CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — In an era with increased emphasis on athlete safety and wellness, 29 percent of schools in North Carolina still don’t have access to athletic trainers. Friday, the Panthers extended their NFL-mandated training to other local athletic trainers, so they too can have the latest knowledge on how to handle on-field emergencies.
Football has the highest injury rate of any other high school sport, making emergency training on the field that much more important.
“The Panthers have a lot of personnel, and a lot of equipment, and a lot of resources available to them,” said Mike Cendoma with Sports Medicines Concepts. “Community athletic trainers: not so much.”
Every year, the NFL mandates teams to get the most up-to-date training techniques, so when emergencies happen on the field, they can execute the quickest response.
This year, the Panthers reserved a few hours for 20 local athletic trainers and a few EMTs to get that same training free of charge. Panthers’ head athletic trainer Kevin King spearheaded the effort.
“Even as you go into, you know, you’re able to remove someone from the field, and you take them to an emergency facility,” King explained, “the physicians there may not be trained in removing equipment, so they’re going to really count on the professionals at the scene to assist with that.”
Trainers practiced how to rotate a player with a potential neck or head injury, and remove their pads with minimal disruption. They also practiced the latest techniques for handling cardiac and heat-related injuries.
“I think everyone, especially athletic trainers, have understood the importance of being prepared,” Cendoma said. “It’s how we are preparing. It’s more simulation-based now. It’s more realistic training based.”
The hope is that non-NFL trainers can provide that basic life support to local athletes before the critical life-support equipment arrives.
“Opportunities like this help make the game safer,” said King. “Parents should rest assured that the professionals, when something bad happens, are trainer prepared to take care of emergency situations.”