#3 Survey of Current Topics in Your Field

Fluid replacement in athletes
Dehydration can compromise an athlete’s performance and increase their risk of a heat related illness. Athletes do not voluntarily drink a sufficient enough of water before physical activity to prevent dehydration. An athlete’s actions towards drinking a sufficient amount of fluids can be modified by education, accessibility, and tastiness. This should not be confused to cause overdrinking because that too can be harmful and cause a decrease in physical performance. Athletic trainers provide practical recommendations regarding fluid replacement for athletes.

Management of Sport Related Concussion
Large numbers of athletes participate in sport: youth, high school, recreational, collegiate, and professional. As sports became more popular in the lives of Americans, the responsibility falls on parents, coaches, physicians, and researchers to provide a safe environment to reduce injury. For example, the recommendations made for football between 1976 and 1980 resulted in a significant reduction in fatalities and catastrophic injuries. Certified athletic trainers average about 7 athletes with concussions a year. Many athletes do not know how dangerous a concussion is, and if second impact syndrome happens, possible death. This is why it is important for an athletic trainer to recognize the signs and symptoms, and educate the family with the next steps of how to insure a proper recovery.

Emergency Planning in Athletics
The objective of having an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) is to educate athletic trainers and others about the need for emergency planning, proved guidelines in the development of emergency plans, and to advocate documentation of emergency planning. Potentially life threatening emergencies in athletics are unpredictable, and proper management of these injuries is critical and should be known to minimize the risk to the injured athlete. Emergency plans should be developed by organizational personnel in consultation with the local emergency medical services. Component of the EAP include: identification of the personnel involved, specification of the equipment needed to respond to the emergency, and the establishment of a communication system to summon emergency care. EAP’s should be reviewed and rehearsed annually.