Examples: assessment of mode of onset
| Mechanism | Presentation | Example |
| Acute | Sudden onset | (1) A sprinter pulls up suddenly in a race, stops and hobbles a few steps in obvious pain with a hamstring injury. |
| Repetitive | Sudden onset | (2) A gymnast experiences a frank tibial and fibular fracture on landing from a vault; CT imaging reveals pre-existing morphological changes consistent with bone stress, that is, a stress fracture. |
| Repetitive | Gradual onset | (3) A swimmer experiences gradual increase in shoulder pain over the course of a season; diagnosed as rotator cuff tendinopathy on MRI. |