Denny Kellington provided CPR for Damar Hamlin (Michael Conroy/AP Photo).
How many different medical professionals are at each NFL game? Roughly 29. There’s no specific requirement, and EMT team sizes, for example, may differ, but there is a typical number of each type of medical professional. And that’s not considering people who go to watch the game too, of course.
Want all the other answers to random sports questions rattling around in your brain? I have (some of) the answers! Despite having an epidemiology degree where I focus on sports injuries, I had this one all wrong in my head. Learn more about NFL medical professionals with me!
29 Medical Professionals?
Each team needs a medical team, and the stadium also needs its own. There are more medical teams than NFL teams!
Each NFL Team
Each sideline has roughly 10 medical professionals. I thought it was the team doctor and the independent neurologist for the concussion protocol, like me? Not quite.
Each team has four athletic trainers, two orthopedic doctors (who focus on bones and joints), one unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant, two primary care physicians, and a chiropractor. That last medical professional surprised me, considering the field of chiropractic care is not always considered a’solid’ science.
The Stadium’s Team of Medical Professionals
Each stadium has at least nine medical team members. Most of us are aware of the spotters in the stands who call out potential concussions when they get missed on the field. There are two independent athletic trainer spotters at each game.
Recent medical emergencies like Buffalo Bills Damar Hamlin’s have shown us that there are very ready EMTs on the sidelines, ready to rush people to the hospital.
The other six medical professionals truly surprised me. There is a dentist at every game (Drew Eubanks can confirm the need for that at a professional sports game), an eye doctor, an airway management doctor for non-breathing players, a radiological technician, and a visiting team medical liaison.
What does the liaison do? An emergency physician who is state-certified and local is present at games. This individual often helps teams get access to care, medicine, and information on the best medical centers in the area when a player has to leave the stadium for health care. A doctor who is in the know, in other words.
I’m personally curious about the eye doctors and dentists at the games. What would be the typical cases they see? Is their day-to-day work vastly different from that of non-NFL doctors in the same field? I’m not sure, but I’m happy to find out.
Sound down below if any questions or medical professions are of particular interest to you. Keep an eye on my articles here; you just may find I wrote an article in response to your comment!
