Safety, Pre-Activity Screening, and Injury Prevention
Safety, Pre-Activity Screening, and Injury Prevention tests risk management before and during class. The exam expects you to screen participants, recognize warning signs, and prevent injuries through sound programming and environment checks.
Pre-activity screening
- Use a PAR-Q+ or equivalent health-history form. A positive answer generally requires medical clearance before participation.
- Obtain informed consent and emergency contact information.
- Ask about cardiovascular disease, orthopedic limitations, pregnancy, medications, and recent surgery.
Risk management
- Know the emergency action plan: phone location, AED, first-aid kit, facility address, and who calls emergency services.
- Check floor surface, space, temperature, ventilation, and equipment before class.
- Warm up progressively, teach safe technique, and avoid breath-holding (Valsalva), ballistic stretching, and sudden intensity spikes.
- Keep water available and allow rest breaks.
Worked example
Ten minutes into class, a participant reports dizziness and chest tightness. Stop the exercise, sit them down, assess responsiveness and symptoms, and call emergency services if symptoms are severe or persist. Do not let them drive home. Document the incident. Reasoning: chest tightness and dizziness can signal a cardiac event; class flow is secondary to emergency response.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating screening as optional paperwork.
- Ignoring symptoms because the participant “looks fine.”
- Assuming a waiver replaces safe practice.
- Not knowing where the AED is or who is responsible for the emergency plan.