Athletes participating in every sport at the collegiate and professional levels have come to rely on an athletic trainer for all of their injuries and ailments. Athletic trainers' specialized scope of practice includes injury prevention, emergency care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions.

Student health and sports safety initiatives have escalated and remain in the media spotlight. As a result, high school athletic programs have undergone some major changes in an attempt to make participation safer and to ensure best practices are in place. A recent high school benchmark study published in the March Journal of Athletic Training reported that 37 percent of high schools in the United States have at least one full-time athletic trainer, thus meeting the standard of care recommended by the National Athletic Trainers' Association. Additionally, 70 percent of public high schools have athletic training (AT) services. These statistics are an update to a 1994 study that which indicated only 35 percent of public high schools used AT services. Overall access to athletic trainers has doubled over the past 20 years.

While this is good news on the athletic training front, there is more work to be done. It's critical that school boards, administrators, coaches, parents and others understand the valuable role of the athletic trainer and the appropriate medical care services they provide. The following points offer a clearer picture of the role athletic trainers play in an athletic program.

1. Overseeing general care of student-athletes. The athletic trainer is the healthcare professional who takes care of student-athletes even after the school nurse and other staff have left for the day. This is when the athletic trainer begins the daily routine of injury rehabilitation, injury evaluations, protective taping, practice preparation, monitoring environmental conditions such as heat and humidity, consulting with physicians, checking the status of weather conditions, conducting concussion follow-up and honoring return-to-play protocols. This is what many call rush hour. This occurs every day from the sound of the last bell until the first half-hour of practice has been completed..

2. Coordinating care with teachers and other administrative staff. Research shows that schools with an athletic trainer have more diagnosed concussions. The athletic trainer's background prepares him or her to work day-to-day with the administration, school nurse, staff and parents to help students manage concussions. This includes prevention, on-the-field evaluation should injury occur, and the care, management and recovery protocols required to ensure the athlete recovers and then returns to play in the most effective and efficient manner. 
 
Athletic trainers are also more likely to follow best practices when completing return-to-play protocols following concussions. This is vitally important because second-impact syndrome is an extremely dangerous condition that occurs in younger athletes when they have a concussion that doesn't properly heal and then have another concussive episode. This condition can lead to permanent disability and even death. The goal is "return to learn" first, meaning re-assimilation into the classroom environment. Once that is accomplished, the next step is to get the athlete to complete a return-to-play protocol and release him or her back into the sport of choice.

3. Directing preventative care for a wide range of injuries. Injuries vary from sprains and strains to more severe, unusual injuries or conditions that require specialized training, recognition, management and treatment. If the school doesn't have an athletic trainer, the coach or athletic director may try to provide this medical care and decision-making. Coaches are hired to coach, prepare and condition their teams; and athletic directors are meant to oversee the department. They should not be expected to also handle medical aspects, and any type of substandard care could put the athlete's health and welfare at risk. Read more...