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Hand and arm injuries are again a common extremity injury for American footballers. These can be either at the elbow joint, wrist or in the hand. Players will frequently wear gloves to protect their hands and to aid catching of the football. But to allow for injury assessment, these will often have to be removed.
These can be done by releasing the Velcro straps that attach at the wrist and then gradually easing off the fingers. If there are open injuries, fractures where the bone has come through the skin, it may be important to cut the glove to minimize any further damage to the soft tissues.
Once the hand is exposed, identifying any fractures or dislocations to small joints in the hand or at the wrist would be important and further care would be required. Long bone fractures or major joint dislocations can be managed in the position that the player is found. It's important to consider the playing environment that they are exposed to, trying to keep the players warm and dry as best as possible until further help is available.
With any long bone fractures or dislocations, injury to the nerves or blood vessels around the bones or the joints, they're important not to be made worse. Moving joints or manipulating fractures can risk damaging these structures, and therefore, maintaining them in the position that they are found and making them stay still as possible will aid for the comfort of the player that's been injured.
