If You Want to Be It, Then Do It

Sorry for the rant today, but it’s something that has bothered me lately. This post is not intended to be offensive and I hope people don’t take it as such. But today I must put my feelings out there…

If you want to be it, then go do it! I think this is one of our (many) problems in healthcare. Everybody thinks they are qualified to do everybody’s job. Chiropractors demand to be called doctors. Nurses want to be called doctors. Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners want the power of being a doctor. Physical Therapists want the power of being a doctor. But Physical Therapists also want to be Chiropractors and Athletic Trainers too! Chiropractors want to be doctors and they want to be Physical Therapists too! Athletic Trainers think they should be Physical Therapists. Anybody else confused yet?

Going to Rehab: Here’s to You Athletic Trainer

Making its second appearance on the blog, I’m bringing back “Going to Rehab.” This will allow me to talk about anything sports medicine (as if I don’t anyway!). These are more issues that I see in athletic training and how it pertains to everyday athletic healthcare.

Cue the Budweiser theme song…

Going to Rehab: You Know You’re an Athletic Trainer If..

Making its second appearance on the blog, I’m bringing back “Going to Rehab.” This will allow me to talk about anything sports medicine (as if I don’t anyway!). These are more issues that I see in athletic training and how it pertains to everyday athletic healthcare.

This is something that has floated around the internet for awhile. We can always use a little fun 🙂

1. You realize that skin lube is the best Chap Stick known to man.
2. You never see the sun because you go to work before it rises and don’t leave the office until way after it sets.
3. You are so bored in between freshman and JV football games that you and another athletic trainer start talking about which types of Band-Aids you like the best.
4. You understand all of these jokes and are going to send them to all your athletic trainer friends and all the dumb jocks.
5. Your first answer for treatment is “ice” and last answer/ comment is “don’t forget to ice”.
6. When you have “pain off” and tape in your purse.

Going to Rehab: Athletic Trainers Gear up for Seasons

Making its second appearance on the blog, I’m bringing back “Going to Rehab.” This will allow me to talk about anything sports medicine (as if I don’t anyway!). These are more issues that I see in athletic training and how it pertains to everyday athletic healthcare.

Here we are already halfway through the month of August and fall sports have begun. This is a busy time of the year for not only those sports, but for the staff that works to support them as well. For the athletic trainers, we have also kicked into high gear as we get ready to roll. In this article, I will explore the many different tasks we must get accomplished before the season begins.

Going to Rehab: Pre-Participation Examinations

Making its second appearance on the blog, I’m bringing back “Going to Rehab.” This will allow me to talk about anything sports medicine (as if I don’t anyway!). These are more issues that I see in athletic training and how it pertains to everyday athletic healthcare.

Prior to exercise, prior to sports participation, and prior to many different physical activities a physical examination by a physician is often required. There are many parts to a physical exam it will vary by the activity and age, etc. So what is so important about the physical examination and how can this help the athlete?

What do you make?

I found this posted on one of my Facebook friends’ profile this morning. I re-posted it and have been amazed how much I’ve seen it tonight since then. Maybe it’s just that I have too many athletic trainer friends on Facebook from all over the country 😉

Oh.. you’re a trainer?? (NO! I’m an Athletic Trainer, not a trainer)

Going to Rehab: Continuing Education

Athletic Trainers, along with many healthcare professionals, must keep up-to-date and stay current with new research and new techniques. In this post, I’ll discuss the requirements of the Certified Athletic Trainer and how all of these athletic trainers maintain their certification along with their state licenses where applicable.

Going to Rehab: Emergency Preparedness

Going to Rehab is a weekly series where I talk about anything athletic training. Over the past few weeks, I have tried to discuss topics about a certain part of athletic training. Contrary to the name, I have not yet covered much in the way of rehab. Don’t worry– that is coming!

This week’s topic is Emergency Preparedness. As healthcare providers responsible for athletic injuries, the Certified Athletic Trainer must be ready for anything. It is not unusual for the athletic trainer to be the only healthcare provider onsite at an athletic event and therefore we are responsible for emergencies that may occur on the field.

Going to Rehab: Manual Therapy

Welcome to another edition of Going to Rehab. I have struggled this fall to keep updated here and keeping this series going. I do try to write athletic training articles, but sometimes falter. I apologize. I continue to try to do better!

This week I’m going to talk about manual therapy. When I was in college, I thought it was a waste of time. Manual therapy, to me, meant massage and it meant beating up my hands. It also meant rubbing smelly concoctions of chemicals such as Flex-All or BioFreeze on an athlete’s legs or whatever. It was definitely not my cup of tea.

Fast forward to today where I have realized that manual therapy is an excellent way to improve outcomes and help your athletes perform!

Athletic Training Tidbits

This week’s edition of “Going to Rehab” is just several tidbits from the week..

I have actually put up a few posts this week regarding athletic training. Hopefully you’ve seen them! The Advocates for Injured Athletes organization is a big deal to me. Please make sure you’ve read that post and check out their website. Their videos are spot-on and I really appreciate the work they are doing. I also posted earlier in the week about Concussion Management. I think schools, teams, athletes, and administrators along with medical personnel are finally catching on. Change was desperately needed and I think it is finally happening! I have worked hard to spearhead that effort in my area and especially at my high school.