As the first East Tennessee State University football game approaches — as well as games for area high schools — sports officials and medical responders are focusing on safety and how to properly respond to an in-game emergency on the field.
That’s what several dozen athletic trainers, coaches and EMS personnel were doing Wednesday at Science Hill High School’s Kermit Tipton Stadium. Emergency responders always staff high school football games, and they will do the same for ETSU’s home games, which will be played on the Science Hill field.
The goal, according to Dr. Ralph Mills, is to respond to field emergencies quickly and effectively in order to get care to the injured player as soon as possible. Mills, part of the ETSU BucSports Athletic Training Center and a physician at Appalachian Orthopedics, demonstrated some new techniques he said work better when handling sports injuries on the field.
“We’re doing an inservice for all the athletic trainers and EMS folks and our people because of some new recommendations that have come down about how to manage on-field head and neck injuries,“ Mills said.
For at least 20 years, he said, the preferred procedure was to leave the injured player’s equipment in place until they arrive at the hospital, but Mills said that approach has changed.
”The newest recommendations that came out this summer are that in cases where it’s feasible, that the shoulder pads and helmets be removed on the field before transport,“ he said. One reason is because medical responders will have better access to the player’s body for treatment purposes.
”It gives you better access to the airway, better access to the chest if you’ve gotta do CPR. Another reason is that the person who’s got the best idea and best equipment and knowledge to take off those expensive and complicated shoulder pad and helmet systems off is the trainer,“ Mills said.
”EMS is absolutely on board with this. They’re happy about it, actually, because it gives them better access to the airway and the chest if they’ve gotta do something there in the ambulance,“ he said.
Shoulder pad systems now come equipped with a rip cord, which allows the unit to release with a pull of one strap and newer helmets have push tabs that allow the face mask to come off without having to use a screwdriver, according to Nathan Barger, ETSU head athletic trainer.
And because practice is the key to performing a task well, that’s what medical responders and trainers were doing Wednesday.
”We’re practicing emergency scenarios just in case something were to happen,“ Barger said. ”ETSU is going to have five games here in the coming year and we went to practice and rehearse every emergency scenario we can think of that could happen to our athletes. That way, if something did happen, we can execute our emergency procedures in a timely fashion. We have a great working relationship with washington county EMS. Here at the games we’ll have three doctors. this is going to vital in the care of our athletes.“
ETSU’s first game is Sept. 3 when the team hosts Kennesaw State University.
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