Athletic trainers evaluate injuries in sports games and practices by following protocols to assess injured athletes.

“Injury evaluations can vary greatly depending on what type of injury has occurred; however all injury evaluations follow a similar pattern. In the very beginning I gather all the necessary information I need from the athlete to determine what the next steps are.”

When evaluating an athlete for an injury, Mike asks these four questions, “What happened exactly? Can you describe the pain as best you can? Can you point with one finger where it hurts the most? Has something like this ever happened before?” Then he moves on to what he can observe, such as noticeable bruising, swelling, or any deformities. Next he would test how well the body part can move. Finally, Mike places pressure on joints to determine the integrity of a bone or ligament. 

         Here at Triton High School, each area where games take place has an “Emergency Action Plan.” If an emergency was to occur, this plan outlines what needs to happen, step by step, in order to eliminate confusion and guesswork. Athletes and coaches have been assigned roles to perform that ensure the emergency is properly taken care of and safety is being provided. These roles consist of a 1st responder, 2nd responder, person grabbing the AED, person calling 911, and someone to guide the ambulance to the site of injury. 

         “When responding to an injury on the field, the biggest question I have for myself is “is there a threat of loss of life or limb, and is this person safe and stable to move to the sideline?” Mike said. For example if there was an athlete that collapsed at a wrestling meet with no apparent injury, unresponsive and has no pulse, the emergency action plan would be put into action and CPR would be performed. 

Injuries in athletes occur everyday, but maybe players would be safer if they were aware how injuries can happen and how to prevent them. Mike Ruzycky says, “I wholeheartedly believe there are 3 big things students can do to greatly reduce their chance of injury.” These consist of getting high quality of sleep, high quality of nutrition and hydration, and finally, strength training. 

Athletes need sleep in order for them to recover, build muscle and reduce fatigue. High quality of sleep also allows you to become more coordinated and learn new skills due to the new neural pathways forming from your brain to your muscles. When athletes properly fuel their body they will get stronger and will become less injury prone. Proper nutrition and hydration also gives us energy so we are able to participate in our sports and academics. Strength training has many benefits, some of those being increased bone density, muscle strength, strength of connective tissue and communication between the brain and muscles.