Sports-related injuries are a big deal and so are the health care heroes who treat them. Athletic trainers work day-in and day-out to treat injured athletes and ensure a safe and timely recovery.
What is an Athletic Trainer?
Athletic trainers are multiskilled health care professionals who work in collaboration with a physician to treat and train athletes to recover from and prevent sports-related injuries. In addition to developing treatment plans, athletic trainers promote wellness habits, conduct emergent care and can give clinical diagnoses.
You can find athletic trainers in rehabilitation facilities, physician offices, schools or on the sidelines of sporting events. These health care professionals are incredibly adaptive and work to provide seamless care on and off the field.
Athletic trainers serve as an intermediary between athletes, their coaches and physicians. They can communicate clinical necessities to all parties involved in the athlete’s success to ensure they are taken care of at home, at practice and at the doctor’s office.
Many schools and professional sports teams have in-house athletic trainers who provide personalized care and advocate for the appropriate path of treatment. This role is incredibly important for injuries that are not visible and often go untreated due to high levels of social and performance pressure in the sporting world.
Your Athlete’s Care in Our Hands
UofL Health is working to transform the care of athletes in our community by partnering with local high schools in need of an athletic trainer. Eight high schools across the region benefit from on-site UofL Health athletic trainers who fast track recovery periods by connecting student athletic programs to our UofL Health physicians, to create customized therapy protocols and return-to-play criteria.
Deovante Curtis, a senior at Manual High School with dreams of playing football at the collegiate level, experienced an injury right before the fall season. Thanks to the help of his UofL Health athletic trainer, Deo only missed two scrimmages and was able to play all regular season games during his senior year. Not only is he headed off to college this fall to play football, but he has also decided on athletic training as his field of study.
Want to learn more about athletic trainers and the services offered by UofL Health? Visit UofLHealth.org/Sports-Medicine for more information.
