Article reposted from Live5News
Author: Josh Roberson
Football season is ramping up and that means learning to know what to do if a student athlete gets injured.
McLeod Sports Medicine stopped by Mullins High School Wednesday to go over what parents, coaches and teammates should know if that does occur.
“We’ve done a lot of this training just with EMS, but our kids have never seen this and our coaches have never seen this. We talk it through and we practice it all, but to have it live on the field, to actually practice what would actually happen, is a great learning experience for them,” said Jessica Lowe, a McLeod athletic trainer.
McLeod Sports Medicine employees took a proactive stance, running through real-life scenarios dealing with critical injuries in the neck, head and spine.
“Those are all serious injuries that have to be taken very seriously, so that’s why we bring the EMTs out here and this year we decided to involve the McLeod Air Reach.” said trainer Mike Rice.
The team went over specifics, like how to remove equipment without disrupting or further injuring the player, and how to remove the player from the field safely using stretchers.
“They’ll basically give us a signal of what we need to bring, and then we’ll come out with everything we need. And then if we need to remove the shoulder pads or the helmet, they’ll assist us with doing that, depending on what injury they have.” said EMS Director Joey Price.
The physical trainers said they hope they never have to put this training into action, but if the situation arises, they will be calm and ready to act come fall.