CPR Certification

Life is crazy! The days are long and the years are short. We are constantly on the go and never really stop to relax. But it can all change in a minute. You never know what is going to happen in the future. That’s why I think we should all be prepared for emergencies. One of the easiest ways to be prepared for an emergency is to be CPR certified.

CPR…what the heck is that?

In case you don’t know what CPR certification is, (but seriously, have you been living under a rock? But seriously—have you?) it is cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It’s a lifesaving technique people use in emergency situations. The most common emergency is when the heart stops beating and you go into cardiac arrest. There are many causes of cardiac arrest including: heart attack, drug use, an irregular heart rhythm and traumatic injury.

Without the heart beating, blood will stop circulating in the body and breathing will stop too. Without oxygen to the body, cells begin to die. CPR will help to keep oxygenated blood flowing through the body to keep vital organs alive until paramedics or other advanced personal can arrive. Amazing!

Why you should be CPR trained?

1.       Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the US according to the CDC
2.       No negatives!

I’ve never heard anyone say “I should of never got my CPR training”. It’s like an ace in your pocket if you ever see a medical emergency.  I have never personally had to use it (thank GOD!) but I know how to and feel confident in case an emergency should arise. Most cardiac arrest happens at home so having everyone in the home certified increases the chances of survival. Early CPR is key!

It’s easy and anyone can do it

A lot of people probably decide it’s not for them because there are too many steps to do and what if they forget something or maybe even the fact they don’t want to get involved in case they do something wrong. There are different levels of CPR training for different people.

BLS is Basic Life Support and its designed for healthcare providers both pre and in-hospital: think nurses, physical therapists, athletic trainers, dentists, lifeguards etc.

Heart saver is for the general public: think daycare workers, educators, construction workers, office staff, coaches, grandparents, babysitters etc.

If you still are not convinced to get certified I urge you to at least know about the signs of a heart attack and hands only CPR. Hands only CPR has 2 steps:
1.       Call 9-1-1
2.       Push hard and fast in the center of the chest

There is no mouth to mouth breathing involved. Hands only CPR take one minute (yes—I’m serious!) to learn and you can watch the hand-only CPR video here: Hands-Only CPR

Get certified!
Call your local Red Cross or go to the American Heart Associate website to learn more about CPR or register for a course in your area: www.cpr.heart.org

TheraCORE is offering CPR classes this spring so follow-us on social media to get upcoming dates and times of classes.

Now go on and start saving lives!

Rachael Patera, ATC
Office Manager, TheraCORE - Burr Ridge

Youth Baseball - Pitcher Health

How to Keep Your Pitcher’s Arm Healthy

Are you coaching a youth baseball team and want to make sure you keep your pitcher’s arm healthy?  If you are thinking about it then you are already moving in the right direction.  Since I was a pitcher through college, I thought I knew how to properly take care of an arm, but a lot has changed in 20 years.  Luckily, I know some great Physical Therapists at TheraCORE who have helped me understand how to really take care of a young pitcher’s arm.  It really comes down to just three things.

Warm-up, Workload, Rest

Warm-up - When I played baseball, I always threw a baseball to warm up my arm.  I will talk about total throws next under Workload, but if you don’t want to waste a high percentage of your pitcher’s total throws just to get warmed up, then consider using a dynamic warm-up to get your arm and whole body ready to play.  You can also have your pitchers do band exercises to warm up their arms prior to throwing.

Workload – For a while now, most youth leagues have used pitch counts to limit the workload on a young pitcher’s arm.  I have come to learn limiting the total number of throws a player makes in a game or a practice should be used along with pitch counts in order to maintain a healthy arm.  Youth pitchers should limit their total throws to 125 in a day.  If a 10 year old has a max pitch count of 75, think about how quickly he will get to 125 total throws if you include pre-game warm-up throws, pre-game warm-up pitches, in-between inning warm-up pitches and in-game pitches.  You should also take into consideration the number of throws that will be made if he is playing another position during the same day that he pitches.

Rest – If you are coaching a travel baseball team in the Midwest, then the majority of the games your team plays are in weekend tournaments.  It can be a lot of fun to play 4 to 6 games in 2 days, but it can definitely make it tough for a coach to follow the recommended rest guidelines for a pitcher.  Per the guidelines, if a 7 to 14 year old pitcher throws more than 35 pitches on Saturday, then they should not throw any pitches on Sunday.  Winning a youth baseball tournament should never come before the long term health of a young pitcher’s arm.  Remember, proper rest includes taking at least two months off each year from throwing.  Have your kids play a different sport during this time.  It helps to protect their arm and makes them an overall better athlete.

Recommended pitch count/rest - http://m.mlb.com/pitchsmart/pitching-guidelines/

Brad Goebbert, CFO

TheraCORE, Inc.