March is National Athletic Trainers Month, and I want to celebrate the incredible impact of athletic trainers on my team’s health, performance, and longevity of athletes at all levels.
Most people MISTAKENLY think Athletic Trainers are personal trainers.
They are not. (in the UK their title is better, they are called Sports Therapists)
Athletic Trainers (ATC’s) are healthcare professionals who are trained to diagnose, treat, and prevent injuries that you get doing active things. ATCs are the only healthcare professionals who are trained to handle everything from Emergency Medical Medicine to diagnosing an injury and then rehabbing all the way back to high performance. When your favorite athlete tears their ACL it’s the ATC who handles everything from post op surgery recovery to advanced plyometric training, when they are ready to return to sport.
PTs, Chiropractors, MDs, DOs, etc., do not have this skill set unless they go to ATC school upon graduation (no shade, these people are still critical to our team).
That is why Athletic Trainers are utilized by the Navy SEALs, pro-CrossFit athletes, all professional & D1 athletes, rock stars, and anyone who uses their body at a high level and not another profession. ATC’s are the profession that FIXES BROKEN ATHLETES.
One of the reasons that sports injury care is so often inadequate for us everyday athletes is that ATs are not usually available to the general public (ASR is innovating in that way).
Anyway, help me show some love to the ASR athletic trainers Aleigh and Nick; next time you see them, take a moment to thank them for their dedication and commitment to helping us all recover.
