A Reminder of The Patient and Case: The patient is an active 15-year-old female participating in volleyball, basketball, equestrian, and track and field. The patient was diagnosed with a subluxed coccyx after an ice skating accident approximately one and a half years prior to beginning treatment with me as her athletic trainer.
Read MoreSince becoming an Athletic Trainer I have also resumed my roll as a Strength and Conditioning Coach. This dual role was a natural progression for a variety of reasons. Professionally and academically I am both an Athletic Trainer and a Strength and Conditioning Coach. Philosophically and functionally it is impossible to separate these roles and still provide the best patient care that I am able to. I also have excellent weight room facilities directly attached to my athletic training facility. +
Read MoreBackground: October 2017: A 17yo female volleyball middle blocker reported to the athletic training facility with complaints of thoracic and lumbar pain after suffering a contact injury the day before impacting her back and vertebrae directly against the floor.
Read MoreI am writing this blog as I have scarce few active patients at the moment and the evaluations that come in are directed toward my athletic training students. My position is a multifaceted one and I consider my roll as a preceptor to be as important as my roll as a health care provider.
Read MoreSince 1999 I have trying to sort out my own version of chronic lumbopelvic pain. As a 15 year old student athlete I suffered an injury to what at the time I understood to be my low back. Almost 20 years later MRI confirmed that I have signs of disc herniation at L4/L5 and L5/S1 with evidence of facet arthritis coupled a history of sacroiliac dysfunction.
Read MoreThe disputes and debates over the name Athletic Trainer have been of passing interest to me since 2015. Given the origins of the profession this title was once quite accurate. While this seems to no longer the case, I would like to submit that, particularly at the secondary school level, this is entirely a failing of us as a profession.
Read MoreThis quote is from one of my favorite movies growing up, Harry and the Hendersons. Harry is a Sasquatch, and like Harry, his cousin the Yeti, their aquatic cryptozoological breathern the Lock Ness Monster and Champ of Lake Champliagn fame, the overuse injury seems to be something often seen yet never captured and the evidence is always somewhat dubious.
Read MoreIn previous posts I have mentioned that FMS scores were showing potential as probability values regarding injury risk as the lowest scores belonged to individuals who had suffered injury. This theory is more difficult to control for in a sport, in this case football, where we put buckets on young peoples heads and dress them up as if they were extras in a Mad Max film while encouraging them to behave as if they were on the Fury Road.
Read MoreRecently I have had several patients who have produced new thinking and creativity regarding the blended use of treatment techniques.
23/yo female distance runner: While working with this patient with persistent R gluteal pain, particularly during long periods of sitting or sustained/intense up hill running, I noticed that while her trust in me as a clinician was high, she was almost impossible to palpate due to significant jump signs.
Read MoreA few weeks ago, during smokepocalypse 2017, football games at highschools across our region were rescheduled to be played in an indoor facility. Unlike wonderful natural grass fields, sprinturf is a wound care enthusiasts best friend, and bleeding is something that must be handled per rules and regulations to minimize the potential for exposure to blood born pathogens, MRSA, etc.
Read MoreAs an Athletic Trainer at a combined 7-12 grade Junior and Senior High school I have an interesting patient population. The school was built in 2003 and at some point there was a bit of foresight in the design and layout of the building. At the far east end of the building there is a long hallway that follows the entire eastern end of the school.
Read MoreAs I enter the profession of Athletic Training I have been charged with overseeing the care of the student athletes at a small Junior/Senior High School in a rural farming and lumber town. This presents with a number of unique challenges and opportunities, none of which are entirely unanticipated. Of course there is nothing like reality to teach one lessons, even in anticipated situations.
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