Managing the Injuries That Actually Happen in Training

Cardiac emergencies get the attention, but the incidents a trainer deals with month to month are far more ordinary. Handling them well protects your client, protects your professional standing and keeps a minor problem from becoming a claim.

Soft tissue injuries

For a strain or sprain, stop the session. Rest the injury, apply an ice pack wrapped in a cloth for twenty minutes, apply a compression bandage and elevate the limb where practical. Avoid heat, alcohol, massage over the injury site and hot showers for the first forty eight hours, because each of them increases bleeding and swelling in the tissue. Refer the client for assessment if there is significant swelling, obvious deformity, an inability to bear weight, or pain that is out of proportion to the incident.

Crush injuries and dropped weights

A dropped plate or a foot caught under a barbell can cause a fracture that is easy to underestimate because the client is embarrassed and wants to continue. Support the limb in the position you found it, immobilise it, apply a cold pack and arrange assessment. Do not encourage the client to walk it off.

Dizziness, fainting and low blood sugar

A client who becomes pale, sweaty, nauseated or lightheaded should stop and lie down with their legs raised. Most simple faints resolve within a minute once the person is flat. If the client has diabetes and is conscious and able to swallow, give a fast acting carbohydrate such as juice or glucose tablets. If they do not recover quickly, if they are unresponsive, or if they cannot swallow safely, call 000.

Heat illness

Outdoor sessions and poorly ventilated studios both produce heat exhaustion, which looks like heavy sweating, weakness, headache, nausea and cramping. Move the client somewhere cool, lie them down, loosen clothing, cool them with water and give small sips of fluid if they are fully alert. If they become confused, stop sweating, or have hot dry skin, treat it as heat stroke, call 000 and cool them aggressively while you wait, because heat stroke is life threatening.

Documentation protects everybody

Record what happened, what you did and what you advised, on the day it occurred. Note whether the client declined a recommendation to seek assessment. Insurers ask for this, and memories become unreliable quickly.

Our Provide First Aid course covers soft tissue injury, fractures, heat illness, diabetic emergencies and resuscitation in about three hours. Book a session.