In Training: Students Learn To Treat, Prevent Athletic Injuries

Mar 26, 2008 - 14:44:35 CDT.

By Matt Ward

One swing of the bat was all it took for her to spring into action.

While the junior varsity softball team stood deadlocked in an offensive showdown on the field, Fredericksburg High School senior Amy West was following her normal pre-game routine as part of the FHS varsity softball team, preparing for a district test against reigning AAAA state champion Boerne.

In a matter of seconds, she could no longer focus on the upcoming game, but instead turned her full attention to the third base batting cages, where one of the Boerne varsity players had accidentally struck herself in the head with a bat.

After examining the player to ensure she had no signs of major head injuries and getting her a bag of ice, West returned to the Fredericksburg dugout to continue preparing for the 7 p.m. first pitch.

In addition to competing on the field, West holds the responsibility to help tend to the health of players for both schools as one of a handful of athletic training students under the supervision of FHS Athletic Trainer Allan Dinsmore, better known to the students as “Doc”.

West, who has been in the athletic training program at FHS for three years, began as a member of the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA).

“What I like about it (athletic training) is you try and figure out what’s wrong with them (injured athletes) before the x-rays, before the MRI,” she said.

Initially started as a separate class during Dinsmore’s first year in Fredericksburg, the athletic training program has gradually morphed into hands-on training during athletic periods with less classroom-based instruction.

“If we get like five or ten minutes, I might teach them how to tape an ankle or treat a wound,” he said.

This relatively flexible method has allowed athletes like West to become involved in the program, which previously had schedule conflicts with athletic periods.

Across the state, high school athletic trainers generally share the responsibility for the health of all athletes with the host trainer taking care of all schools competing at competitions, although Dinsmore attends all FHS varsity football games, both home and away.

Larger high schools in Texas, including all five other schools in District 27-AAAA, employ at least two full-time athletic trainers, although Dinsmore is the lone trainer in FISD.

In terms of facilities, FHS has two athletic training rooms, one in the gym and another in the field house next to the football field, with the latter holding a whirlpool, exercise bikes, training tables and other equipment.

Typical duties for an athletic training student include filling water coolers and preparing and taping ankles and shins of athletes before games, although many double as a manager or even play on the team.

During games, Dinsmore can often be seen on a red Mule which carries basic equipment.

“I try and keep my eye on the field, make sure no one sprains anything; keep an eye out for a straggler,” he said.

He said that around 90 percent of his trips onto the playing field to check on players deals with bruising and he finds that the most common sport for major injuries is not football as most might think, but rather girls’ soccer.

“Girls’ soccer is actually harder on the female body than football is on the male body,” he said. “And that goes along with the national average.”

When players are rehabbing, Dinsmore tries to keep them with their teams as much as possible, though often rehab sessions take place during athletic periods.

“The ideal situation is for them to come during the morning prior to school and do some treatment then,” he said. “That way they’re free to go with their team during that period.”

A frequently used rehab method, the whirlpool provides therapeutic relief, though he believes its benefits are short-term and that long-term relief comes from other areas.

One common misconception is that athletic trainers are the same as personal trainers.

According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, athletic trainers are required to have a degree in the field from an accredited university and complete certification requirements, criteria not necessarily needed to become a personal trainer.

Also, personal trainers focus with individuals on fitness goals and needs, while athletic trainers provide rehabilitation services and have the ability to prevent, assess and treat injuries.

The National Athletic Trainers Association is currently celebrating March as National Athletic Training Month.

In Texas, the state medical board must license all athletic trainers, although most states recognize national licensing.

When he first started as an athletic trainer in college, Dinsmore said even he didn’t know what he was in for.

“I’m thinking ‘OK, we’re talking equipment and coordinating practices and all that kind of stuff’ and (the head trainer) is teaching me the proper way to make a bucket of Gatorade and the proper way to heat a whirlpool,” he said.

“There’s a wrong way and a right way to do some of these things. It took me a whole week to realize that athletic trainers are not managers.”

Since beginning as FHS athletic trainer, perhaps the biggest struggle Dinsmore has had with the program is retaining students after they begin the program in the fall.

The biggest draw to athletic training for FHS students initially, Dinsmore said, is the ability to work with the varsity football team and be on the sidelines during games.

“Kids always want to help out with football -- the fans, the lights, Friday nights, being on the sidelines,” he said. “As the football season ends, all of a sudden they stop showing up. They’re getting other interests, getting a job.”

Dinsmore said that in order to retain students, he focuses on matching interests on an individual basis to keep students involved.

“Tell me what you’re interested in and we’ll get you to be a manager and at the same time you can be the student trainer because trainers spend most of the time just sitting there,” he said.

Students in the program are able to attend summer camps and one-day clinics on athletic training at area universities with funding provided by the Billie Booster Club.

The draw to athletic training for students like West goes beyond taping ankles and filling water.

“You’re that person who sees them before they go to the doctor,” she said. “You’re that person who’s there for them when they do it (become injured).”

West said she has become interested in pursuing athletic training as a career, although she would also like to become a certified paramedic.

“There’s a lot of educational opportunities (in athletic training) besides what just might be in a classroom,” Dinsmore said.