Is injury evaluation the same as

diagnosis?
Injury evaluation is NOT the same as diagnosis. The doctor
is the only person allowed the diagnose the condition of the
patient. Evaluation happens in the field while the diagnostic
process occurs in the doctor’s clinic. The goal of the injury
evaluation process is to rule out of the presence of a severe
injury or a life-threatening condition. The first part of the
evaluation is called the primary survey . This is a quick
evaluation if there are life-threatening injuries present. The
evaluation needs to consider if the patient should be moved
or transported immediately to a medical facility.
 What sports injury can lead to
death?

 One of the life-threatening sport injury is concussion or

traumatic brain injury. This injury is common to contact
and combat sports(i,e. boxing) and is caused by a strong
blow to the head that temporarily impairs brain
function. The injured athlete might show other signs
such as amnesia, loss of balance, poor motor
coordination, and slurred speech. These sign may
manifest right after the trauma or it could be delayed for
a few hours.
 3 Types of concussion

Category Description Characteristics

Grade I Mild No loss of consciousness, condition

normalizes less than 15 minutes

Grade II Moderate No loss of consciousness, condition

normalizes beyond 15 minutes

Grade III Severe Loss of consciousness

 How could a life-threatening
condition be determined?

 The coach or trainer has to perform a primary survey to

determine in the injured athlete is in a life- threatening
condition. There are two tale signs: unconsciousness and
not breathing. If the injured athlete is breathing but
unconscious do not move the body unless the neck and
the back is stabilized to prevent complication. The CPR
technique incorporates chess compressions and rescue
breaths to facilitate blood flow to the brain and proling
the life of the person.
 FIRST AID FOR ACUTE
INJURIES

 A more through evaluation procedure or a secondary

survey is performed if the patientis stable. The goal of
the secondary survey is to determine the primary
injury,severity, muscle function, and joint stability, as
well as the location and mechanism of injury or the
movement or force that caused the injury.
 The inspection or observation process is a passive
component of secondary survey which is usually
performed visually and manually. The coach or trainer
should inspect for deformety, swelling
discoloration,bleeding and other possible signs of injury.
 PRICE Principle

 Protect
 Rest
 Ice
 Compression
 Elevation
Swelling and other symptoms of inflammation(i.e. pain) can be
controlled using the price. Protect the injured body part as aggravation
will increase the inflammation.
Rest is recommended to give the body part enough time to heal. The
athlete has to refrain for using the injured body part because it can
increase swelling and it can increases the risk of re-injury.
MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC
INJURY

 Management of chronic injuries differs for acute

injuries because the onset of swelling and pain is
different. Acute injuries have a sudden onset of
pain while overuse injuries have gradual onset
of pain. The prolonged inflammation that occurs
in chronic or overuse injuries cannot be
managed by the price principle. The strategy of
alleviating inflammation in overuse injuries
depends on its severity.