History
Obtaining history during an on-field assessment will typically be rather brief. General questions may be necessary however to administer initial care. The bullet list below provides an overview of questions necessary.
- Gathering Personal Information- simply asking the athletes name and referring to them by it will provide him or her with a sense of comfort. The healthcare provider may be a complete stranger to the athlete.
- Mechanism of Injury- have the athlete describe to the best of his or her ability what exactly happened to cause the injury. Using open-ended questions such as, "Can you describe the type of pain you are feeling?", will allow the examiner to more accurately perform an evaluation. Receiving yes or no answers makes it more difficult to apply necessary care. Ask for descriptions of the event such as what position they were in or where the force may have come from. Were there any popping, tearing, or cracking sensations? This will be useful by helping to narrow down structures that may have been compromised, always keeping an open mind of course.
- Provocation- what antagonizes the injury; movements or positions that cause an increase in pain or comfort will be important to record.
- Quality- is the pain burning, radiating, sharp, stabbing, throbbing? Is it constant, intermittent, decreasing, or increasing? Using the scale of 1-10, with 10 being the worst pain possibly imaginable, is a good reference to take note of.
- Region- over what areas does the pain/discomfort cover? Is it localized or over a broad area?
- Severity- quickly deciding how severe the injury may be will allow the healthcare provider to treat the athlete on site. He or she might need to immediately refer the injured victim to Emergency Medical Staff, or transport the athlete to a hospital depending on the initial assessment.
- Timing- how long has the athlete been experiencing the pain (in cases of chronic injury)? How long did it last for? Always remember that time may be of the essence. Quick action is vital in situations that delayed treatment can be detrimental to the outcome of the injury.
- Medication- is the athlete currently taking any prescription or over-the-counter medications?
- Allergies- does the athlete have any allergies that the examiner should be aware of?