By
Staff Editor
May
15, 2013 - 10:04:15 AM
(HealthNewsDigest.com)
- DALLAS, May 15, 2013 - With the spring sports season well underway and summer
preseason practices and youth league games around the corner, young athletes
are already enjoying warm weather activities and competition. "Every team
and athlete should have sports safety as a top priority," says Larry
Cooper, chair of the National Athletic Trainers' Association Secondary School
Committee and head athletic trainer at Penn Trafford (Pa.) High School.
"It's vital for coaches, athletic trainers, parents and the athletes
themselves to maintain go od communication and follow guidelines to ensure all
participants are fit for play."
NATA
hosted the 4th Youth Sports Safety Summit earlier this year with the support of
the Youth Sports Safety Alliance, now composed of 109 organizations committed
to keeping athletes safe, and launched the first-ever National Action Plan for
Sports Safety and Student Athlete Bill of Rights (www.youthsportssafetyalliance.org).
"Each athlete is entitled to appropriate care, prevention and treatment of
injuries should they occur," says Cooper.
NATA
offers several sports safety tips to keep athletes in the game:
1.
Make sure the athlete is physically and mentally in the game: Parents,
with assistance from coaches, should determine whether their children are
physically and psychologically conditioned for the sport/activity level they're
playing. Do not push children into something they do not want to do.
Additionally, if an athlete has been injured and is returning to sport, it's
critical for him or her to have the right mind set and confidence to return to
play and avoid repeat injury.
2.
Get a pre-participation exam: All athletes should have a
pre-participation exam to determine their readiness to play and uncover any
condition that may limit participation.
3.
Follow a team approach to care: In the case of injury, find out who will
provide care and ask to review their credentials. Many schools and sports teams
rely on athletic trainers or parents with medical and first aid training and
certification to keep kids safe. Yet less than half of high schools have access
to athletic trainers.
4.
Beat the heat: Acclimatize athletes to warm weather activities over a
14-day period. The goal is to increase exercise heat tolerance and enhance the
ability to exercise safely and effectively in warm and hot conditions. Should
heat illness occur, cool first and transport second: immediate cold water
immersion is critical to reducing the athlete's temperature rapidly. Determine
core body t emperature to best assess the athlete's condition.
5.
Use your head: Athletes should be encouraged to speak up if they are
suffering any related symptoms (dizziness, loss of memory, fatigue).
Concussions must be carefully managed using follow up assessments of symptoms,
neurocognitive function and balance, prior to initiating a gradual return to
play. Should a more serious brain injury occur, the medical staff should be
prepared to transport the athlete to a facility, while ensuring adequate
ventilation and elevating the head to decrease intracranial pressure.
6.
Maintain Heart health: Recognition is vital to treatment: sudden cardiac
arrest should be suspected in any athl ete who has collapsed and is
unresponsive. Public access to early defibrillation is essential: a goal of
less than 3-5 minutes from the time of collapse to delivery of the first shock
from an automated external defibrillator (AED) is strongly recommended. Most
schools now have AEDS. Ensure that the medical expert and other personnel know
where they are located, how to use them and that they are placed on sidelines
during competitions and games.
7.
Share an athlete's medical history: Parents should complete an emergency
medical authorization form, providing parent contact information and permission
for emergency medical care for the student athlete. Check with your
school/league to obtain the form.
8.
Ensure equipment is in working order: Make sure all equipment ranging
from field goals, basketball flooring, gymnastics apparatus and field turf are
in safe and working order. This also includes emergency medical equipment such
as spine boards, splint devices, AEDs (which should be checked once per month;
batteries and pads need consistent monitoring and replacing). All it takes is a
slip on a wet surface or twist of an ankle on an ungroomed field to lead to
lower extremity injuries, among others.
9.
Ascertain coaches' qualifications: A background check should always be
performed on coaches and volunteers:
-
Coaches should have background and knowledge in the sport they are coaching.
They should be credentialed if that is a requirement in the state, conference
or league.
-
Coaches should have cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), AED and first aid
training.
-
Coaches should strictly enforce the sports rules and have a plan for dealing
with emergencies.
-
Ensure appropriate credentials for coaching from the respective sport governing
body.
-
Coaches can also take an online course by visiting: http://www.nata.org/Sports-safety-for-youth-coaches-course
10.
Check that locker rooms, gyms and shower surfaces are clean: With the
advent of MRSA and related bacterial, viral and fungal skin infections reported
in recent years, it is critical to keep these surfaces routinely cleaned and
checked for germs. Athletes must be discouraged from sharing towels, athletic
gear, water bottles, disposable razors and hair clippers. All clothing and
equipment, including bags, should be laundered and/or disinfected on a daily
basis.
11.
Be smart about sickle cell trait: All newborns are tested at birth for
this particular inherited condition and those results should be shared during a
pre-participation exam. Red blood cells can sickle during intense exertion,
blocking blood vessels and posing a grave risk for athletes with the sickle
cell trait. Screening and simple precautions may prevent deaths and help the
athlete with sickle cell trait thrive in his or her chosen sport. Know the
signs and symptoms (fatigue or shortness of breath) to differentiate this
condition from other causes of collapse.
12.
Ensure an emergency action plan is in place: Every team should have a
written emergency action plan, reviewed by the athletic trainer or local
Emergency Medical Service. Individual assignments and emergency equipment and
supplies need to be included in the emergency action plan. If an athletic
trainer is not employed by the school or sport league, qualified individuals
need to be present to render care. Knowing that a school has prepared for
emergency will give parents peace of mind.
13.
Adopt a "Time Out" system: Each health care team should take a
"Time Out" before athletic events to ensure emergency action plans
are reviewed and in place. Determine the role of each person; communication
coordination; presence of ambulance; designated hospital; test of all emergency
equipment; issues that could impact the plan such as weather or other
considerations.
14.
Build in recovery time: Allow time for the body to rest and rejuvenate
in between practices, games and even seasons. "Recovery time is
essential," says Cooper. "Without rest and a change of motion and
activity, we put young athletes at risk of repetitive or chronic injury."
15.
Breathe easier: Athletes with asthma should be properly educated about
their condition, appropriate medications, use of inhaler equipment and how to
recognize "good or bad" breathing days to prevent exacerbations. A
warm up protocol may decrease the risk of asthma or reliance on medications.
16. Stay smart about steroids: Use of
anabolic-androgenic steroids can lead to a host of negative effects on the
health and well-being of athletes and non-athletes alike. Be aware of signs and
symptoms of misuse including: rapid body mass or increase in performance;
extreme muscular growth; abnormal or excessive acne, unexplained hypertension,
moodiness, aggression, depression or obsession with exercise and diet. Report
this immediately to the athletic trainer or other school medical professionals.
"It's
critical that all members of a school's athletic health care team, parents,
teachers and others involved in the care of the athlete have ongoing
communication to ensure a safe sports setting," says Cooper. "With
those protocols in place, athletes can enjoy the great spirit, competition, and
ac complishment that come from safe and fair play."
"And,
if your school is following the right protocols, enter it in the NATA Safe
School award program that recognizes schools implementing appropriate steps to
keep athletes safe. It is a win-win for students, the athletic health care team
and school at large."
For
more information on the award program, visit www.athletictrainers.org.
About
NATA: National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) - Heal th Care for Life
& Sport
Athletic
trainers are health care professionals who specialize in the prevention,
diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and sport-related
illnesses. They prevent and treat chronic musculoskeletal injuries from sports,
physical and occupational activity, and provide immediate care for acute
injuries. Athletic trainers offer a continuum of care that is unparalleled in
health care. The National Athletic Trainers' Association represents and
supports 35,000 members of the athletic training profession. Visit www.nata.org.
