Date	Location
05/02/20	Marjon Clinic, Albion Oakes rugby pitch

1-hour Did pregame massage and a went through a SCAT5 test

1-hour running through pitch side scenarios

3-hours covering girls rugby game pitch side

For part of the first hour I completed a back massage on one of the girls focusing on the upper back and shoulders. I then complete a SCAT5 for part of a players return to play process.

I then ran through pitch side scenarios to ensure we are confident and are well-rehearsed in any scenario that may take place.

When covering the girl’s rugby at Albion Oakes rugby pitch there were many incidents where we were called into action. The first time we were called into action one of the players had sustained an injury to their right hand but insisted they were going to play on so the hand we supported the hand the best we could with rigid tape. The next incident was when a player sustained a knee to knee collision with another player on the medial side, so we applied rigid tape to support the MCL and placed over wrap to reduce the rigid tape becoming unstuck. There were two occasions where we had to remove player from the game as they had sustained a blow to the head but remained conscious the whole time. The major incident of the day was when a player was struck in the head by leg of another player and was knocked unconscious. We straight away ran on to the pitch where the head was immobilised, and the player regain consciousness and we went through the protocol for a player with a suspected spinal. The spine was then cleared by a fully qualified therapist and the player was removed from the pitch.

After remaining conscious on the side-line for the rest of the game the player then fainted and fell over once the game had ended. We once again immobilised the player who regain consciousness almost straight away. The spine was once again cleared. We kept the player laid down on the ground and covered her to keep her warm. As she became more responsive and alert we attempted to sit her up but she passed out once again so at this point the decision was made to phone for an ambulance to which we were informed would be a 50 minute wait. The player regain consciousness once again and we put her on a stretcher and carried her to the club house changing rooms where the player remained laid down until the paramedic arrived and ensured she was ok.

I could improve on my ability to apply rigid tape on the pitch by wiping down the area I am going to apply it to ensure it is clean.

 

Throughout the time when dealing with the player who was knocked out I was very on edge. Hopefully, with experience I will become calmer in a situation like this which should, in turn, keep the player who is injured calm.