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Waxahachie athletic trainers, physicians conduct drill together

Article reposted from DayLight
Author: Scott Dorsett

While much has changed in both rules and equipment over the past two decades to ensure player safety, there will always be injuries in high school athletics. From non-contact sports like tennis and volleyball to hard-hitting football games, the slightest slip, sudden twist or violent collision can sometimes result in serious injury.

So it was no surprise during Thursday afternoon’s football practice at Lumpkins Stadium when a Waxahachie High School football coach crumpled to the turf after colliding with a player. It was also no surprise that Waxahachie’s trainers were on the field within a matter of seconds.

While Thursday’s collision and injuries were only part of a drill, it served as a real-world training scenario that WISD head athletic trainer David ‘Doc’ Bowdoin said will make the training staff better in real-world situations where every minute counts.

WISD’s team physician, Dr. Marc Roux has been an orthopedic surgeon since 2005, echoed Doc’s sentiments and can be found on the sidelines of every WHS varsity football game.

“Probably one of the most important things we as first responders can ever respond to is a head or neck injury,” Roux said. “These are injuries you can’t revisit enough. whether you’re a young trainer or experienced trainer, drills like this help build communication skills and teamwork.”

Roux credited the leadership of veteran WISD Head Athletic Trainer Bowdoin and assistant athletic trainer Nikki Robinson in their efforts to prepare student trainers to deal with a broad range of injuries.

“Honestly, you could be a layperson, and with this type of leadership and experience, they could walk you through immobilizing someone in situations like the one here tonight,” Roux said.

Bowdoin, who is well into his second decade as head athletic trainer for WISD said experience helps his student trainers more than anything.

“I think everyone did well tonight,” Bowdoin said. “This is our second year to do this outdoors, and some of our student trainers were part of those drills last year, and you could really see that experience come out.”

Assistant trainer Nikki Robinson credited on ongoing dialog with Roux, Bowdoin, and new assistant athletic trainer Alex Vega as a key to having the proper equipment and techniques in place to make sure student athletes have the best care possible.

“We’re constantly reviewing what we want to accomplish in situations like this,” Robinson said. “We talk about having the right tools in place, make sure the coaches understand the injury and provide the necessary care that student-athlete needs until EMS arrives.”

Roux noted that these drills are certainly important, but one of the things that make this such a great team is the ongoing care and treatment the student-athlete receives after an injury.

“Day in and day out, everybody’s on board, every injury is taken seriously, and they evaluate everything thoroughly,” Roux explained. “If more advanced care or treatment is needed, we have an open line of communication, and I think that’s what makes this one of the best athletic training teams in Texas.”

Bowdoin said the level of care after an injury is critical to healing a student-athlete.

“Dr. Roux and I may talk on the phone every day,” he noted. “Marc sees every treatment that we do and knows about every injury that we post. So if a kid is hurt in practice or a game, he’ll already have that athlete’s history of injury or treatment.”

Bowdoin credited the capabilities of today’s athletic training team to longtime team physician, Dr. Dave Williams. Williams, who spent more than 30 years as team physician to WISD student athletes passed away in 2012 but left a legacy of professionalism and personal care that remains as the cornerstone for today’s trainers.

“Dr. Williams was so far ahead of his time in treating the whole person,” Bowdoin said. “His expertise was treating mind, body, and spirit, and if he were here today, I’m sure he would have a big smile on his face. We certainly didn’t have the technology back then that we have today, but his foresight and understanding outpaced anything that was available 30 years ago.”

WISD hired a third athletic trainer in newcomer Alex Vega this year. Vega specializes in corrective exercise, which leans more towards preventative techniques that help to minimize injury or recovery time.

“We look at form and how a student-athlete moves,” Vega explained. “If a student-athlete has trouble squatting, bending, stretching or running, we’ll analyze those movements and put them in the weight room to develop certain muscles or have them warm up a little longer. We see a lot of groin injuries and hip injuries. These are typically associated with an athlete not having enough flexibility.”

Vega said the culture of care student-athletes receive is like nothing she’s seen before coming to Waxahachie.

“It really is different,” Vega said. “The coaches, trainers, and doctors are all on the same page. If we don’t think an athlete is ready to return to play or if he or she needs more treatment or therapy, there are no questions asked.”

WHS head coach Jon Kitna said he wanted Thursday’s drill to be as realistic as possible.

“Coach Kitna filmed the drill, just like he does at practice or in live games,” according to Bowdoin. “We’ll take that video, review it and make any changes necessary to improve. To have a coaching staff that committed to what we do is incredible.”

Bowdoin said that ultimately, his goal is to provide the best care possible to WISD athletes. With more than 50 years of professional medical and athletic training history behind them. It’s probably a safe bet that WISD athletes are in good hands.

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Utah Athletic Trainers keep athletes safe

If you are a parent sitting in the stands at a high school football game, just seeing your son lying on the field is enough to send your heart into your throat.

That worry could quickly become panic if you see the athletic trainers and medical personnel carefully removing your son’s helmet and shoulder pads.

Hopefully that situation never arises but if it does, you should know that the athletic trainers, doctors, EMTs and other medical personnel specifically practice that technique before the season started.

And they did it to give that injured athlete the best possible care.

“One of the big things we practiced has to do with the new mindset on what to do about suspected spinal-injured athletes with gear, which mostly relates to football,” Springville athletic trainer Lisa Walker said. “In the past, we’d remove the face mask, put them on a spine board and get them off to the hospital.

“The new guideline is that — when appropriate, if you have enough trained personnel — you can choose to remove the helmet and shoulder pads. That saves time in the emergency room and gives access to the chest in the event of a cardiac issue for ambulance staff and at the hospital. You have to have enough people — it’s called the 8-man maneuver — who are trained, who have the tools and the knowledge. You’re typically waiting for an ambulance so that can have the athlete better prepared for when they get to the hospital.”

Many of the Utah Valley high school athletic trainers joined doctors, nurse practitioners and other medical representatives at an August meeting where the technique was practiced — just days after BYU trainers used the same approach when Cougar linebacker Colby Jorgensen fractured his neck.

“We had already planned to have that meeting,” Walker said. “Then BYU had the incident the very week before the training. BYU had just barely prepared for it when the best practices came out. They practiced it and it went off like clockwork.”

She emphasized that the purpose of this type of training is to make sure that trainers and other medical experts at high school events are just as prepared.

“That’s where we need to be,” Walker said. “We pool our resources to make it happen. It was why we were there but maybe it was taken a little more seriously because of that (the Jorgensen injury). But all of them had already made the commitment.”

The August meeting is one of three that will be organized every year — one before each season — to help all of the trainers and others that they work with in the medical profession make sure they are on the same page.

“What we are trying to do is help support the high school athletic trainers wherever we can,” said Dr. Karl Weenig of Revere Health, who hosted the workshop. “We want to support the care of the athletes by getting info out on what current processes are.”

Weenig said there will always be a focus on the four Hs: Head, heat, heart and history but this was also an opportunity to help everyone be prepared in the event of emergencies.

“We need to be prepared to act quickly and efficiently to help whatever athlete has the problem,” Walker said. “The trainers are at different schools and are all hoping our teams win, but our main focus is the health and safety of those who are playing,”

Both Walker and Weenig said collaboration and sharing experiences allows everyone to learn from what others have been through and increases the preparation level — as well as the trust between trainers and medical personnel.

“Trainers are assisting each in small ways almost every day,” Walker said. “I can’t be everywhere. I might have to be at a home soccer match while the JV football team is somewhere else, so have to depend on that trainer to take care of my athletes. If I am confident that person will handle things like I would, that gives a level of comfort and confidence.”

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.heraldextra.com/sports/high-school/high-school-athletic-trainers-local-medical-personnel-collaborating-to-keep/article_80eacfc9-84e3-508d-8105-0b83f5402ed2.html

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waxahachie TX athletic trainers are prepared

Major sports injuries can happen in the blink of an eye. While some of the most violent collisions on a football field may prove to be harmless, a simple twist of a knee on a softball field can be become a threat to the remainder of a student athlete’s competitive career.

WISD has built one of the most storied legacies in medical student-athlete care in Texas, said David (Doc) Bowdoin, and it started with a simple philosophy in 1961 when Dr. Dave Williams became the district’s sports physician. Keeping kids and community first was a priority for Williams, and that groundwork came into play again Tuesday evening when a football player went down during football practice at Lumpkins Stadium.

Bowdoin, WISD’s veteran head athletic trainer, and his team sprang into action. While the injury was simulated, and the drill known to only a few in the stadium, it was a critical test of WHS student trainers, WISD professional athletic trainers and doctors to address major sports injuries.

“I approached coach Kitna last week about working on an emergency action drill in practice, and he was ecstatic,” said Bowdoin. “He said, ‘Let’s film it, study it and do this right. I want you to take as much time as you need to run the drill,’”

WISD’s assistant athletic trainer Nikki Robinson echoed the benefits of running real-time drills like this.

“Any time you run a drill, you’re going to be better prepared. This year, we have a new style football helmet with a quick-release mechanism on the face mask,” said Robinson. “So we wanted to make sure we were adequately prepared to take that helmet off, and still keep the athlete safe and protected, especially if it’s a head or neck injury.”

Team physician Marc Roux, is an orthopedic surgeon in Waxahachie, and has been on the sidelines of every WHS varsity football game for the last 10 years.

“This type of training gives everyone added confidence. We’re all familiar with one another. I know Doc and Nikki backward and forward, and we all have the same goals,” said Roux. “Doc and I have had a great relationship over the past 10 years, and seven years with Nikki.”

Roux said the respect and professionalism of the athletic training staff has been outstanding.

“One of the things I’ve always been impressed with since I came to Waxahachie 10 years ago is the support that the medical staff has always received from the athletic department,” he said. “They’ve always taken a step back to allow the expertise of the training staff and the physician staff to govern the student-athletes return to play and the athletes rehab process. We’ve never felt any pressure from any coach, and we’ve really seen that philosophy stepped up several notches with the new staff.”

As Tuesday’s drill unfolded, the mock injury required the athletic trainers to immobilize the athlete’s head, and place him on a backboard. Roux was hands-on and giving guidance to the athletic trainers as they moved the athlete onto the backboard. Robinson spoke about the benefits of having a medical physician on the sidelines.

“It makes all the difference in the world, and makes our job much more successful,” said Robinson. “We’ve got somebody who’s going to advise us to make sure that athlete is taken care of, especially in a situation that may come up where we might not have had that type of experience. It makes us a stronger team, and we can make better decisions for the athlete.”

While this philosophy and attention to detail began over 50 years ago with the techniques and skill of Williams, Bowdoin and the athletic training staff have relied on it every day. “Dr. Williams was simply so far ahead of his time when he started as our team physician. He believed in treating the complete student-athlete. Body, mind and soul,” said Bowdoin.

During the course of 50-plus years, Waxahachie has always had a team physician on the sidelines,from Williams, to Dr. Ben Boone, to Dr. Rick Redington and to Roux.

“It’s just something Dr. Williams started, and we’ve always held the belief that we’re a better, stronger team with these guys providing critical direction,” said Bowdoin.

WISD trainers and physicians have also enacted emergency action plans for each WISD athletic venue in the community.

“Richards Park is going to have a different plan for getting first responders in and out of the area than, say, Lumpkins Stadium or J.W. Williams gymnasium. It’s simply a matter of preparation” said Robinson.

Greg Reed, WISD Director of Athletics, noted that trainers don’t have an offseason.

“Bowdoin, Robinson and their student trainers are the life blood our athletic programs,” said Reed. “They, in cooperation with Roux and many other physicians in our community, provide proactive care and acute care to keep our students stay safe and be released back into participation as soon as possible. They attend to athletes early in the morning and late after practice, seven days a week, if that is what our students need.”

Superintendent Jeremy Glenn reiterated the legacy and quality medical capabilities of the trainers and doctors who look after WISD’s student-athletes.

“Since Dr. Williams began his stint as the district team physician back in the ‘60s, WISD has always had one of the most professionally trained and prepared team of trainers and doctors available,” said Glenn. “Their dedication and professionalism is without question, and their first priority has always been the safety of our student athletes. Our community is grateful for the amazing job they perform at all WISD sporting events.”

As the drill wrapped up, players and coaches, who had halted practice while the “injured” athlete was attended to, gave the trainers a round of applause for their work.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.waxahachietx.com/news/waxahachie/on-field-drill-tests-skills-of-wisd-s-athletic-trainers/article_1c735da0-7920-542d-ae8b-005140125dce.html

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East Tennessee Athletic Trainers review spine board protocols

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.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/2015/08/19/ETSU-trainer-athletic-doctor-trains-medics-with-new-field-emergency-prodecures.html?ci=stream&lp=8&p=1

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North Carolina Athletic Trainers train EMS and Coaches

Coaches from across the mountains took part in a clinic focused on sports medicine on Friday.

Mission Hospital athletic trainers hosted seminars in the Asheville High School auditorium and conducted demonstration drills for 135 area coaches outside on the sports fields.

The aim was to help coaches diagnose and recognize symptoms of injuries and illnesses during practices or games throughout the coming school year. Coaches of both men and women’s sports attended from area school districts and parks and recreation leagues.

“I think it’s important because, while we try to be at everything we can be, as far as practices and as far as games, we’re never there 100 percent of the time,” Matt Smitley said, a sports medicine trainer at Mission Hospital. “If we can empower them to use these tools and these warning signs than we can show them – or whatever it may be – to see this, can help get these patients, these student athletes, the appropriate care that they need.”

There was also a focus on sudden cardiac arrest throughout the one-day seminar.

According to statistics, Mission Hospital says that one competitive athlete goes into cardiac arrest every three days on average in the United States.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.wlos.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/mission-health-holds-clinic-coaches-22368.shtml#.Vc-09p1Viko

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Arkansas Athletic Trainers Practice New Procedures

Coaches and the athletic trainer at Farmington High School got together with Central EMS to train on the new procedure for how to remove football equipment off a player before transporting them to a hospital.

There is a new national procedure, which requires Northwest Arkansas counties to change their protocol to fit with the national protocol and the recommendation of the national athletic trainers association.

The Farmington athletic trainer, Malinda Rector said, “According to the Korey Stringer Institute, they’ve done a study and only 30 percent of high schools in Arkansas have a full time athletic trainer hired by the school. There are more part time positions so we’re just trying to bring awareness to athletic training and the need for athletic trainers in the state of Arkansas.”

The purpose of having a coach or athletic trainer remove the equipment is to save time when the player gets to the hospital, as they are more familiar using the equipment.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
Trainers Practice New Procedures On Removing Football Equipment

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Gilbert athletic trainers ready for high school sport season

With the start of the new school year, the athletic season is right around the corner.

Injuries will be a part of the game and some can be serious.

To help prepare for the upcoming season, Dignity Health has teamed up with Gilbert Public Schools to help prepare teams for the fall season.

Campo Verde High School played host to pre-season training for high school athletic trainers.

“The key part of our job is to be ready and know exactly what to do when stuff goes wrong or an athlete gets injured,” said Suzie Squires, Dignity Health Athletic Trainer who works with Campo Verde and Mesquite High Schools.

Athletic trainers, coaches and members of Gilbert Fire and Rescue work as a team to handle possible spinal injuries.

Practicing log rolling maneuvers where volunteers acting as injured players are rolled onto backboards, slow and steady.

“Often the coaches especially the athletic trainers are the front line of these injuries,” said Dr. Matthew Hansen, Orthopedic Sports Medicine Specialist with Mercy Gilbert Hospital. “They’re the ones on the field and at the gym when the injuries occur and that’s often the times when you can make the biggest difference, if the athlete gets the most appropriate cervical spine care.”

If a student athlete suffers a spinal injury, the care becomes methodical, it starts with the coaches and trainers who hand off care to the EMS personnel and then to the ER.

Each step is vital to helping the inured athlete.

“Everything we do builds prior to us getting there. The better job the athletic trainers do and they do a great job, We can just transfer it to the next level of care at each step,” said Bob Badgett. Battalion Chief with the Town of Gilbert Fire and Rescue.

Even the athletic student training aides got some tips.

During the season, they will be expected to provide support to the pros.

“They’re actually extra eyes for the athletic trainers to have on hand. They are able to recognize injuries, retrieve equipment and be communication liaisons in any kind of situation,” said Squires.

From the teams to the top trainers, it’s a team exercise that’s a win for everyone involved.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.12news.com/story/news/local/arizona/2015/08/09/gilbert-high-school-athletic-trainers-ready–high-school-sports/31360991/

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Coaches receive medical training

 

High school coaches deal with the injury of their young players throughout each season.

Thanks to a chance to assess readiness and response for game-day injuries during a practice drill Wednesday, the coaches are more prepared. The drill was scheduled for the football field at Carterville High School, but moved into the auxiliary gymnasium because of bad weather.

“It’s time for us to work as a team for emergency preparedness — all the way from severe weather up to spine-boarding,” said Sarai Yates, the head of Sportsology and the athletic trainer at Herrin High School.

Sports medicine specialists with Sportsology offer the training every two years through a collaboration with Southern Illinois Healthcare, Rehab Unlimited athletic trainers and SIU Healthcare sports medicine physicians and fellows.

Yates said, “We will go over all of the emergency plans we have developed for the school so they know where to find the plan and what to do.

“The other element is that we’re not always here for practices so the coaches need to know what they can do to keep that child safe, when to call an ambulance and how to work with the ambulance crew to make the kids as safe as possible before ambulance personnel take over.”

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner recently signed legislation requiring students who suffer a concussion to get permission from a doctor or trainer before they may fully return to class or sports. All schools must create a plan for dealing with concussions.

“What the schools have in place right now are what the IHSA (Illinois High School Association) has regulated; so that’s obviously just the high schools,” Yates said. “The big thing with this law it is affects all schools — all public schools, charter, private — all the way down to any child that plays at any level..

“That’s huge on concussions because a lot of those kids didn’t really ever get looked at at all. The other change is ‘Return to Learn.’ We’ve always heard about Return to Play in sports so now he’s (Rauner) looking at Return to Learn, which looks at when it is safe for the kid to return to school.

“School is so hard on the brain and it slows down the healing process of the brain.”

Yates said it’s not clear who will enforce the legislation, although medical personnel will monitor each situation carefully.

“Kids will not come back to school to play without seeing a certified athletic trainer or one of the doctors,” Yates said. “And it’s not just any certified trainer or doctor. They have to be trained in concussion management.”

Sarah Brumley, head athletic trainer at Carbondale High School, said concussions are diagnosed through signs and symptoms.

“There’s no medical test or imaging that can be done that can say, ‘yes you have a concussion.’ Back in the day, you were supposed to wake them (victims) up every hour, look at their pupils, and things like that. That’s not necessary any more. Research has shown the brain needs rest and when your brain is resting it’s healing.”

Keenan Clark, Carterville High School golf coach, said the training is valuable.

“I think it’s important when kids are in an activity that there is a responsible adult there that understands the protocol and how things are supposed to work,” Clark said. “If coaches aren’t trained in this sort of thing then you don’t know what kind of situation you’re putting your kids in. Safety first for the kids is the most important thing.”

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.dailyrepublicannews.com/article/20150806/NEWS/150809755/?Start=1

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Sports medicine experts applaud new spine injury guidelines

The National Athletic Trainers’ Association recently released new guidelines for treating athletes with potential spinal cord injuries on the field, a decision applauded by a sports medicine expert at Baylor College of Medicine.

“The NATA made significant changes to what was previously recommended and practiced with an injured athlete at a sporting event,” said Dr. Theodore Shybut, sports medicine expert and assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Baylor. “These new guidelines are based on science and expertise. While these practices fortunately apply to only a small subset of injuries encountered at sporting events, practicing these recommendations provides optimal care to athletes with potentially devastating injury.”

The two main changes relate to technique for spine boarding the athlete and to timing of removal of the athlete’s protective equipment. In terms of protecting the potentially injured spine, in the past, a technique called logrolling was used to position the injured athlete onto a back board for transfer. Also, protective equipment such as helmet and shoulder pads was typically left on the injured athlete, with the thought that they provided stability to the cervical spine during transport. In addition, equipment was left on to avoid potentially aggravating the injury on the field with the thought that removal in the theoretically more controlled hospital setting would be best.

The new recommendations stem from studies that evaluated spinal motion during simulated injuries in cadavers and found that an eight-person lift better minimizes the motion of the cervical spine. The recommendation is to perform this type of lift if possible instead of logrolling. The NATA guidelines also emphasize a change in terminology from “spinal immobilization” to “spinal motion restriction” recognizing that complete immobilization is not possible during transfers and equipment removal.

“It’s important to realize that in cases where the injured athlete is face down you have to get them face up to ensure airway access and properly assess the athlete; in those cases, you may have to logroll them. Also, the eight-person lift is only possible if you have enough people who are trained to do this safely,” said Shybut. “The logroll is not something that you absolutely cannot do, but the eight-person lift is the preferred technique because less c-spine motion occurs.”

The new guidelines now call for safe, controlled removal of equipment such as shoulder pads and helmets of the injured athlete prior to transfer.

“The rationale for this change is that the people who are the best equipped to remove the equipment, understand how the equipment works and are able to remove it with the least amount of trauma, are the sports medicine providers on the sidelines,” said Shybut. “Hospital based providers are not necessarily experts at removing sports protective equipment. In addition, if for some reason EMS needs to get access to the athlete’s chest during the transfer it’s difficult to do with the equipment on.”

Shybut emphasizes the importance of having a good team of sports medicine experts on the field during athletic events to help with these types of injuries. He stresses the need for emergency action planning so that the care team can rehearse equipment removal and spine boarding to prepare in advance for encountering spine injuries.

Baylor’s sports medicine team has developed emergency action plans and has recently trained providers in practicing emergency transfers and equipment removal in line with the NATA guidelines.

Shybut also highlights online resources are available from NATA and from the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine via the Stop Sports Injuries program.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

The National Athletic Trainers’ Association recently released new guidelines for treating athletes with potential spinal cord injuries on the field, a decision applauded by a sports medicine expert at Baylor College of Medicine.

“The NATA made significant changes to what was previously recommended and practiced with an injured athlete at a sporting event,” said Dr. Theodore Shybut, sports medicine expert and assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Baylor. “These new guidelines are based on science and expertise. While these practices fortunately apply to only a small subset of injuries encountered at sporting events, practicing these recommendations provides optimal care to athletes with potentially devastating injury.”

The two main changes relate to technique for spine boarding the athlete and to timing of removal of the athlete’s protective equipment. In terms of protecting the potentially injured spine, in the past, a technique called logrolling was used to position the injured athlete onto a back board for transfer. Also, protective equipment such as helmet and shoulder pads was typically left on the injured athlete, with the thought that they provided stability to the cervical spine during transport. In addition, equipment was left on to avoid potentially aggravating the injury on the field with the thought that removal in the theoretically more controlled hospital setting would be best.

The new recommendations stem from studies that evaluated spinal motion during simulated injuries in cadavers and found that an eight-person lift better minimizes the motion of the cervical spine. The recommendation is to perform this type of lift if possible instead of logrolling. The NATA guidelines also emphasize a change in terminology from “spinal immobilization” to “spinal motion restriction” recognizing that complete immobilization is not possible during transfers and equipment removal.

“It’s important to realize that in cases where the injured athlete is face down you have to get them face up to ensure airway access and properly assess the athlete; in those cases, you may have to logroll them. Also, the eight-person lift is only possible if you have enough people who are trained to do this safely,” said Shybut. “The logroll is not something that you absolutely cannot do, but the eight-person lift is the preferred technique because less c-spine motion occurs.”

The new guidelines now call for safe, controlled removal of equipment such as shoulder pads and helmets of the injured athlete prior to transfer.

“The rationale for this change is that the people who are the best equipped to remove the equipment, understand how the equipment works and are able to remove it with the least amount of trauma, are the sports medicine providers on the sidelines,” said Shybut. “Hospital based providers are not necessarily experts at removing sports protective equipment. In addition, if for some reason EMS needs to get access to the athlete’s chest during the transfer it’s difficult to do with the equipment on.”

Shybut emphasizes the importance of having a good team of sports medicine experts on the field during athletic events to help with these types of injuries. He stresses the need for emergency action planning so that the care team can rehearse equipment removal and spine boarding to prepare in advance for encountering spine injuries.

Baylor’s sports medicine team has developed emergency action plans and has recently trained providers in practicing emergency transfers and equipment removal in line with the NATA guidelines.

Shybut also highlights online resources are available from NATA and from the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine via the Stop Sports Injuries program.