Immediate care of school sport injury

Abstract

School sport is a major cause of injury in the post-primary age group. The importance of primary prevention in sport has been identified; however secondary prevention of school related sport injury has not been described in Ireland.A random sample of 450 schools in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland was studied using a postal questionnaire. Current management of sport injury, with particular interest in the expertise and training of teachers and coaches, was explored.Replies were received from 333 (74%) schools. There was no physical education teacher with up to date first aid training in 37% schools. Immediate care in terms of mechanisms and equipment to deal with injury was available in 35%-81% of schools responding. Correct response ranged from 65%-90% to four scenarios: commonly presenting yet potentially serious management problems. This study demonstrated deficiencies in sport injury care. In addition to concern about current training, a need for basic life support training is highlighted. These findings have implications for the prevention of school sports injuries.T he health benefits of exercise are well documented, 1 2 and school sport is recognised as an important means of promoting physical activity in children.3 Sport is, however, a major cause of injury in the post-primary age group (11-18 years) in both Europe and North America.4-7 Injury occurs during organised sport (62%), physical education class (20%), and in non-organised or unsupervised sport (18%).6 Reports suggest that a fourth of all school injuries are serious (that is, fracture, dislocation, and brain injuries), 8 and 61% of sports injuries are minor (sprains, strains, contusions, abrasions, and lacerations). 9 Fatalities are rare but one national school injury study in USA identified 30 sports related deaths in a six year period, all of which were in the 15-19 age group. 8 School sport must be safe and enjoyable if we are to implement current public health policy in promoting physical activity. The importance of primary prevention-for example, the wearing of personal protective gear-has been identified. 11The epidemiology of school sport injury has been documented in Ireland, 12-15 but we know little about readiness for and early management of injury, that is, secondary prevention. The literature suggests that appropriate intervention can influence outcome. 16-21The purpose of this study was to identify the current state of equipment and staff to manage injury in post-primary schools throughout Ireland.School sport is an integral part of the physical activity promotion, with increasing UK government emphasis on physical education in the school.3 22 All pupils participate in physical education (PE) unless there is a medical reason for exclusion. The national curriculum for physical education in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) ensures that PE activities are uniform in all schools-that is, percentage of time spent in aerobic activities, contact sport, etc. However extracurricular activities and percentage...

Knowledge and Needs for Prevention and Management of Sports Injury among High/Vocational School Students in Taiwan

“…Bijur, et al (1995) had demonstrated in a study with 11,840 students aged 5-17 that, irrespective of gender of the students, aged 14-17 is the high risk group for sports injury. Abernethy, MacAuley, McNally, & McCann (2003) had pointed out that majority of the students who experience school sports injury in Northern Ireland were within the age group of 11-18, which was consistent with the studies conducted in Europe and North America. Summarizing the results mentioned above, it is apparent that high/vocational school students are the population most susceptible for sports injury.…”

Awareness, attitudes and practices of first aid among school teachers in Mangalore, south India

“…7 In a 2003 Irish study, equipment to deal with injury was unavailable in 19% to 65% of schools. 13 The study completed in Chandigarh, India also found that only 11% of the schools surveyed had health funds available for buying medicines, 15 in comparison to 33% of schools in this study. The Chandigarh study also noted that common equipment for health check-ups was lying unused in many schools.…”

“…An Irish study similarly reported that 93% of school games staff were interested in attending a first aid workshop. 13 In the study by Gagliardi et al, 14 87% of teachers agreed that first aid training should be included in teacher training programmes. About half of the teachers in this study felt that any person trained in first aid could be an ideal trainer.…”

Analysis of Injuries Among Children in Kindergartens During Physical Activities

“…Tuje raziskave kažejo (8), da se med urami športne vzgoje pri otrocih in mladostnikih zgodi 20 % telesnih poškodb, 62 % med organizirano gibalno dejavnostjo v prostem času in 18 % med neorganizirano gibalno dejavnostjo, torej dejavnostjo, ki se ne izvaja pod strokovnim vodstvom v prostem času. Med neorganizirano gibalno dejavnostjo naj bi se po drugi raziskavi (9) poškodovalo 40 % otrok in mladostnikov.…”