Emergency Care for Urgent Situations: Sports Injuries
The common phrase, “accidents happen” has never been more true than when it comes to sports and especially contact sports such as soccer, football, hockey among others. While sports can be fun to participate in as well as providing other benefits such as helping promote good qualities such as teamwork, helping in maintaining good physical health as well as helping strengthen bonds of family and community, it also comes with the risk of injuries. If you regularly participate in sports, then you are always under the risk of suffering from an injury and in fact, chances are that you may have suffered an injury or two. It pretty much comes with the territory. In most cases, the injuries are minor and nothing to be worried about and as such can be handled safely with home remedies as well as with over-the-counter medication for the pain. However, sports injuries also have got the potential to be quite severe given the physical effort that is usually put in when playing sports in terms of speed and strength. This means that you may also suffer from a serious sports injury that requires one to get immediate medical attention. However, just as important is the on-site emergency care you receive as you wait for the medical services to arrive. This article should therefore be of great help as it will look to highlight how you should proceed when you find yourself in an urgent situation involving sports injuries.
It is important to note that sports injuries vary and can range from broken bones, concussions, severe sprains and strains and so many others. This article will only look at what are referred to as acute injuries, or those that require one to get immediate medical attention. We are going to first take a look at how you should proceed for cases of soft tissue sports injuries, which include sprains, strains, tears and bruises. As soon as you sustain any sort of soft tissue sports injury, the first thing you should do is to stop the activity immediately as if you continue playing, you will suffer even more damage. This is the “P” part of the P.R.I.C.E procedure you should follow for these injuries, with it standing for protection. You should then use a bandage to wrap the injured part and immobilize it then apply ice on it by using an ice pack or placing ice cubes in a cloth, for about 10 to 15 minutes and no more to prevent frostbite. Have the injured part elevated to help with swelling. You should then have yourself taken to for medical attention.
The next type of sports injuries we are going to take a look at are cuts, and in this case, severe cuts that require immediate attention. Here, if the bleeding doesn’t stop after 10 minutes of applying direct pressure or if it is severe and coming out in squirts, then you should call 911 as soon as possible. As you wait for the emergency services to arrive, use a bandage or clean piece of cloth to apply direct pressure on the wound of the person bleeding to reduce the loss of blood. Stay with them until emergency services arrive, all the while being on the lookout for signs of shock, which can be a major concern in cases of severe bleeding. Another type of sports injury is a broken bone, and if one has suffered such an injury, you should call 911 as soon as possible if they have suffered a severe fracture such as a broken pelvic bone or hip or if it is an open fracture and bone is protruding from the skin. In such cases, you should try to reduce the loss of blood by applying pressure on the wound as well as staying with the injured person, checking for signs of shock, as you wait for emergency services to arrive. Otherwise, you should ensure that you immobilize the area with the broken bone with a splint, apply an icepack and then take them for medical attention as soon as possible to be attended to.
If one has suffered a head injury, especially a concussion, then you should call 911 as soon as possible. As you wait for emergency services to arrive, you should try to immobilize the head and you shouldn’t move the injured person off the field until medical attention arrives. If there is any bleeding, you should try to apply pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. You should stay with the injured person until help arrives, making sure they are calm, awake and engaged and ensuring their situation doesn’t worsen. Another type of sports injury you can suffer is a neck or spinal injury. This can be as a result of a heavy knock or fall and can be quite serious. The first thing you should do when one suffers such an injury is call 911 as soon as possible. You should then ensure the injured person stays as still as possible and they shouldn’t be moved but should stay in the position they were in until the emergency services arrive so as to prevent any further damage if there is spinal damage.
Hopefully, by reading this article, you will be able to know how to proceed next time you are out playing sports and you or someone you are with suffers a sports injury and as such, you will therefore be able to sidestep any unfortunate consequences.
