Good for what ails ya

Rick Klingler has spent the last eight months preparing to deal with the wave of sick and injured that will wash into his medical tents this weekend as Hoopfest 2004 plays out on the streets of downtown Spokane.

Klingler, a registered nurse case manager for Premera Blue Cross, one of Hoopfest’s major sponsors, is the first-aid tents coordinator for the world’s largest 3-on-3 street basketball tournament. And over the course of the two-day event that kicks off Saturday he figures his all-volunteer staff, which includes local physicians and other medical professionals, will treat upwards of 1,000 competitors and spectators for maladies ranging from minor cuts to broken bones.

“The coordination activities start a good eight months before the event starts,” explained Klingler, who has supervised Hoopfest’s four first-aid tents for the past four years. “But it’s during the actual week of the event when everything finally comes together and kicks into high gear.”

Among Klingler’s most demanding duties over the past several months have been the recruitment of between 150-200 volunteers and the procurement of enough donated medical supplies to deal with the normal assortment of injuries that will ultimately be treated.

When Hoopfest 2004 opens, he hopes to have each first-aid tent staffed by at least one physician or physician’s assistant and a couple of nurse practitioners who can either treat the sick and injured on site, or have them transferred to a local hospital.

Medical professionals from Sacred Heart Medical Center, Deaconess Medical Center, Holy Family Hospital and Valley Hospital and Medical Center have volunteered to be a part of Klingler’s staff for the weekend.

And a large contingent of local non-medical volunteers will also be on hand to, according to Klingler, “hand out bandages, sun screen and smiles, if you will.”

If this year’s event unfolds like those in the past, most of those who show up at the first-aid tents will be nursing bumps, bruises, abrasions and blisters. Many will limp in with sprained ankles or knees. Some will stagger in, suffering from dehydration.

A few, according to Klingler, will be much worse off.

“We’ve seen some pretty bad fractures in the past,” he said. “None of them open fractures, but several involved more than one break in the same bone.

“And we’ve dealt with some cases we were sure were heart attacks, but we never see the end point of those because we send them off to the emergency room immediately.”

Since taking over the first-aid tents, Klingler said the strangest injury he has seen is the double-fracture of a finger, suffered by a young boy who was brought in by his father.

“He had jammed the finger so hard, it was in the shape of a ‘W,’ Klingler recalled. “It looked awful, and the kid’s face had turned was pure white. But, then, so had the dad’s.

“We thought for awhile we might have to give them both mouth-to-mouth.”

Virtually no one in need of medical attention is turned away from one of the Klingler’s tents.

“We treat both players and spectators,” he explained, “so we get some interesting people wandering in who feel that we’re like a free community health center. We’ve had some street people who come in and want us to treat abrasions and things.”

Many of the injuries his staff sees and treats are preventable, Klingler said.

Blistering, for example, is usually caused by new or ill-fitted shoes.

“People should always wear old sneakers that have been broken in, instead of those new Keds that are going to be a little more attractive,” Klingler explained. “And it helps, too, to wear two pairs of socks.”

To avoid dehydration, Klingler suggests hydrating your body both prior to and during the event, and avoiding alcoholic and caffeinated drinks.

“You need to start drinking fluids and hydrating yourself a couple of days before the event – at the very least, the night before,” he said. “You need to drink six or eight 8-ounces glasses of water and then get up in the morning and do the same thing.

“And you need to make sure you hydrate yourself between each game, as well, because if you stop and get behind, it’s impossible to catch back up.”

It’s important, Klingler added, that each competitor and spectator bring his or her own drinks, because his first-aid tents will not be able to provide fluids for everyone.

A few simple warm-up exercises and stretching drills will go a long way in helping prevent muscles pulls and strains. And elbow and knee pads help protect against road rash and abrasions, “although we can never get anyone to wear them,” Klingler said. “They’re uncomfortable, and they look bad.”

Taping weak joints prior to playing can also help prevent tears, strains and sprains, according to Klingler.

And for the second year in a row, Northwest Rehab Alliance will be offering preventative taping at all four first-aid tents.

“You can come in and get taped before each game,” Klingler said. “It’s especially helpful for those who have suffered a previous joint injury, because that joint is never going to be the same.

“It’s not like a broken bone, which can heal completely and be just as strong as it was before the injury. Soft tissue just doesn’t respond that way.”

As a final precautionary measure, Klingler suggests that competitors approach the event for what it is – a good time – and keep their tempers in tow.

“It’s important that everyone play with a good attitude,” he said. “You get more out of your game that way. After all, you’re probably not going to make a living out of it, and you’re probably not going to land a lot of endorsement contracts because of how you played at Hoopfest.

“The important thing is to have fun.”

And once the morning after hits, evaluate your post-Hoopfest aches and pains and take appropriate action.

“You’ve undoubtedly been competing at a higher physical level than you’re used to, so a certain amount of muscle soreness right afterward is normal,” Klinger said. “But if the discomfort continues for more than a couple of days, or if it impairs your day-to-day activities, you probably need to call your physician and have it checked out.”

Klingler said he still looks forward to Hoopfest each year, mainly because of the challenges it presents.

“It’s a community event,” he said, “and I’ve striven every year to make our involvement more of a community thing – not so much from the standpoint of putting the names of big sponsors like Premera out there, but by bringing in other partners, as well.”

When Hoopfest first started, Klingler pointed out, Sacred Heart and Holy Family were the only two hospitals that provided medical volunteers. And there was a shortage of companies willing to donate medical supplies, as well.

But today, all four local hospitals and several medical supply companies have pledged their assistance.

“By bringing in new partners like that, you offset some major costs and have a better all-around event,” Klinger said. “And everybody gets to share in the recognition that comes from promoting Spokane.

“That’s what makes it so rewarding for me.”