Most people start an injury record with the sore spot. They write down where it hurts, how bad it feels, and when it began. The motion entry asks for something that comes just before that: how your body was moving in the seconds before the hit, fall, or twist. It is a short note, and it does not decide what is wrong with you. It does give anyone who reads your log, including a clinician you see later, a clearer picture of how the force reached you.
What belongs in the motion entry
Start with the activity. Write the sport, the drill or play, and what you were trying to do. 'Cutting left to get past a defender' and 'jogging back on defense' describe very different loads. Next, note your direction and footing. Were you facing the play, turned away, moving forward, or backing up? Were both feet on the ground, or was one foot planted while the other was already moving? Did you land on flat ground, a slope, or uneven turf? These details come up in conversations with trainers and clinicians, and they are easy to forget by the next morning.
Then describe the contact, or the lack of it. Was another person involved, and if so, did they hit you from the front, the side, or behind? Was there no contact at all, with a joint giving way or a foot catching in the turf? Write which part of your body took the first impact and which part followed. If you went down, note whether you caught yourself with a hand, rolled, or landed on one side.
Use your own words for speed and force
Avoid converting the moment into numbers you do not have. You probably did not measure your speed, and a guess dressed up as a figure can mislead the next person who reads it. Use plain comparisons you can stand behind: 'full sprint', 'slow shuffle', 'standing still and waiting for the ball'. For force, write what you felt, such as 'a sharp hit that stopped me', 'a shove I saw coming', or 'a twist I did not notice until I stood up'. Your words will be imperfect, but they are yours, and they are dated.
Separate what you saw from what you guessed
Good motion entries mark the difference between observation and assumption. 'I heard a pop' is an observation. 'My knee was torn' is a conclusion you cannot confirm on your own. Write the first kind of note and leave the second for the people trained to assess it. If a teammate or coach told you what happened, note that they said it, and record their name only if you have it. This keeps your record honest and makes it easier to correct later if a detail turns out differently.
Also note what you did in the next minute. Did you keep playing, walk off, or need help standing? Did you put weight on the leg or arm right away? Those choices can matter in later conversations, and they are often the first thing people forget.
Keep it in the same file as the rest
Add the motion entry to your main injury record, under the same date and time. Do not start a second document unless you want one. The goal is one continuous line from the moment of the hit through every visit, check-in, and step back into training. If you wrote the entry hours after the event, say so in the entry. Update it only by adding a dated note, never by rewriting the original.
Some signs call for prompt in-person care rather than another log entry. If you cannot bear weight, notice numbness or tingling, see an obvious deformity, have trouble breathing, or hit your head and feel confused or unusually drowsy, seek urgent medical care now and write the entry afterward.
If the injury is not an emergency but you are unsure whether to be examined this week, bring the motion entry with you. A clinician can use it as one piece of the picture, alongside your symptoms and examination. This page is educational and cannot tell you what caused your symptoms or which care fits them. It can only help you write down what happened in a way that is clear, dated, and useful to the people who will assess it.