Pitch Side First Aid

If you’re the first response to a player getting injured during a match it’s crucial you have the fundamentals to provide emergency first aid.

Whatever level you deal with, juniors through to seniors, amateur up to professionals, having the right kit will help give you peace of mind and the confidence to manage sports injuries as a first aider.

This buyers guide is really useful for all sports and activities.

Wherever there’s an increased chance of someone getting hurt, we aim to provide you with beneficial advice on the essentials in your sports first aid kit and why they’re needed as a first aider.

Where To Begin?

A good place to start is the bag. Without this, it would be a real challenge for a sports first aider to carry everything in an organised and easy-to-access manner. 

Time is critical when dealing with sports injuries, so knowing where all your kit is stored and getting to it quickly is vital.

Essentials Tick List

Here’s a list of the items recommended for each Sports First Aid Kit:

• First Aid Kit Bag
• 3 x Pairs of Disposable Gloves
• 10 x Gauze Swabs
• 6 x Sterile Dressings
• 2 x Cohesive Bandage 
• 6 x Nasal Sponge Plugs
• 5 x Skin Sutures 
• 2 x Instant Ice Packs
• 1 x Mouth to Mouth Shield
• 1 x Foil Blanket 
• 2 x Eye & Wound Wash Pods
• 5 x Wound Wipes
• 4 x Dressing Pads
• 1 x Triangular Bandage
• 20 x Plasters
• 1 x Scissors

Hygiene for both yourself and the player is an important factor so a run-on field bag will help to keep everything clean and ready to use.

Sports First Aid Kit and Bags

Physique Sports First Aid Kit

The most popular choice is the Physique Run On Field Bag. Sturdy, lightweight, easy to carry and with enough pockets to make a mob of kangaroos jealous. 

All your equipment can be safely stored and easily accessed in the multiple compartments, pouches and dividers keeping it all well organised.

It also features external pockets for bottles or ice bags, great for protecting everything inside from getting wet.

Water-resistant, wipe clean, with a quick grab and open zip access, shoulder strap and handles. Our Physique Run On Bag is trusted by physios and sports therapists at professional teams.

Choose a fully equipped Run On Bag, with approved contents by many sporting bodies, or an empty bag for you to fill yourself. Available in black, red or blue.

Dimensions (cm): 42(w) x 28(d) x 25 (h).  

Physique Pro Sports First Aid Kit

Our Physique Pro Sports First Aid Kit is used by healthcare professionals and first aiders at sports teams from professionals to amateurs and juniors.

The pro kit is the perfect size and arrangement to pack all your essentials, while it's ergonomic compact design is ideal to attend to an injured player quickly and easily.

The Physique Pro Sports First Aid Kit has also easy grip handles and a reinforced base so you can transport with ease and get onto the field of play to administer first aid quickly.

With a wipe-clean interior, section dividers, external and internal zipped pockets, multiple pouches, and 2 bottle holder pockets, you'll have more than enough space to fit all the essentials, plus those handy extras to make managing injuries easier.

Dimensions (cm): 45 (w) x 22 (d) x 23 (h).

Physique Sports First Aid Kit - Small

If you prefer something a bit smaller, we also have the smaller stocked Physique Sports First Aid Bag.

About 2/3 the size of our Field bag, this one is compact enough to store the bare essentials.

Packed with compartments, pouches, and pockets, your kit will be safe, dry and ready for action.

Available fully equipped with the key items you need for first aid, or empty so you can fill it yourself. Available in black, red or blue.

Dimensions (cm): 32(w) x 14(d) x 20(h).

Physique Bum Bag First Aid Kit

Mueller Bum Bag

A great option if you don’t have much kit to carry and prefer to be hands-free when running to attend to an injury.

Very spacious, you’ll fit the fundamentals required to patch up injured players. Features a large pocket with plenty of space for tape, scissors, ice packs etc.

Plus, holders for smaller items such as wound wash sachets, dressings, and pen torch. Also with a small front pocket and large rear pocket to fit even more essentials.

Water-resistant, wipe clean and robust to handle any scenario.   

Dimensions (cm): 34(w) x 18(h) x 10(d).

Mueller Hero Epic Medical Bag

We also stock a much larger kit bag which is ideal for transporting all your sports medical essentials.

It contains plenty of internal and external pockets to keep your supplies safe, clean, and easily accessible.

Constructed from durable lightweight nylon, crack-resistant TPU, rigid roller wheels and an extendable handle to tackle all terrains.

Dimensions: 63.5 x 38.1 x 25.4cm.

Examination Gloves

An absolute essential. Make sure you look after yourself when attending to an injury.

Gloves will offer you protection when dealing with blood spill injuries. 

Most physios will wear these throughout a match and should last a whole game, depending on the injuries you treat. We have a great selection of gloves and sizes to suit your needs.

Top tip: some first aiders like to double glove for extra protection and storage of other first aid items like gauze: Gloves and Gauze video

Gauze Swabs

Perfect to clean wounds and soak up any blood.

Extremely light and available as individually wrapped sterile gauze swabs or non-sterile in a pack.

They don’t take up much space so just grab a bundle to pack in your kit bag for each game.

Sterile Dressing

Available in 3 sizes, our sterile dressings are low adherent and highly absorbent. Great for handling wounds and stemming blood spill injuries. 

They’re soft and gentle for the patient, but also a strong and stretchy conforming bandage that is ideal for many sports injuries including head injuries.

Cohesive Bandage

For on-the-field treatment, a cohesive bandage is the preferred option.

Quick and easy to apply you can patch up a player by wrapping it around the injury, use gauze swabs or dressings to stem blood and send them back on the pitch.

Our Tiger Rip absorbs blood and can be applied directly to the wound, giving compression and support.

Also great for keeping an ice pack in place so a player doesn’t have to worry about holding it in position.

Nasal Sponge Plugs

Another one to stem the blood, but honestly, you’ll be glad they’re in your kit.

Nosebleeds are common in sport, whether it be the result of a knock or the centre-back venturing past the halfway line. With a quick layer of petroleum jelly, nasal plugs will easily slide into a player’s nostrils. 

Players' blood flow is much quicker during activity, so if you get a bleeder a nasal sponge plug will help to stop the flow.

Skin Sutures

Whatever sport or activity you are involved in, getting cuts and scrapes are inevitable. For a deep wound, we recommend skin sutures.

A quick and simple solution to holding two edges of a deep cut together, these sterile adhesive strips are extremely useful.

Ice Packs

To provide instant pain relief to a player there’s nothing better than an ice pack.

Not only will it help to ease a nasty bump or bruise it will also help to speed up a player’s recovery. We have a few options to cover whatever situation you are in.

Our instant Ice packs are a great option where you don’t have access to ice.

Simply shake and pop to activate and you’ll instantly get an ice-cold pack providing up to 30 minutes of cold.

Alternatively our Physique Elite Reusable Hot Cold Pack is a reusable hot or cold gel pack that can be heated in the microwave or frozen in the freezer, to provide heat therapy or ice cold therapy when treating a wide range of injuries, pain and discomfort.

Ice Bags

If you’re lucky enough to have ice at your disposal, it’s definitely worth looking at our Ice Bags.

Available in a couple of sizes you can easily fill it with ice and water, tie to seal, and then treat the injury.

We also have a Rubberised Ice Bag with a screw cap, just like you see in the movies. Reusable, you can fill it with ice and water time and time again. 

Smelling Salts

Incredible stuff but use in moderation… It’s been around for ages and is still a favourite with physios to give players a ‘kick start'.

The chemical compound releases a small amount of ammonia gas which essentially jump-starts your body’s nervous system.

Some players love to use it before a match to boost alertness as well as relieve congestion and head colds.

Vapour Rub

Vapour Rub is a classical remedy for clearing the sinuses to aid clear and easy breathing.

Rubbing a small amount onto the chest, throat or back will allow the vapours to reach you while carrying on your activity.

Drinks Bottle

A great tip for the physio bag is to always have a water bottle packed. It can be the only chance players will get for a bit of hydration during a game.

So if you wonder why you’ve suddenly become so popular to the rest of the team when attending another injured player, it’s probably not down to your perfume.

Our squeeze bottles are strong and hold a whopping 750ml to provide players with plenty of fluid. We also have a bottle carrier that holds 8 bottles so you can replace the empty bottles quickly.

Resuscitator

Hopefully, you’ll never have to use one as they’re only needed if a player has stopped breathing. They’re small and compact so won’t take up much space in your kit bag. We have a couple of options.

The Rebreathe pocket mask is the preferred option, highly efficient to provide mouth-to-mouth ventilation with control and accuracy.

It conforms well to the patient's face so less chance of air escaping offering more efficiency and is supplied in a durable blue clamshell case.

We also supply a Resuscitation Face Shield. A simple device that features a plastic sheet with a filter for protection during mouth-to-mouth contact.

Petroleum Jelly

Extremely resourceful, good old faithful Petroleum Jelly has many uses. Great for protecting skin, especially against the elements.

Lather on wounds for a quick fix, just make sure it’s been cleaned first. As mentioned before, apply to nasal sponges to easily slide into nostrils.

Some players will even apply to the legs to reduce friction when sliding on a pitch. We have a few different sizes available.

The smaller 100ml is great for a kit bag, while the bigger sizes are best kept in the treatment room.

Sports Tape

Every physio has their preferred option when it comes to tape in a kit bag. Zinc oxides are a rigid non-stretch sports tape you can apply for secure strapping giving good support for joints.

Easy to use and serrated so it’s simple to tear, it’s great for use on ankles, knees, shoulders, wrists, hands etc. 

Carrying an EAB in your bag will offer compression and support for muscles and joints. EABs provide a secure and conforming fit and are strong enough to last in tough environments.

Each sport will bring various scenarios where a particular tape is more commonly used. We have a huge selection of tape and strapping to suit all requirements.

Foil Blanket

If you have a nasty injury to deal with, you’ll be glad you packed the foil blanket. 

These help to regulate the patient’s temperature which can be all over the place if they’re playing at a high intensity then suddenly stop due to injury.

Really useful in cold and hot conditions as they help to retain body heat as well as keep heat out.

Individually wrapped, they take up very little space so it's worth having one on hand just in case.

Freeze Spray

Freeze sprays deliver a fast-acting relief from sprains, strains, cramp, inflammation, minor sports injuries and muscle and joint pain. They work quickly like ice, providing an instant burst of cooling pain relief to the affected area

The Physique Freeze Spray Aerosol is a convenient cold spray designed to sooth muscular discomfort and joint aches by cooling the skin of the affected area. ]

It’s ideal for use during or immediately after sport or exercise and is a vital part to any sports first aid kit.

Scissors

A vital part of any physio bag. Remove tape quickly and easily if it’s in the way when treating an injured player.

They’re also handy to cut EAB tape or anything else that needs trimming to size.

Our fully equipped Physique Sports First Aid Kit comes with TufCut scissors which are strong enough to cut through clothes in an emergency.

We have an extensive range of scissors and cutters to suit your requirements.

Eye & Wound Wash Pods

Compact pods that easily snap open for use when cleaning wounds, burns or as an eyewash. They are small enough that you can carry a few Eye and Wound Wash Pods in your kit bag just in case you need them. 

Can also be used for irrigating eyes that have been contaminated with particles or liquid.

Wound Cleansing Wipes

Effective wipes to clean wounds. Sterile and alcohol-free, antiseptic wound wipes are a more hygienic way to deal with scrapes than the traditional bucket and sponge.

Individually wrapped and take up very little space in your bag.

Triangular Bandage

An indispensable piece of equipment for sports first aid. This large sheet of calico fabric is a multi-functional bandage, ideal for splinting and creating slings.

It can be washed and re-used and folds away nicely. 

Dressing Pads

Patch up wounds with these low-adherent and highly absorbent dressing pads.

Helping to protect the affected area, these conforming pads will allow players to continue the action without the risk of the wound getting dirty. 

Plasters

Always useful for a quick solution when dealing with cuts. We have a good selection of plasters for any scenario.

Available in assorted sizes in wash proof, fabric or blue plasters and a fabric dressing strip. Supplied in large boxes giving great value, you can simply top your kit up when you’re running low.

We also have a great adhesive-free alternative called Easiplaster, which can placed directly over the wound and wrapped securely. Perfect for fingers, hands, arms or legs. 

Blister Plasters

Blister Plasters are another great item to include. A nuisance of an injury, blisters can really inhibit a player’s full potential during a match. Having these will provide a quick solution to ease the pain and help the healing process.

Again we have a few options, Physique and Compeed Blister plasters are quick and easy to use, providing instant pain and pressure relief, as well as protection against water, dirt and bacteria and, will stay in place.

Alternatively, a great option, if you have a frequent issue with blisters, is the Skin-On-Skin dressings. These help to cool and soothe the blister and can be held in place using fixation tape such as Tiger Tear EAB. 

A bit fiddlier and time-consuming but the value for money and results make these a great choice. 

Hand Towel

A great tip from a few of the physios we supply is to always carry a hand towel in your bag. Handy to clean wounds and to soak up blood and any fluids.

Luckily the towel we supply is Dark Blue so it won’t look too horrific when used. Folds up small to fit in the Physique Sports First Aid Bag.

You can always feed it through the belt on the Bum Bag to leave much-needed space inside.

Finger Splints

You’ll come across finger injuries in just about any sport, so it’s a great idea to have a finger splint or two in your kit. We have a few options, all really simple to use and very effective to protect and help the healing process.

A great choice for sports where hands are used a lot, such as netball, rugby or basketball, is the Actimove® AluFoam Aluminium Finger Splints.

These are lightweight aluminium splints, laminated with sturdy foam. The splint can be cut and formed to correctly immobilise any finger injury.

Pen Torch

Another small item that will prove invaluable. When you’re confronted with a player concussion, a pen torch will enable you to assess pupil dilation and is also useful for mouth examination.

Water Spray

Replacing the old trusty ‘magic sponge’ with a water jet will help to clean the affected area. Just point and spray away.