First Aid

Football is a very physical game with many stops and starts and changes of direction in an instant leading to lots of opportunities for violent collisions and injuries. Although, as a whole, football is a very safe sport, activity like this with any game can cause a variety of minor injuries and some may even be serious.

There are many factors which may involved in the severity of the injury - such as players not warming up properly, wet or slippery field conditions, players not watching the ball or players and coaches simply ignoring the rules of safety.

Where there is an increased chance for a participant in an activity to be injured, it is important that someone on staff are adequately trained in the administration of First Aid. In a sport, as active and competitive as football, it is important that any training in first aid be able to cope with multiple injuries for the care of the injured players.

Here are some of the most common injuries associated with the football; many of them can be rather dealt with using the fundamental principles first aid and training.

Sprains

Ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries associated with the sport of football. High-speed turns with fast and frequent stops and angular runs is a recipe for a sprained ankle.

Muscle strains and pulls

These can be incurred by the players who have not doen their warm up prior to competing, from trying an unusual or unusually high kick or lose ones footing on a insecure base. Strains and pulls, depending on the severity can excruciatingly painful.

Concussion

In addition to their feet, footballers are allowed to use their head with the ball. A ball travels at high speed and the forty or so yards of the playing field and the impact of a player's head can be sufficient for the players to see stars. Also, if two players go for a ball in the air, the chances for an accidental clash of heads is high, and there is also a good chance of a concussion.

Convulsions

Muscle cramps are in any sport where a large part of the competition involves running, and although they are not very serious, the pain can be extreme from the beginning until the spasm has run its course.

The above list includes the most common injuries on the football field, some of them are very serious and even though not life-threatening. The most serious injuries listed above are concussion and ankle sprain, both of which are probably going to cause a player to miss a few games, but unless the injury is unusually severe the players would probably be back on the field in a week to ten days. First aid proper training will help to alleviate symptoms of the above injuries and get the right treatment started, whether it is ice, massage, elevation or stabilization.

As in any sport where there is potential for impact, there is a chance that some serious injuries occur on the football field. Every time two players collide at high speed or a misdirected kick by a player with another there is a chance for things like broken bones or deep injury.

In the event of this, players who are in training or are trained in first aid can begin to administer immediate care while waiting for emergency personnel to respond. If immediate action is not taken the injury could easily worsen, or permanent damage may occur. First aid training to learn how to stop bleeding, administer CPR and treating those in shock from the severe pain of suffering broken bones is essential for those playing, coaching or supporting high impact sports like football.