Risks and Responsibilities of Coaching Swimming
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to look at the area of risk management with reference to the sport of swimming. There is no doubt that the ability to prevent any types of injury to athletes is of the utmost importance. The safety of the athletes should therefore be the primary concern of both facility managers and coaches. By working together, one would hope, that all unnecessary injuries could be prevented.
One of the most severe injuries that can occur is that of a spinal injury. The area of prevention that addresses this issue is that of spinal injury management and it will be looked at more closely later in this paper. Even with all the extra emphasis in this day and age on safety issues, these kinds of injuries are still far too prevalent. In 1996, Michael Berger and Judith Middleton state that in the United Kingdom, there are around 40,000 children each year that suffer from head injuries. Some of these individuals will have received severe injuries, in that they will have been unconscious for at least 20 minutes and so will most likely have suffered brain damage.
The sport of swimming has the obvious danger of drowning. There are also potential risks of spinal injuries caused by collisions with the floor of the pool, the walls in the pool and other swimmers. Many other injuries can be the result of a slippery deck or training equipment not correctly stored away. There is also a risk of injury from the chemicals which are present at a pool such as chlorine.
Risk Management
Aquatic injury prevention should be part of any facilities risk management program. Risk management involves identifying and reducing dangerous conditions that can cause injuries and financial loss. Thus, the aim of a risk management is in a way a kind of preventative medicine, to tackle the issue of a problem thus ensuring that those kinds of accidents will not occur. There are some that would contend that those individuals that suffer an injury are unfortunate victims of circumstance. Many injuries can be avoided through an understanding of the factors that can cause injuries to occur and then a knowledge of how to go about preventing such situations to occur.
Charles Bucher and March Krotee (1998) explain that there is an added risk in any physical education exercise as opposed to a ...
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...water conditions, many dangers are in and around water.
Risk management in a pool environment is basically concerned with aquatic injury prevention. A highly developed risk management program will substantially reduce the risks of injury. By understanding how injuries are caused, one can better prevent them. Effective communication with patrons is critical for helping to prevent injuries. Through this communication, the patrons can have fun in a safer environment.
References
American Red Cross (1993). Community First Aid & Safety. Mosby Lifeline, St. Louis. (pg. 184)
American Red Cross (1993). CPR For The Professional Rescuer. Mosby Lifeline, St. Louis. (pg. 10)
American Red Cross (1995). Lifeguarding Today. Mosby Lifeline, St. Louis.
(pp. 44-204)
American Red Cross (1988). Safety Training For Swim Coaches. Mosby Lifeline, St. Louis. (pg. 26)
American Red Cross ( 1992). Swimming & Diving. Mosby Lifeline, St. Louis.
(pp. 33-317)
Berger, M. & Middleton, J. (1996). Head Injury: Some Consequences For Injured School Pupils, Their Teachers And Schools. The Partnership, Southampton. (pg. 3)
Bucher, C.A. & Krotee, M.A. (1998). Management of Physical Educ
In recent years, there has been an increase in research investigating the long-term effects of repeated head trauma on the brain, especially in athletes. Following his discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Dr. Bennet Omalu inspired a movement of research aimed at establishing better safety standards and protocols in football. It was not until 2002 that the initial connection between repetitive head trauma, such as concussions, and brain injury was suspected (Ott, 2015).
Pictet, Jean. “The Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross: Commentary.” The Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross: Commentary. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.
Did you know, that someone suffers from a brain injury every 21 seconds (Haas)? Children get concussions all the time, and most of the time they go unnoticed. The majority of concussions happen when one is playing a sport such as football, hockey, or lacrosse. Many famous athletes have had their careers, even their lives cut short due to concussions. Brain damage and death can result from serial concussions (Schafer). When one suffers from a concussion, one’s brain needs time to recover physically and mentally. Between 2002 and 2006, statistics showed that 52,000 people died from concussions and about 275,000 were hospitalized (Fundukian). Everyone’s recovery process is different (“Injury and Pain Care”). Although concussions seem minor, they are very serious brain injuries that may result in severe damage to one’s brain.
Thesis: Concussions affect children and adults of all ages causing physical, emotional and metal trauma to a person and their brain.
Sweat. Blood. Tears. Fruit punch Gatorade. Many people all around the world play sports whether it is Football, Baseball, Tennis, Swimming, Wrestling or Track. People have come together and played sports since the begging of time; the Olympics unites people all over the world. However, once in a while shocking and sometimes fatal injuries can occur. Although sports teams prior to sports medicine have employed team physicians for numerous years, the field of sports medicine did not arise until about the 20th century. The first textbook on the subject of sports medicine was published in 1910 to help athletes avoid fatal injuries. Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness, treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise. There is danger in almost any sport and athlete participated in; sports have caused many life altering injuries and sometimes even death. Due to sports medicine becoming a new and growing health care profession, many injures have went undocumented. The common athletic trainer may deal with minor cuts and bruises, muscle cramps, ACL sprains, ankle sprains, shin splints and maybe even a broken bone; but once in a while they can experience extreme injures. There has been various outrageous and gruesome injuries throughout sports medicine history.
"Red Cross Nursing." American Red Cross. The American Red Cross, 2014. Web. 02 May 2014.
Recently, attention has been brought to American football players on the risks of football due to countless concussions and lifelong health problems caused by blows to the head and improper equipment, therefore, the requirements for the equipment should be updated. Not only has the National Football League been found guilty of not realizing it, but the doctors and sports trainers have also. Head trauma early in life can greatly affect you later down the road. Head trauma is nine times out of ten, not curable. Therefore, it is greatly life threatening. Although football is a great pastime sport, it comes with many risks and health issues.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year emergency departments treat an estimated 135,000 children ages five to eighteen for sports-related brain injuries (National). Most of these injuries are concussions, and the children recover. The long term effects on children who suffer repeated concussions, even mild ones, is still not known. It’s hard to imagine a child as a disabled, middle-aged man, but repeated concussions could put a child at risk for severe conditions such as early onset dementia, Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders that require neurosurgery, but no one wants to think about while on the sidelines at a football game.
Following behind motor vehicle crashes, traumatic brain injury in sports is the second leading cause of traumatic brain injuries for people fifth-teen to twenty-four years of age. Immense concerns follows given that American football accounts for the highest incidence of concussions (Rowson and Duma 2130). In addition, th...
All parents experience fear of their child playing sports due to the possible injuries a young athlete is susceptible to. ‘’Groups say they 're concerned because each year more than 60,000 high school athletes sustain a concussion. It 's an injury that temporarily affects brain function, though it may or may not cause a person to lose consciousness.’’ This statistic was generated by a group of doctors that specialize in concussion research. The increase of concussions in sports have a profound effect on athletes. Concussions rates in 2011 dramatically increased; their occurrence in athletes has increased by 200% over the recent years. With a recording of 3,800,000 concussions in 2012, it proves that change needs to occur for the safety of high school athletes.
Swimming is an activity that’s been around for a long time. Some of its first forms have been in ancient caves that have illustrations of people swimming. Some others include in the Greek epic poems “The Illiad” and “The Odyssey.” During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, swimming began to be a structured activity and later on in history became a popular sport. In 1896, it was a portion of the Olympics in Athens, Greece and it continues to be part of the summer Olympics. Currently, swimming is the second most popular exercise in the United States with millions of people partaking in it.
“Summary Report for: 29-2041.00 - Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedic.” O*Net. 2008. Web. 18 Feb. 2010.
In 1976 Scotland, a reported 100,000 people were in the hospital with a reported head injury. In the United Kingdom, they reported one million head injuries per year, according to hospital records. “Almost half of these are children less than fourteen years old and males outnumber females by more than two to one.”(Graham). Deaths due to head injuries during this time were reported to be approximately nine deaths per one hundred thousand injuries. These were reports were taken before and up to 1976 and in the United Kingdom. In American sports, there were more reported deaths or paralysis due to head injuries. In 1904, 19 athletes died or became paralyzed. In 1938, 894 deaths were thought to be caused by head injuries in athletics (HIS). Theodore Roosevelt actually threatened to ban American football unless changes were made to prevent these injuries and deaths caused by the sport. Since then, sports head injuries have dramatically decreased (HIS).
As you sit in a classroom at the Community College, you may not think that saving a life is something you could do today, but, in fact, it's quite easy to do.
CPR and First Aid have become procedures that are commonly used in all medical fields. It is always good to know how to perform both of the procedures in case of any emergency that may arise when it is not expected. Having to perform CPR could save someone’s life, not knowing how to perform it correctly could result in a person not being saved. Knowing first aid is also crucial because it’s something that can be used not only in a medical setting, but also at home on family members. Getting all the knowledge that one can get on either of these two procedures will only benefit that person for the future.