Identifying and Treating Wounds

By: Nick Izzo

Do you have a weak stomach? Do you not deal well with blood and individuals in pain who need your help? Well then I hope you are never in a situation that someone requires your help because then they are in some trouble. Today in this blog you will find out how to identify an individual that needs assistance and what to do to help them. And it is not scream and run away.

One injury that can possibly occur is an abrasion. This is nothing but a scraped knee or elbow or what have you but it is still important to treat. Treatment is necessary not because of the usual little amount of blood but because of the possibility of infection. More serious than an abrasion is a laceration. These are usually the result of a cut from a sharp object such as a knife as you prepare a pot of mixed vegetables or any sharp thing that just isn’t happy with you that day and decides to give you a nice cut. These cuts will often bleed for a while. There are also things called avulsions. Avulsions are very serious and definitely shouldn’t be dealt with by someone with a weak stomach. This is when your skin is torn off either resulting in it hanging there or coming clean off. These are open to serious infection and should be treated quite immediately.

Now you are probably wondering, how do I treat one of these injuries if I have to? Well, here it comes. You first want to expose the wound so you can clearly see it. This may need the removal of clothes of necessary.  It is now very important to prevent the wound from infection. You can do this by running water, mind you this water should be drinkable, over the wound to clear out and dirt or pebbles. This is when you should apply some pressure to control bleeding. This can be done with any type of bandage but it must be sterile. I also suggest a sterile rubber glove if you just so happen to have one or two on you. After bleeding seems to have died down, bandage should be applied. Also, against normal beliefs, do not use hydrogen peroxide or any type of alcohol on the wound. This can cause infection. When dealing with an avulsion though, take the same steps unless the skin has totally flopped off. Even though it has completely been torn off it can be saved if it’s put into cold water or ice and it can be reattached. This also means the wound still has to be treated properly.

It can be very hard to come up on a real life situation where someone has a laceration that needs treatment. It’s very important to remember these steps though and act as swiftly and cautious as possible. Knowing this information can really help someone in distress and possible save their life. Although hopefully none of us actually have to ever be in this situation.

After all those gory details here’s a laceration that we can all laugh at 

References:

Clausen, Kelsey. D2L - Michigan State University. N.p., n.d. d2l.com Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.

TheZachCrooks. "Step Brothers - Bunk Beds." YouTube. YouTube, 07 Oct. 2010. Youtube.com Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.

What does an Athletic Trainer Do?

By Emily Goltz

Today, I will go into more depth about what exactly an athletic trainer does in regards to their daily activities. There is a lot more behind the scenes that happens than from what you would normally see on the field or the the athletic training room.

First of all, athletic trainers are health care professionals. They are there for prevention services, emergency care, clinical diagnosis and assessment, therapeutic interventions, rehabilitation and health care administration. To become an athletic trainer, you need to complete an entry-level athletic training education that has been accredited by CAATE. You can then chose from 16 post-professional degree programs and need to have two residencies. Next, you take the test, which generally takes four hours and has around 170 questions. If you become an athletic trainer, you need to have stamina, empathy, patience, the ability to communicate, be relatable to, and have an ongoing interest in continuing your education. Depending on what state you are in, you need to be licensed, registered or certified.

The athletic trainer is in charge of all administration and record keeping for the athletes she/ he works with. They are required to have risk management, meaning they are in charge of all things that have to do with fire safety, electrical safety, security issues and the emergency action plan. They have to be uncharge of their budgetary concerns. They have to order the correct number of expendable and non-expenible supplies.

Medical reports are the biggest concern of athletic trainers. They need to have all injury reports, treatments logs, personal information cards, injury evaluations and personal notes. On top of just injury and athlete records, they need to keep full reports on financial and medical data. The reason for keeping records is to be able to communicate, for any legal issues, research efforts, and for reimbursements. There is a statue of limitation an athletic trainer can keep their records for. More often than not, after seven years, the records can't be used for anything and that is when the athletic trainer will get rid of them.

KIN 127- Into to Athletic Training, Caroline Lisee, MED, LAT, ATC

What Is Kinesiology?

By: JT Lenga 


Hello readers! On Monday, I was brainstorming ideas for this weeks post, when I realized our blog is about kinesiology.  Yet, we don't actually have a post about what kinesiology is. So immediately, I got to work on the post. I gathered information from the MSU website, Americankinesiology.org and a few other resources to give to you the information we carelessly overlooked. 

First of all, kinesiology is the study of human and non-human body movement. The intellectual focus of kinesiology is movement or physical activity. Physical activity can take the form of exercising, or activities associated with daily living, work, sports, dance, etc. Kinesiology has certain applications to human health.  These include, biomechanics, conditioning, sport/exercise psychology, rehabilitation, and exercise. 

Kinesiology is a field of study offered at many universities all over the country. These universities include Columbia University, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Iowa State University, etc. Kinesiology programs have a majority of their coursework focused on anatomy, physiology, nutrition, exercise, and others. Those looking to pursue a degree in this field should have a love for exercising, the human body, and for bettering yourself and others through improved health habits. If not, you may not be as successful in your studies.

A degree in kinesiology can lead to many exciting career opportunities. Some of these opportunities include coaching, personal training, sports administration, sports reporter, exercise physiology, etc. If you decide to continue your studies into graduate school careers such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, medical doctor, physician assistant, registered nurse, and many others will all become available after completion of your studies. 

I did not start to consider studying kinesiology until the end of my senior year of high school. I was doing research on physical therapy when I found that kinesiology was one of the recommended degree programs for this field of work. I had never heard of kinesiology before, so naturally I decided to do some research on the subject. After completing my research, kinesiology seemed like a great fit for me. I am the kind of person who loves interacting with others, exercising, and learning about the human body. Once I got to MSU for my orientation, the first thing I did was change my major from human biology to kinesiology. I love the program so far.  It's really cool being able to relate what I love to do to my studies.

I hope that I have left you all with a good understanding of kinesiology. Below I have provided a video to add to what I said. 

References 

“Careers in Kinesiology.” American Kinesiology Association, AKA, 11 Mar. 2010, http://www.americankinesiology.org/careers-in-kinesiology/careers-in-kinesiology/careers-in-kinesiology. Accessed 24 Feb. 2017.

“Department of Kinesiology - College of Education - Michigan State University.” Michigan State University College of Education Kinesiology Department, 2012, http://education.msu.edu/kin/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2017.

Ennis, Catherine. “Kinesiology: The Discipline and Related Professions.” National Academy of Kinesiology, NAK, 11 May 2010, http://www.nationalacademyofkinesiology.org/what-is-kinesiology. Accessed 24 Feb. 2017.

http://www.massagetoday.com/content/images/lowe1_37873_1_1_1696.jpg. Accessed 24 Feb. 2017.

   

The Occupational Therapist's Role in Sleep

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Prompt 8: Hands On

By: Nick Izzo

One class you have to take as a Kinesiology major is KIN 125 which is First Aid and Personal Safety. So far in this class we have talked a lot about what to do in situations when someone may need rescue breaths or cardiopulmonary resuscitation also known as CPR. Both of these are needed in different situations and sometimes done together. Rescue breaths are given when someone is unconscious, isn’t breathing but does have a pulse. These breaths get oxygen into the body hopefully triggering the victim to begin breathing again. A rescue breath is given every four seconds and the breath should last one second. This is done for two minutes and then you reassess the victim to see if they still hold that pulse. Sometimes in these situations a victim can lose their pulse and also not be breathing. This is when CPR comes in. Compressions on the chest are given to the victim to basically play the job of the heart and pump blood to the entire body. Now, the victim also isn’t breathing so rescue breaths are still needed. Every 30 compressions the person giving CPR should give two rescue breaths. On paper all of this seems pretty simple right? Well even on a dummy this is a tough thing to do. In class we had a lab practical which tested our abilities. Everything has to be done perfect because in a real life situation if you miss a step that could cost someone their life or it could be a liability for yourself. During the practical, real life as well, you have to remember to stay calm when coming up on the scene. It’s also very important to let anyone around know that you are CPR certified. Also, you need to take control of the situation and tell someone to call for an ambulance and an AED, automated external defibrillator. This machine attempts to get the heart back to a normal beating rhythm. While your requests are met is when you do the CPR. After the AED arrives and if the ambulance hasn’t arrived yet, you use that. Once the ambulance arrives you leave the work to the higher trained individuals.

This is stressful even in a testing situation. Having to remember the order of things to be done, how to do each individual thing and also being confident in your abilities is not easy when a human’s life is at stake. Going through the PowerPoints in class makes you think you could jump right into a real life situation. That’s just not true. After experiencing a hands on situation, it made me, and probably most people in the class, realize it gets more difficult when your knowledge is put to the test.  

Here's a situation a little less stressful that we all know and love:

References:

D2L - Michigan State University. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.

Ustheoffice. "First Aid Fail // The Office US." YouTube. YouTube, 08 May 2015. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.