The Carolina Panthers are offering NFL-mandated training to local high school athletic trainers in an effort to give them the tools to handle on-field emergencies.
According to WGHP, roughly 29 percent of school in North Carolina don't have dedicated athletic trainers, and football sees the most injuries.
“The Panthers have a lot of personnel, and a lot of equipment, and a lot of resources available to them,” said Mike Cendoma with Sports Medicines Concepts. “Community athletic trainers: not so much.”
The NFL has an annual mandated training that offers the most up-to-date techniques for dealing with on-field emergencies. This year, the Panthers reserved a few hours for 20 local athletic trainers to take part in the exercises.
“Even as you go into, you know, you’re able to remove someone from the field, and you take them to an emergency facility,” King explained, “the physicians there may not be trained in removing equipment, so they’re going to really count on the professionals at the scene to assist with that.”
Trainers practiced how to rotate a player with potential neck or head injury, and how to remove their pads with minimal disruption. They also practiced how to deal with cardiac and heat-related issues.
“I think everyone, especially athletic trainers, have understood the importance of being prepared,” Cendoma said. “It’s how we are preparing. It’s more simulation-based now. It’s more realistic training based.”
