What is an Athletic Therapist?
And what can they treat?
Certified Athletic Therapists, also known as Athletic Trainers in the US, are best known for their quick-thinking care of athletes on the playing field and the effective clinical assessment and treatment of all injuries, no matter your activity level.
Don’t let the title fool you — Athletic Therapists are not just for athletes. Athletic Therapists (ATs for short) are considered musculoskeletal specialists. That makes ATs effective in treating any issues with muscles, bones, joints and connective tissues, including fascia.
Maybe it is a specific injury you are seeking help for, or maybe some treatment for those nagging chronic aches and pains. ATs can even help with mobility issues that are keeping you from moving well in your day to day life and activities.
We all have muscles, bones and joints, don’t we?!?
That means that Athletic Therapy is for EVERYONE.
Along with their specialty in the assessment and treatment of pain and injuries, ATs can help you prevent injuries by assessing your movement patterns, posture, strength, and exercise form.
With all that knowledge stored in their head from their university education and wide array of practical experiences they can notice things (big and small) in your movement, alignment, and muscles that may contribute to issues later.
Yes — that means they could spot issues before they even cause you pain!
What are Some Common Things that ATs Can Help With?
Athletic Therapists treat ALL sorts of injuries and conditions.
Some of those conditions include:
- Acute Injuries
- Chronic Injuries
- Chronic Pain
- Muscle Strains
- Ligament Sprains
- Contusions and Bone Bruises
- Repetitive Strain Injuries
- Rotator Cuff Tears, Labral Tears
- Bursitis, Capsulitis, Fasciitis
- Tendonitis, Tendinosis, Tenosynovitis
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
- Osteoarthritis
- Low Back Pain, Acute or Chronic
- Lower-Crossed Syndrome
- IT Band Friction Syndrome
- Sciatica and Piriformis Syndrome
- Disc Herniation / Facet Fusions
- Whiplash Associated Disorders
- Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
- Upper-Crossed Syndrome
- Neck Pain, Headaches, and Migraines
- Post-Concussion Treatment
- Workplace Injuries
- Pre/Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
- Post-Fracture Rehabilitation
Athletic Therapists can also provide:
- Biomechanical Analysis
- Ergonomic Assessments
- Gait and Postural Assessments
- Injury Prevention and Care
- Prophylactic Taping/Bracing
- Return to Play Protocols
- Reconditioning Programs
- Strength and Conditioning Programs
- Concussion Screening, Assessment and Care
Whew! This list, although well rounded and long… is not exhaustive. My hope is that by seeing this list will you will see the broad scope and abilities of Athletic Therapists to help with all injuries and conditions.
SCOPE OF PRACTICE
(How Can Athletic Therapists Accomplish the Above?)
An Athletic Therapist’s scope of practice starts with extensive knowledge and training in the areas of the human musculoskeletal system, exercise physiology, biomechanics, movement assessment, injury rehabilitation, manual treatment techniques, exercise prescription and basic emergency care. Whew. That’s a mouth full.
In simple terms, Athletic Therapists are specialized in preventing and rehabilitating injuries and conditions that affect muscles, bones and joints (aka. your body) — no matter where or how they occur — in sport or at home.
Athletic Therapists adhere to the Sports Medicine Model of Care, which focuses on treating the cause of the injury and the whole kinetic chain versus treating just the symptoms or location of the pain. ATs care for injuries and conditions through a wide spectrum of therapy skills and modalities called the Spectrum of Care.
The AT Spectrum of Care includes five areas:
1. Injury and pain prevention
ATs work to minimize the chances of an injury happening by completing an extensive set of injury and medical history questions, global movement screening and the applicable joint and muscle assessment techniques. We may look for contributing factors such as:
- Muscle imbalances
- Joint malalignments
- Movement and mobility restrictions
- Fascial and muscular tension, spasms and adhesions
- Troubles with balance and coordination
- Poor muscle recruitment patterns
- Poor work or home ergonomics
- And common habits (such as shifting weight to one leg when standing, carrying your purse on only one shoulder, always having your wallet in the same back pocket, leaning on your elbow while on your computer, or sleeping in a sidelying twisted position)
If you are physically active or exercise regularly it is also important to analyze any exercise or training programs you are currently doing, or have previously completed.
Injury prevention in relation to your exercise could take the form of:
- Completing a full movement screen and assessment of form during various exercises
- Adjusting training and exercise schedules, allowing for sufficient recovery and optimized health
- Adjusting the current program or creating a brand new exercise and mobility program: Is the current program too broad? Is it missing competencies? Is the current program too specified? Is there not enough cross-training? Is there no current exercise program or plan at all?
- Adding new protective equipment and supportive taping techniques, or adjusting the ones already being used
- Referring to other practitioners, physicians, nutritionists or coaches as needed to optimize physical health and performance
2. Emergency and acute care
- You may have seen Athletic Therapists in various situations and not even realized it! Do you watch hockey, soccer, basketball, or perhaps football? Whenever an athlete goes down on the ice, court or field, the staff member that runs out to assess the situation is an Athletic Therapist! … Complete with our very stylish fanny pack full of emergency supplies to deal with whatever the situation is.
- After the acute assessment is completed, the AT can make a decision on whether the athlete (a) can return to play, (b) is out for the rest of the game or match, (c) needs to see a physician before they can return, or (d) must head to the emergency room immediately via ambulance.
- Emergency care and the opportunity to do the immediate injury assessment is a huge part of what sets Athletic Therapists apart from other similar professions, but it is not all that we do. This is known as working “in the field” vs. working in the clinic setting. ATs who work at sporting events and with teams often get to see the injury from the moment it occurs. They can complete the full spectrum of care by doing the initial assessment, making the return to play call, doing the acute injury care, completing the injury treatment and rehabilitation, and then finally get to see the individual return successfully to play. This gives ATs the unique ability to prevent secondary complications or injuries, which are often more severe than the original injury.
- On the off-chance that there is a severe injury or a medical emergency during play (or up in the crowd, or out and about in daily life) ATs will employ life-saving techniques through the use of standard emergency procedures learned in their CPR, First Aid, Sport First Responder or Emergency Medical Responder courses.
- Although other professionals do assess and treat concussions, Athletic Therapists are known for their education and ability to recognize concussions in the field. Once a concussion is recognized, ATs provide guidance and/or counseling for the individual, their coaching staff, and any family or friends that are present to take them home. When working in the field or with a team, ATs also facilitate and administer appropriate return protocols for those returning from sport-related traumatic brain injuries and concussions after they have been cleared by a physician.
3. Assessment
- The AT spectrum of care truly starts with an assessment of the patient, whether on the field or in the clinic setting. After a full assessment, the AT will have a thorough understanding of the patient’s health and injury status. The AT can then formulate a well-rounded plan to help the patient reach their goals.
- Each plan will generally consist of:
Specific manual treatment techniques
Corrective exercise and rehabilitation
Reconditioning or general strength/mobility training
- All approaches are backed by education, experience and tailored to the individual and the condition that is being rehabilitated.
- Athletic Therapists start gathering information and assessing the situation as soon as you enter the room. An Athletic Therapy diagnosis is arrived at by:
Interpreting how the injury happened
Observing posture and gait (how you sit, stand and walk)
Determining which signs and symptoms are related to the injury or condition
Discovering any predisposing factors through a full assessment and history taking
Performing tissue-specific, physical, movement-based or fitness testing in accordance with accepted procedures to assess an injury, illness and/or health related condition (known as an orthopaedic assessment)
- And, when the client returns for a follow-up appointment or schedules a general check-up, the AT must reassess the status of any past or current injuries, illnesses and/or health-related conditions to determine appropriate progressions for the treatment, rehabilitation and/or fitness and reconditioning programs.
4. Rehabilitation
- When we rehabilitate an injury, we not only work to get the patient back to their pre-injury state, we want them to be even healthier than before and less susceptible to injury! When we take a whole-body perspective for their rehabilitation, the work not only improves the health of the injured area, but the body as a whole.
- ATs use a lot of manual, hands-on therapy techniques to improve the vitality, alignment, mobility and versatility of the tissues affecting the injured area, so that they healthier, stronger and more resilient against injury.
- We are also trained in the use of modalities that aid the healing and rehabilitative process. Those modalities include: electrical stimulation, ultrasound, thermotherapy, cryotherapy and sometimes laser therapy or shockwave therapy if the AT has taken the appropriate course or training.
- Athletic Therapists take an active approach to rehabilitation, including movement therapies and targeted exercise programs to ensure musculoskeletal stability, function and versatility. The goal of rehabilitation is to keep you active during your recovery. Recommendations most often consist of modifications to what you are already doing and additions to enhance recovery. The goal is not to take activities away from you, unless those activities are contributing to the injury or will delay recovery unnecessarily.
- Education and guidance are a very important part of the rehabilitative process. Teaching the patient about their injury, illness and/or health-related condition is key to ensuring the best possible success of the rehabilitative plan.
- As mentioned before, the assessment, treatment, education, guidance and administration of return protocols after concussions and sport-related traumatic brain injuries are also with the spectrum of care of Athletic Therapists.
5. Reconditioning
Reconditioning is a general term used for exercise after:
- An injury
- A period of inactivity
- An occurrence of prolonged healing
- Or a diagnosis of a new medical condition
Reconditioning is a gradual exercise program that takes into account both the patient’s previous and current conditioning level. The exercise program starts with their current conditioning level then progresses reasonably to where they need to be for their daily life, physical activities or sport participation.
The reconditioning programs are customized, and may include cardiovascular training, mobility training, strength training, balance and coordination training, and/or sport specific drills.
If you have made it this far you now have a GREAT understanding of what it means to be an Athletic Therapist! Our main goal is to help you recover from your pain and injuries and bring you to a healthier state over all, so that you can be physically active in your every day lives and in sport. Minus the pain.
Want to learn more?
Look for upcoming articles on my Medium page:
- “Which Therapist Do I See For What? How Each of the Professions Differ in their Specialties and Scopes”
- “My Philosophies on Injury Assessment, Treatment, Rehabilitation and Exercise”
Check out my website: www.cvbwellness.com
Follow me on Facebook (CVB Wellness Services) and Instagram (@cvbwellness)
Ask questions, either in the comments section of this article, through social media, or on my website Contact Page
Want to find an Athletic Therapist near you? Click here to look within Canada
Want to learn about CranioSacral Therapy? (Another one of my passions)
- Check out my article: “What is CranioSacral Therapy?”
- Find a Craniosacral Therapist near you, in any country, by clicking here
Take care,
Courtney V.
