Athletic Trainer Helps Save High School Referee with AED

Watch the video of the Athletic Trainer reunited with the referee who's life she helped save on Thursday, February 7th during an exciting overtime Girls' Basketball game at Eastchester High School in NY. Neil Berniker, teacher, coach and high school referee in the Bronx, suddenly collapsed and hit the floor while officiating the game. Jason Karol, the school's Athletic Director, along with Ellen Bastoni, the school's Certified Athletic Trainer, came to his rescue.

"As soon as I ran over, I saw he wasn't breathing and I yelled to call 911," Karol said. "I told the [athletic] trainer to get the AED because he was gasping for air but he wasn't breathing." Karol, a first year athletic director, began CPR until Bastoni returned with the LIFEPAK 500 AED (Automated External Defibrillator).

Once the AED was connected to the referee, it advised a shock. Incredibly, through the efforts of Karol, Bastoni and a parent bystander, Berniker was successfully revived in front of the 200 people watching solemnly from the stands. "We saw his eyes open and he started breathing again," Karol said. "He was confused and I just held his hand until the EMT's got there. He didn't know what happened."

Once EMT's arrived, Berniker was put on oxygen and transported to the intensive care unit. It was reported that he is recovering well, and that he was up and walking and making jokes by the next day.

Eastchester has 23 AEDs located strategically throughout their buildings. Interestingly, the week before the referee collapsed during the basketball game, the placement of the AEDs was reviewed and the one used to save Berniker's life was placed in a more accessible location in the gym so that it could be utilized after normal school hours.

Sports Health is a leading provider of AEDs to schools and athletic organizations across the country. The AED Program at Eastchester High School was implemented with the help of a School Health/Sports Health Representative. If you would like more information, please contact us and one of our knowledgeable representatives will get in touch with you.

Request an AED Consultation and Download "The 10 Common Mistakes Made By School AED Programs">>

Video courtesy of Lohud.com

About Sickle Cell Disease and Athletes

Sickle cell trait needs to be identified in athletes

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a condition in which  red blood cells can develop a “C” shape similar to the old farm tool called a sickle that was used to harvest grains. The danger of the “C” shape blood  cells is that they die early which causes a shortage  of red blood cells. Due to their non-round shape they can also become stuck and clog smaller blood vessels resulting in pain and other complications.  Tissue that does not receive a normal blood flow eventually becomes damaged. This is what causes the complications of sickle cell disease. Read more: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sca/

Disease (SCD) or Trait (SCT)?

SCD is a genetic condition that is present at birth having been inherited from one or both of their parents. Persons who have inherited one sickle cell gene and one normal gene have SCT. This means the person won’t have the disease, but will be a trait “carrier” and can pass it onto their children. Sickle cell trait is not a type of sickle cell disease. People with sickle cell trait are generally healthy. Persons with SCD can pass either SCD or sickle cell trait (SCT) onto their children.

SCT affects 1 in 12 African Americans in this country. Estimates are that 3 million people in the United States have SCT and many are unaware of the condition. SCT is also frequently found in people living in or have families in South and Central Americans, Caribbean, India, Arabia and Mediterranean counties such as Turkey Greece and Italy.

Chances of Inheriting SCD or SCT

• Both parents have SCT = 50% chance of SCT in their children; no symptoms in children of SCD; but they can pass SCT onto their children
  
• Both parents have SCT=25% chance of SCD in their children; 25% of no SCD in their children
  
• One parent has SCT= 50% chance of SCT; 50% chance of no SCT
  

How do you know?

A simple blood test is used to detect SCT. For several decades now blood testing for sickle cell and other blood conditions has been standard on newborns. Families with inherited SCD and SCT tendencies should see a genetic counselor (contact your family physician or local hospital) to investigate the number of relatives on the husband’s and wife’s side of the family who are carriers before deciding on having children of their own.

Knowledge of medical problems possibly associated with sickle cell trait and their appropriate management is good clinical practice for athletic programs so check with the school physician and/or the athlete's physician.

How Improving Listening Skills Can Improve Athletic Healthcare

Being is a good listener is half of being a good speaker. Americans spend 80% of their waking hours communicating. We spend 45% of the time listening, but we only listen at about 25% of our ability to do so.

Student-athletes need to understand their assignments, know the techniques of the sport and to listen to -  not just hear - instructions. The following guidelines will help student-athletes and student trainers become more effective communicators by improving their listening skills:

• In order to listen you have to stop talking.
• Listen actively. You can hear someone without really listening to them. 
• Don’t get ahead of the person talking. 
• Wait. Don’t jump to conclusions. 
• Listen to them without turning their story into your story.
• Don’t finish other people’s sentences. Be patient and do not interrupt. 
• Become a student of human behavior. Observe their nonverbal language. 
• When appropriate, summarize to show you were actually listening. 

When tending injured athletes, care providers must pay attention to details that affect decisions. Asking and listening are key evaluative tools used by all health care providers. Injured athletes need to feel comfortable and reassured by the person who is caring for them. Powerful body language, positive facial expression, eye contact and professional verbal skills are trademarks of successful people in all walks of life. This is especially true in the emotional, fast paced world of athletic healthcare.

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Successful Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication Key to Success in Athletics

Communication is the key to successfully accomplishing any task in athletics. From the catcher’s signals with the pitcher to the coach’s pep talk before the game, effectively conveying your message is crucial. Successful leaders throughout history have been effective communicators.

People use as many as 40,000 words in a normal day. Each day we typically spend 45% of our day listening, 30% speaking, 16% reading and 9% writing. Unfortunately, most of our training is just the opposite - with most of our time being taught how to write and very little time spent teaching how to be an effective listener. Effective communication is made easier by finding what you have in common. Focus on the common goals, not the common obstacles.

Your appearance is how someone initially molds their opinion of you. First impressions are lasting ones and are often formed with the first three minutes.

Your body language conveys a powerful message. Learn to stand and sit tall. When speaking, stand firmly on both feet and make eye contact with the person, but don’t stare or will make them uncomfortable. Don’t clench your fist or tap your fingers. Take a breath; relax and speak slowly and deliberately. Avoid quick snappy answers that you later take back.

Most of what you say goes without saying; actions and body language speak louder than words.

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Dancer's Foot Information and Treatment Suggestions

Dancer's Foot

Sesamoid bones are one of nature’s most amazing anatomical creations. Sesamoid bones are unique in that they are “floaters” - not connected to another bone - and they are embedded in a tendon or muscle. They provide a smooth surface over which tendons can slide to increase mechanical (muscle) power. The leverage advantage produced by the exact location of this bone gives us leg power (patella bone) as well as foot movement. The sesamoids in the forefoot (directly under the first toe joint) assist with weight bearing and help elevate the bones of the great toe.

Like other bones, sesamoids can break and tendons surrounding the sesamoids can become irritated or inflamed. This is called sesamoiditis. When the patella is dislocated or the Q angle (angle between thigh bone and larger shin bone) is excessive, the patella may not glide smoothly each time the leg is flexed or extended. If the underside of the patella loses its smoothness a condition called chondromalacia may develop.

On the underside of great toe there are two sesamoid bones. The great (big) toe is critical to walking, dancing and running. These two sesamoid bones improve the angle and effectiveness of the toe-off portion of the gait cycle. When injured there may be no swelling and bruising with pain localized directly under the joint of the big toe. If this pain appears quickly you should seek physician care for an x-ray. If you experience pain bending/straightening the big toe even when non-weight bearing, suspect sesamoiditis.

The American Academy of Orthpaedic Surgeons offers the following guidance for sesamoiditis:

• Stop the activity causing the pain.
• Take aspirin or ibuprofen to relieve the pain.
• Rest and ice the sole of your feet. Do not apply ice directly to the skin, but use an ice pack or wrap the ice in a towel.
• Wear soft-soled, low-heeled shoes. Stiff-soled shoes like clogs may also be comfortable.
• Use a felt cushioning pad to relieve stress.
• Return to activity gradually, and continue to wear a cushioning pad of dense foam rubber under the sesamoids to support them. Avoid activities that put your weight on the balls of the feet. 
• Tape the great toe so that it remains bent slightly downward (plantar flexion).
• Your doctor may recommend an injection of a steroid medication to reduce swelling.
• If symptoms persist, you may need to wear a removable short leg fracture brace for 4 to 6 weeks.

There are specific pads for sesamoiditis in the foot that are intended to re-distribute body weight off of the bones upon weight bearing. Find these pads on the Sports Health’s web site >>

Easily Improve Your Fitness Level Using a Pedometer and These Walking Tips

Walking for Health

In our current fast paced world, we still can’t find enough time to do that one thing that we need: mild to moderate exercise repeated often. For the majority of Americans we do not need military-like fitness goals, we just need to do something actively and do it often.

Examples of lifestyle changes are common, well known and yet still underutilized, such as park the car in the last row at the mall instead of the closest row, stop the elevator one floor early and walk the stairs to your floor and walk yourself (or your dog) for that 15-30 minutes every night after dinner.

For many of us, we have grown accustomed to measuring, assessing and defining our lives and for this crowd using a pedometer is perfect. A pedometer is a device that senses your movements to tally up the number of steps you take. It can be worn, clipped, tucked or carried. Pedometers can be simple (clip it on your belt and start walking) or advanced (determine your stride length, weight, pulsating rhythm as you walk, calories burned and can be downloaded onto your computer). Choose a pedometer that has a display you can easily read in different lights, can be worn comfortably and has the features you want.

Prices range from $10 to over $100. If you are new to the walking idea and the keeping track of your “motion minutes”, start simple and move up when needed. Once you are ready to get started, try wearing it around your normal day for about 2-4 days just to see how many steps you take in a typical day. You can now begin to add steps by scheduling that 10, 20,30 minute walk and add them onto your total. If you want to measure distance instead of steps, find that local track or measured distance by car, walk the ¼ mile and see how many steps or strides it took you, multiply by 4 and there you have your mile number. Remember this is an estimate, but after all, we are in this to be in motion not measure in exact feet or yards!

According to the staff at the Mayo Clinic, you should

• Set long-term step goals. Think about your overall fitness and activity goals. Your short-term goals are the building blocks to these long-term goals. A long-term goal may be walking 10,000 steps a day, or about five miles (eight kilometers), several times a week as part of your new daily routine. You may also want to set a goal of walking faster as your fitness level improves. Keep in mind that the Department of Health and Human Services recommends that, in general, healthy adults get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity.
• Track your progress. To see how you're doing, monitor your progress over time. Your pedometer may or may not have a memory function to track your steps on a weekly or monthly basis. You can choose to use that feature or record your steps in a log of your own making. Or upload the information digitally to your computer or mobile device. Tracking your progress can help you see whether you're meeting your goals and when it may be time to set fresh goals.
• Check with your physician before beginning, especially if you have been sedentary for a while, have any orthopedic problems or have any medical issues that are being monitored.

To read more about different pedometers, shop Sports Health pedometers online >>

Wound and Bleeding Care Basics PLUS What to Buy for Your First Aid Kit

Wound and Bleeding Care

The majority of wounds should be handled by putting pressure directly on the wound using sterile gauze. Gauze pads hold the blood on the wound and help the components of the blood to stick together, promoting clotting. If you don't have gauze, terrycloth towels work almost as well. If the gauze soaks through with blood, add another layer. Never remove the initial bandage since peeling blood soaked gauze off a wound removes vital clotting agents and encourages bleeding to resume.

Blood needs to clot in order to start the healing process and stop the bleeding. Step two to control bleeding is to elevate the wound above the heart. By elevating the wound, you slow the flow of blood. As the blood slows, it becomes easier to stop it with direct pressure. Remember, it must be above the heart and you must keep direct pressure on it.

Types of Wounds

The acronym PAIL identifies the four major types of wounds: puncture, abrasion, incision and laceration.

Puncture wounds caused by a pointed implement such as a nail, cleat or pin may be deep and are difficult, if not impossible, to clean. Puncture wounds have the greatest chance of tetanus due to bacteria being left in the wound as the implement is withdrawn. Determine the implement, date of last tetanus shot and depth of penetration.

Abrasions are superficial in depth and may cover large areas. Due to the large amount of skin surface, they have a high chance of infection. First aiders should rinse the surface with a wound wash, pat dry with sterile gauze, apply antibiotic ointment and cover. Moist wounds have been shown to heal faster than the old days of “letting it air out to dry”. So, first aid cream and a bandage are the order of the day.

Incision wounds are made with sharp, straight instruments such as scalpels, metal buckle edges and knives. The wound has straight edges and may be long-short or wide-narrow. The wound should be washed with water or sterile wound wash and wiped in the direction of the incision to ensure proper removal of any debris. Depending upon length and depth, stitches may be necessary.

Laceration wounds have rough, uneven edges and involve the greatest amount of tissue damage. The wound should be thoroughly irrigated and wiped lengthwise to avoid lodging any debris under the multiple edges of the wound. Stitches may be required and may involve both internal and external sutures depending upon depth and size.

Universal Precautions

As is the case when dealing with any body fluids, the use of universal precautions is prudent. Gloves, sterile bandages, dressing to hold the bandage in place, wound wash/water and referral to additional care when needed are typical wound care steps.

For the rest of your first aid kit, you'll need:

· tweezers

· wound wash

· alcohol wipes

· antiseptic hand cleaner

· medical adhesive tape

· sterile gauze elastic bandages

· several sizes of adhesive bandages

· insect bite swabs

· triple-antibiotic ointment

· bandage scissors

· triangular bandages

· instant cold packs

· exam gloves

· barrier device for CPR

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