Why Certified Athletic Trainers Are Important
I heard a quote the other day that really left me rattled. It came from the coach of a local high school that does not employ an athletic trainer -- one of only a handful that don't in the area. He was being interviewed by a local newspaper about concussions in football and stated that in the 13 years he's coached for this team, they've never had an athletic trainer, and he has yet to see one of his kids get a concussion. Now some may read this and remark on what a great coach he must be, but most in our field know the truth. In the 13 years of his coaching career, there has never been anyone trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of a concussion, and I can guarantee you once there is an athletic trainer standing on the sidelines, the concussion rate is going to be higher than zero.
Reports show that 46.5 million children play team sports each year in the U.S., and about every 25 seconds, a young athlete visits a hospital emergency room for a sports-related injury. As a parent, this statistic is eye-opening, and as a certified athletic trainer, I am only too familiar with this scenario.
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When children play sports, getting a bruise or scrape is a natural occurrence; children winding up in the emergency room should not be -- especially when most injuries can be prevented. That's where the expertise of an athletic trainer is significant. With the month of March marking National Athletic Training Month, understanding what the job entails and how ATCs are important at every school and sports game is important.
Athletic trainers are highly educated and nationally certified, with an extensive background in pre-season and in-season conditioning and nutritional counseling. They can monitor the physical and psychological condition of the student athlete both in and out of season, plus actively participate in the selection, fitting and proper care of protective equipment for each athlete. Athletic trainers are proficient in the acute care of injuries and illnesses, therapeutic exercise for the physically active, general medical conditions and disabilities, nutrition, health care administration and concussion assessment, treatment, management and rehabilitation. Their main function, however, is recognizing and evaluating athletic injuries.
As far back as 1998, the American Medical Association adopted a policy recommending that athletic trainers be available to all schools with athletics programs. To provide appropriate care for athletes, you need to be familiar with a large variety of illnesses and conditions in order to determine when emergency treatment is needed, as well as distinguish among similar signs and symptoms of potentially fatal circumstances.
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Saving the life of a young athlete should not be a coach's responsibility or liability. While the coach should be trained in first aid, CPR and the use of an AED, there are many conditions that a coach will not be able to recognize and treat. Asthma, catastrophic brain injury, cervical spine injury, diabetes, exertional heat stroke, exertional hyponatremia, exertional sickling, head-down contact in football, lightning and sudden cardiac arrest are just a few conditions that athletic trainers are trained to recognize -- and fully prepared to manage.
Athletic trainers not only help with medical decisions, they're there to help prevent minor injuries from turning into major ones, as well as minimize risk of injury altogether. For example, athletic trainers are knowledgeable in the science of preparing a well-rounded dynamic warm-up program specific to each sport and age group. These warm-ups not only prevent injury but prepare an athlete to participate in his or her sport. Along with the team physician, an athletic trainer can establish policies and procedures for the secondary school athletic training program to protect not only the student athlete, but school personnel, as well.
[Read: 10 Concerns Parents Have About Their Kids' Health.]
Adam Elberg, MSPT, ATC, CSCS, is president and CEO of Professional Physical Therapy.
