Chapter Nine Moving injured athletes
Assessment of outcomes
Underpinning knowledge
You may be asked a number of written or oral questions related to the precautions for transporting injured athletes. You may also be asked to complete an online task or workbook with related activities.
Practical demonstration
You will be asked to demonstrate effective and safe transport of an injured athlete.
Introduction
In the absence of expert medical help, moving an injured athlete should only be attempted when the athlete is in immediate danger or is capable of being moved safely. Sports trainers are often asked to make this judgement, which varies greatly from the expectations of a first aider. If the athlete is to be moved, it is important to select an appropriate method of movement for the safety of the athlete and the sports trainer.
There are several matters a sports trainer must consider before moving an injured athlete. They include:
When a sports trainer might consider moving an injured athlete
Sports trainers are often expected to make rapid on-field assessments of an athlete’s condition. Based on this assessment and the sports trainer’s knowledge of sports medicine and first aid principles, there may be occasions when moving an athlete is appropriate. Some of these occasions may include:
Hard or soft tissue injuries of the arm or hand when the sports trainer can provide adequate injury support during movement off the field.
Soft tissue injuries of the leg, ankle or foot if the sports trainer can provide adequate support to the injury during movement. Stretchers and support staff should preferably be used. Hard tissue injuries of the lower limbs require appropriate splinting and a stretcher before moving the athlete.
Most mild to moderate external bleeding injuries.
Temperature-related illness or injury. Often athletes will need to be transported to a safer environment with less extreme temperature as part of their management.
Methods of moving an injured athlete
A sports trainer would have covered many types of casualty lifts and carries without equipment in their first aid training. In this chapter, we focus on some more advanced casualty moving techniques and equipment available to sports trainers for moving injured athletes.
Moving athletes with suspected spinal injuries
An athlete with a suspected spinal injury should not be moved unless under the supervision of an experienced rescuer and/or paramedic with specific equipment. When moving such athletes, the priorities are:
minimising movement of the head and cervical spine
minimising movement of the thoracic and lumbar spine, sacrum and coccyx.
The athlete should be moved the shortest possible distance to a safe position. At all stages of the move, the body should be controlled in such a way that the head, neck and spine are immobilised as one body part. The athlete’s arms and legs should first be moved closer to the trunk. Arms should be placed above the head or alongside the body to assist with efforts to roll the athlete like a log. Ideally, the athlete should be fitted with a cervical collar and placed on a spinal board or scoop stretcher.
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