Athletic Injury Prevention and Integrated ISCC POPE & Return‑to‑Work Programs

Employee athletic injury prevention is an effective way Massachusetts independent schools can control workers’ compensation costs and protect staff health. For physical education teachers, the risk of strains, sprains, overexertion, and acute traumatic injuries is built into the job. By taking a proactive, systems‑based approach to safety, schools can significantly reduce preventable athletic‑related injuries, support a safer culture, and avoid costly workers’ compensation claims.

Why Athletic Staff Injuries are so Costly

When a physical education teacher is injured at work, the impact goes far beyond the initial incident. The resulting injury often involves complex trauma requiring extensive treatment, prolonged recovery, and costly.

Common drivers of athletic‑related claims in educational settings include:

• Overexertion during practices, conditioning, and game preparation
• Being struck by equipment, or students during demonstrations
• Slips, trips, and falls on fields, courts, and bleachers
• Repetitive motion injuries from set‑up, clean‑up, and equipment handling

Addressing these exposures requires both prevention and post‑injury strategies tailored to athletics and physical education environments.

Lead with Prevention: Setting Expectations in Athletics and Physical Education

The line between facilitating student learning and participating in physical activities is central to effective injury prevention. However, this distinction can become blurred when educators try to boost student engagement by becoming too involved in the activity themselves.

Facilitation involves creating a structured, supportive environment where students can safely practice skills. This includes demonstrating movements at a controlled speed, organizing equipment, explaining rules and strategies, and offering constructive feedback. In this role, the educator maintains appropriate supervision and ensures that learning objectives are achieved without exposing themselves, or students, to unnecessary risk.

Participation, on the other hand, occurs when staff engage in higher-intensity activities, such as playing competitively alongside students, joining scrimmages, or demonstrating skills at high speed. When a physical education teacher jumps into a dodgeball game, they shift from guiding to competing.

Key Elements of an Effective Athletic Injury Prevention Strategy Include:

• Clear, written procedures for field, gym, and facility inspections and use
• Standardized warm‑up, stretching, and cooldown protocols for staff activities
• Safe techniques for working with athletes and equipment during demonstrations
• Expectations for appropriate footwear, surfaces, and weather‑related adjustments
• Regular training that uses real scenarios from your own campus

By reinforcing these habits, schools reduce the likelihood of sudden incidents as well as cumulative trauma associated with years of high‑demand physical work.

Expanding Risk Management to Physical Education Teachers:

Historically, many schools have focused injury prevention efforts on coaches and athletic trainers, even though physical education teachers face similar—and sometimes higher—exposure to lifting, spotting, and repetitive motion tasks throughout the school day. PE teachers frequently supervise large groups of students, set up and break down equipment multiple times per day, and manage activities in gyms, fields, and other environments where slips, falls, and collisions can occur.

Recognizing these exposures and integrating physical education teachers into your athletics injury prevention strategy helps create a more consistent, campus‑wide approach to staff safety. This is also where ISCC’s POPE Program can play a more prominent role.

Use ISCC’s POPE Program to hire safely for high‑risk roles

Integrating ISCC’s Post Offer Pre‑Employment (POPE) Program into your hiring process is an effective way to reduce preventable athletic and PE‑related injuries before they occur. By verifying that incoming employees can safely meet the physical demands of high‑risk roles, the POPE Program helps ensure that schools select candidates who are capable of performing essential job functions without undue risk.

ISCC’s POPE Program now covers Post Offer Pre‑Employment Exams for Physical Education Teachers (not including coaches). This expansion allows members to apply the same evidence‑based screening approach used for high‑risk positions in dining service, maintenance, and facilities to a broader group of staff who regularly perform strenuous work.

This proactive approach not only reduces early‑tenure injuries but also supports ADA‑compliant hiring practices and helps members control long‑term workers’ compensation costs. When combined with clear, accurate job descriptions that reflect the true physical demands of athletics and PE roles, POPE testing becomes a powerful tool for aligning candidates’ capabilities with job requirements.

Build a strong Return‑to‑Work bridge for injured employees

Even with robust injury prevention and post‑offer screening, some athletic and PE staff injuries will still occur. A well‑structured Return‑to‑Work (RTW) Program is equally critical in managing injury‑related losses, helping schools transition injured employees back to productive work as soon as medically appropriate.

Through clear procedures, physician‑approved modified duty options, and coordinated communication among all parties, the RTW Program minimizes lost‑time claims, shortens recovery periods, and maintains continuity of operations. Implementing this program supports a healthier workforce, strengthens morale, and significantly reduces the financial impact of injuries on your institution. Thoughtful modified duty can include supervised administrative tasks, student supervision assignments that avoid high‑risk movements, and support roles for athletics and PE that keep injured employees connected to their teams while they recover.

Lead the way with a comprehensive strategy

When schools combine strong athletic injury prevention practices, targeted use of ISCC’s POPE Program for high‑risk roles, including physical education teachers, and a well‑designed RTW Program, they create a comprehensive, defensible strategy for managing athletic‑related workers’ compensation risk. This integrated approach helps institutions:

• Reduce the frequency and severity of athletic and PE‑related staff injuries
• Support ADA‑compliant, job‑related hiring decisions
• Shorten disability durations and limit lost‑time claims
• Protect program continuity, staff morale, and the student experience

By leading on safety rather than reacting to injuries, Massachusetts independent schools can protect their people, safeguard their budgets, and set a positive example for the entire campus community. To learn more about preventing PE Athletic Related Injuries, please visit: Athletic Injury Prevention: Lead the Way, Don’t Join The Play