Sports related injuries, such as ankle sprains, hand/finger injuries, muscle strains or other joint or muscle injuries could occur at school in gym, outdoors, or most likely whenparticipating in afterschool sports.
If it is during the school day (7:30-2:45), you student may see Nurse Kisserin the Nurse’s Health suite for evaluation and immediate treatment as necessary, and the parent/guardian will be called to communicated if follow up is recommended or further treatment and observation is needed at home.
If it is outside the regular school day and your student is on one of our sports teams, they should report the injury to their coach when it happens. Their coach will do their best to provide immediate assistance as needed and will let the school's Athletic Trainer know for follow-up (if he or she is not already present at the time of injury). The athletic trainer and the school nurse will communicate with each other as needed, as well as with the coaches to help your student recover from their injury and return to play when it is appropriate and safe.
When at home, it is recommended to follow the RICE method for treatment and follow up with a provider if it does not continually improve after a day or two with this at home treatment.
RICE Method
Rest-refrain from doing the activity that caused the injury; only do what you need to do for daily life-going to school or work and general daily self-care requirements. Otherwise, REST.
Ice-use a bag of ice, or frozen vegetables on the joint or muscle in the first 48 hours (2 days) of the injury. If it has been more than this, you can use heat instead if that is more comfortable. Do not apply ice continually. At most use for 20 mins at a time every hour. (20 mins on, 40 mins off).
Compression-you can use an ace wrap or elastic bandage on a joint like a wrist or ankle or knee. Unfortunately, the Nurse’s Health Suite cannot have these to provide every student with an joint/muscle injury. They can be purchased at any pharmacy without a prescription. If you see a provider for evaluation, many times they will give you something for support or compression to wear-if they don’t offer it, ask. 😊
Elevation-elevate the affected limb whenever you are not walking. If it’s a lower body part, lay on the couch and put it up on the back of the couch while watching TV. If it’s an upper body part, use pillows to elevate it at the elbow or put it on the back of a chair or couch.
After school sports team injuries: When an athletic trainer is available at your student athlete’s practice or game, it is wise for them to see that medical professional. An athletic trainer is not to be confused with a coach, Personal trainer, Physical therapist, or Strength and conditioning coach.
An athletic trainer is a certified and licensed health care professional who practices in the field of sports medicine. Athletic training has been recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA) as an allied health care profession since 1990.
As defined by the Strategic Implementation Team of the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) in August 2007:
"Athletic training is practiced by athletic trainers, health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to optimize activity and quality of life for patients both of the physically active and sedentary population. Athletic training encompasses the prevention, diagnosis[3] and intervention of emergency, acute and chronic medical conditions involving impairment, functional limitations and disabilities."
(www.nata.org)