Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries

Course Description

PET2622C – Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries is a 3-credit course covering the recognition, immediate care, and prevention of injuries occurring in physical activity and sport. It combines classroom instruction with hands-on laboratory practice in taping, wrapping, and evaluation technique.

The course serves a broad audience: prospective athletic trainers, physical education and coaching students, exercise science majors, and students heading toward physical therapy or other allied health fields. It is frequently required in Florida physical education and sport management programs, and it is often a student's first exposure to musculoskeletal assessment.

Content covers the athletic health care team and scope of practice; injury prevention through conditioning, equipment, and environment; emergency action planning; recognition and immediate care of common injuries by body region; tissue healing and the basis of treatment decisions; therapeutic modalities at an introductory level; and return-to-activity considerations.

Two areas deserve particular mention for Florida. Exertional heat illness is the leading cause of preventable death in high school athletics nationally, and Florida's climate makes it a year-round concern rather than a summer one; the course covers recognition, cooling — cold water immersion is the standard of care for exertional heat stroke — and prevention through acclimatization and work-rest ratios. Concussion management has changed substantially, and Florida law requires removal from activity and medical clearance before return.

The laboratory component teaches taping and wrapping — ankle, wrist, thumb, knee, and compression wrapping — which is assessed by demonstration.

Offered at approximately 15 Florida institutions.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

• Describe the athletic health care team and the scope of practice of each member.
• Describe injury prevention strategies including conditioning, equipment fitting, and environmental control.
• Develop and describe an emergency action plan for an athletic setting.
• Describe tissue types, injury mechanisms, and the phases of healing.
• Classify injuries by type and severity, including sprains, strains, contusions, and fractures.
• Conduct a basic injury evaluation using a systematic approach.
• Recognize and provide immediate care for common injuries of the lower extremity.
• Recognize and provide immediate care for common injuries of the upper extremity.
• Recognize and provide immediate care for common injuries of the spine, head, and trunk.
• Recognize concussion and apply removal-from-activity and return-to-play requirements.
• Recognize exertional heat illness and apply appropriate cooling and emergency response.
• Describe prevention of heat illness through acclimatization, hydration, and activity modification.
• Apply taping and wrapping techniques for common injuries and prophylaxis.
• Describe therapeutic modalities and their indications at an introductory level.
• Describe return-to-activity criteria and the decision-making process.
• Apply universal precautions and describe bloodborne pathogen procedures in athletics.

Optional Outcomes

• Describe sudden cardiac arrest recognition and AED use in athletics.
• Describe sickle cell trait and exertional collapse.
• Describe nutrition and hydration for athletic performance.
• Describe psychological aspects of injury and rehabilitation.
• Describe performance-enhancing substances and their risks.
• Describe documentation and legal considerations in athletic injury care.

Major Topics

Required Topics

• The athletic health care team — athletic trainer, physician, coach, and scope of practice.
• Injury prevention — conditioning, flexibility, protective equipment, and environmental factors.
• Emergency action planning — venue-specific planning, communication, and equipment.
• Tissue response to injury — inflammation, repair, and remodeling.
• Injury classification — acute versus chronic, sprains, strains, fractures, and dislocations.
• Injury evaluation — history, observation, palpation, and special tests at an introductory level.
• Lower extremity injuries — ankle, knee, hip, and leg.
• Upper extremity injuries — shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand.
• Spine, head, and trunk — including cervical spine precautions.
• Concussion — recognition, removal from activity, and Florida return-to-play requirements.
• Exertional heat illness — the spectrum, recognition, cold water immersion, and prevention.
• Environmental conditions — heat, humidity, lightning, and cold.
• Taping and wrapping — ankle, wrist, thumb, knee, and compression techniques.
• Therapeutic modalities — cryotherapy, thermotherapy, and introductory electrotherapy.
• Return to activity — criteria, progression, and clearance.
• Bloodborne pathogens — universal precautions in the athletic setting.

Optional Topics

• Sudden cardiac arrest and AED use.
• Sickle cell trait and exertional collapse.
• Sports nutrition and hydration.
• Psychology of injury and rehabilitation.
• Performance-enhancing substances.
• Documentation and legal considerations.

Resources & Tools

• Principles of Athletic Training (Prentice), McGraw Hill — the standard text in the field.
• Essentials of Athletic Injury Management (Prentice) — the shorter variant used in introductory courses.
• National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) — position statements on heat illness, concussion, and emergency planning; freely available and authoritative.
• Korey Stringer Institute — the leading resource on exertional heat illness prevention and treatment.
• Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) — state requirements for concussion, heat acclimatization, and emergency planning.
• Taping and wrapping supplies — athletic tape, prewrap, elastic wrap; students typically purchase their own.
• CDC HEADS UP — concussion recognition materials for coaches and athletes.
• Athletic training room facilities and treatment tables for laboratory practice.

Career Pathways

• Athletic Trainer (SOC 29-9091) — requires a master's degree from a CAATE-accredited program and BOC certification; Florida additionally requires state licensure.
• Physical Therapist and Physical Therapist Assistant — requiring separate accredited programs.
• Strength and Conditioning Coach — with CSCS certification.
• Physical Education Teacher (SOC 25-2031) — requiring Florida certification.
• Coach (SOC 27-2022) — where injury recognition is a genuine safety responsibility.
• Exercise Physiologist (SOC 29-1128) and fitness professions.
• Emergency Medical Technician and other pre-health pathways.

Special Information

Athletic training now requires a master's degree

An important correction to a common assumption. Entry-level athletic training education transitioned to the master's degree level, and bachelor's-level professional programs have been phased out. A student intending to become a certified athletic trainer must complete a CAATE-accredited master's program, pass the Board of Certification examination, and obtain Florida licensure. This course is useful preparation and a common prerequisite, but it is not a pathway on its own, and students should plan for graduate study.

Exertional heat illness is a Florida-specific emphasis, and the treatment is specific

Florida's climate makes heat a year-round concern, and exertional heat stroke is a leading cause of preventable death in athletics. Two points the course should make unambiguously: the standard of care is cold water immersion, cooling first before transport — survival is near-universal when cooling begins promptly and drops sharply with delay — and prevention through heat acclimatization protocols is effective and required by FHSAA. Students heading into coaching or athletic settings in Florida should know both.

Concussion law requires removal and clearance

Florida requires an athlete suspected of concussion to be removed from activity and prevented from returning until cleared by an appropriate health care provider. Coaches and other personnel have obligations here, and "shaking it off" is neither acceptable practice nor lawful. Return-to-play progression is graduated rather than immediate.

Laboratory assessment is by demonstration

Taping and wrapping are psychomotor skills assessed by performance, not description. Students should expect practical examinations and should practice outside class — a properly applied ankle tape job is harder than it looks and cannot be learned from a textbook.

Scope of practice matters

Students in this course learn recognition and immediate care, not diagnosis or treatment. A coach or physical education teacher who exceeds that scope creates liability and can harm an athlete. The course is explicit about what a non-clinician may do — recognize, provide immediate care within training, activate emergency response, and refer — and where the line is.