Updated July, 2022
What is SALTAPS?
SALTAPS is an acronym that stands for See, Ask, Look, Touch, Active, Passive, Strength.
The first aid acronym SALTAPS comes from the sporting context and is used to check if a player needs to be rested or removed from the field of play. If at any point during the procedure, the casualty indicates pain or the injury appears nasty, then it is best to be cautious and make a no return to play decision.
Video: Assessing an Injury using SALTAPS in a Sports Context
To see how a sports coach would use SALTAPS – watch our video which demonstrates the SALTAPS protocol.
How to use SALTAPS to make a return to play decision
What do you see? | What do you do? |
S – Stop/See | See the injury occur. Assess the situation and stop play to access the player |
A – Ask | Ask for consent – what happened? Get a detailed history. Did anyone see what happened? Evaluate for pain, reviewing facial expression and posture. Can they talk clearly? |
L – Look | Look at the limb and appearance of the injury site. Bleeding, discoloration, bruising, immediate swelling, bone/joint deformity, muscle spasms |
T – Touch | Touch injury site if the casualty will allow. Press gently to find the site of the pain, note any response. |
A – Active Movement | Can the player move the limb painlessly through a full range of movement? ** |
P – Passive Movement | If their active movement is ok, ask the player to relax their limb. The first aider can move the joint through its range of movement. Pain or tenderness at this point may mean there is a ligament or tendon injury and the casualty should therefore seek medical advice. |
S- Strength Test | Progressive function test. ** Move against resistance against the first aiders hand. Stand unaided – look for guarding (masking the pain). Gradually get them to move more by weight bearing and walking, running normally on the injured foot for example. |
** It is particularly useful to remember that feet and hands should normally have 6 movements: forward/up, backwards/down, side left, side right , twist in and twist out. When doing this, watch their face, not their limb, and note any expressions of pain on their face.
This technique is also useful in any other outdoor activities such as hillwalking, climbing or in forestry settings.
Get confident – get trained!
Knowing what to do BEFORE it happens is essential and attending a first aid course will give you the knowledge and the confidence to deal with many first aid incidents. Our courses are structured to give you confidence in dealing with an incident as well as the competence to do good quality first aid. Find out more about our range of First Aid courses here.
Everyone on our courses receives a FREE digital first aid manual. We have a range of manuals relevant to the courses we teach – Outdoor, First Aid at Work, Paediatric, Equestrian and Sports. They are a great resource that you can download onto your phone or other device and have all that first aid knowledge at your fingertips. You can view them and buy them for less than £4 here.