REC 1020 Chapter 5 game Time

Life Threatening Situations Ensure Safety: Make sure the scene is safe Ask the athlete if you can help Calm the athlete and advise them not to move Do not move the athlete unless they are at risk of further injury

Do Not remove any of the athlete’s equipment – especially do not move the head or neck Protect yourself with barriers such as rubber gloves or ventilating mask Establish a control person

Assess Consciousness Is the athlete: alert and oriented? Confused and disoriented? Responding appropriately to verbal commands?

Responding to touch? Obtunded – unresponsive to verbal commands, mumbling or moving limbs without purpose? Unconscious and unresponsive

Assume a neck injury If unconscious – assume a neck injury If there is significant complaint of neck pain Do not move the athlete’s head or neck Stabilize the neck in the position found

Stabilizing neck

Activate Emergency Action Plan Send a call person to contact emergency medical services and have them report back to you!

Primary Survey ABC’s Assess Airway (A) Look for obstructions in the mouth (mouth guards, gum or athlete’s own tongue Do finger sweep If obstruction can not be cleared with sweep – abdominal thrusts may be used Caution if neck injury is suspected

Assess Breathing (b) Look, listen, feel Look to see if the chest is rising and falling Listen for breath sounds Feel for breath from mouth or nose against your cheek

Assess Circulation (C) Does the athlete have a pulse? Control any bleeding with direct pressure Look for lack of circulation – cold or blue/grey color of limbs

Secondary Assessment Only to be done when the Athlete : Has an open airway Is breathing satisfactorily Has a good pulse and bleeding is under control

If the patient becomes unresponsive, revert to the primary survey Complete the secondary survey in the position the athlete was found and avoid movement that could aggravate an injury A full head to toe examination may be needed if the injury was not seen or the athlete’s consciousness was impaired

Secondary Assessment

Secondary assessment (h.i.t.) H – History – location of injury, mechanism of injury, symptoms of injury I – Inspection – look at injury site for signs of injury, check for function of limb or joint T – Touch – feel (palpate) the injured area to check for: - point of maximal tenderness - Deformity - instability - swelling - temperature differences

History – what to ask What hurts? Where exactly does it hurt? Does pain radiate to other areas? Describe the pain (sharp, dull, burning, throbbing, aching) How intense is the pain (scale of 1-10) Any previous injuries or surgeries to this area? How exactly did it happen? Tingling, numbness, hearing a pop or snap, headache, blurry vision, light- headed

Inspection – visual check Bleeding – slow or profuse? Color – bright red (arterial – life threatening) Dark (Venous) serious but not life threatening Skin changes – bruising, cuts, abrasions, redness Deformity – compare to the uninjured side, abnormal bulging

Inspection – head/Neck/chest Eye injury – blood in eye, foreign object, rolled contact lens Tooth injury – missing, chipped, broken Pupil response to direct light – abnormal in head/eye injury Rapid breathing – higher than 20 breaths per minute in adults or wheezing, gasping or choking Chest bruising or signs of broken ribs

Touch Do not cause excessive pain to the athlete Start palpation (gentle pressing) away from the injury site and move towards it to establish exactly what is injured Skin is doughy – inflammation. Warmth indicates inflammation, cool indicates poor circulation Range of motion – only if the athlete is not experiencing too much pain Do not move the limb if you suspect a broken bone

Touch Crepitus – feeling of crunching or grinding that can sometimes be felt if there is a broken bone Pulse – normal range is 60-100 beats per minute. Serious injury can cause significant changes to pulse rate