Experience in understanding sports injury prevention and first aid courses

80% of daily sports injuries can be completely avoided. During the golden first aid window for sudden sports emergencies, the basic operations mastered by ordinary people are much more useful than waiting for professional rescue to arrive. This course is by no means exclusive to professional athletes, but a common knowledge course that all ordinary people who have the habit of exercising more than once a week should take up.

To be honest, my previous understanding of this type of course was still "useless content taught by physical education teachers during class", until what happened at the company basketball game last year gave me a wake-up call. At that time, a colleague from the same department sprained his foot while grabbing a rebound, and a group of us were busy working around him: someone squatted down to rub away the bruises, someone ran to buy a warm baby to apply it to him, and two teammates held his arm to drag him to the hospital. The final X-ray showed that he had a second-grade ligament tear. The doctor said that it was only a mild sprain, but the messing around stretched the ligament even more. It took him three months of rest before he dared to walk normally. Now think about it, if we had only known some basic first aid knowledge at that time, we would never have ended up like this.

The most interesting thing about the class is that we were not given any "one standard answer". Instead, we were discussed on several controversial points that are currently hotly debated in the circle. Take the warm-up as an example. The older generation of sports enthusiasts believe in "warming up with static leg presses for 10 minutes." Today's young bloggers are saying everywhere that "static stretching will reduce muscle explosiveness and make injuries more likely on the field." The two sides were arguing, but the teacher said it honestly: Is there any absolute right or wrong? If you want to run a marathon or walk dozens of kilometers on a hiking trail, it’s absolutely fine if you add 10 minutes of static stretching before the race to open up your joints. ； If you are playing sports that require sudden changes of direction, such as badminton or basketball, you should focus on dynamic activation such as high leg raises, side sliding steps, and small steps. After the game, you can do static stretching and relaxation, which is the right thing for you. Including the RICE principle of injury treatment that everyone has memorized before, now the academic circle has also proposed the updated POLICE principle, which emphasizes not to rest completely, but appropriate light weight bearing can speed up recovery. Listening to these contents, it is much more practical than giving a standard answer directly.

Damn, I used to think that this kind of class was all just talk on paper. Who would be able to remember so many steps if something really happened? It’s not until you get your hands on the simulation that you realize that’s not the case. When practicing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, I thought I could just press on my chest casually. But when I got started, I realized that I need to press to a depth of 5-6 centimeters, maintain a frequency of 100-120 times per minute, and not bend my arms the whole time. My arms were sore and trembling after less than a minute of pressing. The teacher laughed and said that in TV dramas, one person pressing for more than ten minutes is just an act. In reality, if ordinary people press for three minutes at the scene, they will lose their energy, and they have to call the people around them in advance to take turns. There is also the AED. I always thought it was a professional equipment that can only be used by medical staff. During the class, the teacher took a scrapped real machine and disassembled it for us to see. Even the electrode pads were pasted with cartoon diagrams. When you turn on the machine, a voice will teach you how to operate it step by step. Even if you are using it for the first time, you will not make a mistake. Moreover, the Civil Code has long stipulated that there is no responsibility for voluntary first aid, and there is no need to worry about "paying money if you use it incorrectly."

Of course, I have also heard many people say, "If you learn this lesson, it will be in vain. If something happens, your mind will go blank and you will not remember anything." I thought the same way before, until last month, an old man suddenly fainted while walking downstairs in the community. I happened to be buying water nearby, and my first reaction was not to panic. I first squatted down to feel if there was a pulsation in the carotid artery, and asked the people next to me to call 120 and go to the community to get an AED. Later, it was found that I had hypoglycemia. Although I didn't need cardiopulmonary resuscitation, I didn't panic the whole time. Before that, I might have been standing there wondering what to do. Don't tell me, those practiced movements will really become muscle memory. Even if your mind is confused, you will know where to put your hands.

It’s interesting to think about it now. Many people spend thousands to get fitness cards, buy limited-edition running shoes and professional protective gear without blinking an eye, but they are reluctant to spend two hours listening to a first aid class that costs tens of yuan. They always feel that “injury is not my turn.” In fact, sports injury prevention is like applying a screen protector to a mobile phone. Spending ten yuan to apply a screen protector can reduce the probability of a broken screen by 80%, which is much more cost-effective than spending thousands of yuan to replace the screen if it breaks. Every time I go to play ball, I first do dynamic activation for 5 minutes, and then stretch my legs for 10 minutes after playing. In the past three months, even the sprained ankle that I often suffered from before has not appeared again. To be honest, this class does not teach high-level professional knowledge, it just allows you to exercise well and don't suffer unnecessary sins because of ignorance.