however, the Cramer's V value indicated that this relationship was not strong (V = .32618). It was concluded that the body part injured may depend on the type of weapon. When comparing the weapon with the type of injury, researchers found the p value to be .0838 and Cramer'sV value to be .18098, indicating no statistically significant relationship between these two variables.
Distribution and Types
Of all injuries reported during the study almost 33% were sprains (more than 50% of which occurred during men's ?p?e events). Strains were the second most common injuries (23.8%), followed by heat-related disorders (17.9%), contusions (6.2%), fractures and complete tendon ruptures (1.2%), and other miscellaneous systemic disorders (0.3%) (Table 23.1, Fig. 23.6).

TABLE 23.1. TYPES OF ACUTE FENCING INJURIES (%)

FIGURE 23.6. Percentage of acute injuries in men's and women's fencing. Numbers are based on men's and women's fencing combined. (Graphs courtesy of D. Grygo.)

Comparing all six weapons, men's ?p?e accounted for the most injuries, 45.8%. Men's sabre represented 20.7% of all injuries, and men's foil, 10.5%. This may be partially attributed to the fact that the ?p?e has a much larger target area than the sabre or foil. Furthermore, the ?p?e is of greater stiffness and weight compared with the other weapons.
Of the three women's events, women's foil represented 15.2% of the total injuries, compared with 6.8% for ?p?e and 0.9% for sabre. This may be accounted for in part because more women compete in women's foil than in women's ?p?e or sabre.
Location
In terms of body part, a significantly higher number of injuries occurred at the ankle (15.8%) compared with the other 23 sites observed (Table 23.2, Fig. 23.7).

TABLE 23.2. LOCATION OF FENCING INJURIES (%)

FIGURE 23.7. Percentage of acute injuries by body part in men's and women's fencing. Numbers are based on men's and women's fencing combined. (Graphs courtesy of D. Grygo.)

The total body (systemic) was the location for the second most frequently treated acute disorders (usually heat related) at 10.5%, followed by the hand (8.4%) and the knee (8%).
Types of Acute Injuries
Because of the planted, flexed, and externally rotated valgus-stressed position of the trail leg, acute injuries such as medial collateral ligament sprains, medial meniscal tears, lateral subluxating patella, groin strains, ruptured Achilles tendons, and eversion ankle sprains have been observed. Quadriceps strains, blisters, and nail contusions have been noted in the front leg. Because the trunk is a target area for all three weapons (in addition to the upper extremities for the sabre and ?p?e), more contusions and lacerations are seen in this area.
Gender Differences
Over one academic year, men's and women's collegiate fencing injuries were monitored and compared. When adjusted for exposure time, no significant gender differences were found. Approximately 0.10 injuries per 100 person-hours were noted in men's fencing, compared with 0.18 in women's fencing. There were 0.43 disability days per 100 person-hours associated with these injuries for men, compared with 0.21 days for women. Overall, 28% of men participating in fencing were injured, compared with 50% of women (2).

Pages: 1 ? 2 ? 3

gone tyler perry good deeds pretty in pink nba all star game shark tank john wall gordon hayward