Athletic Training Research Paper

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Athletic training has been recognized as a healthcare career since 1990, yet few people know what this career is. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), “Athletic Trainers (ATs) are health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to provide preventative services, emergency care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions.” Recently this definition has changed, dropping “athletes” altogether from the terminology used in describing this career. The definition now opens the door to a wider set of people, or all “injuries that result from physical activity,” instead of limiting the use of athletic trainers down to specified athletes (Long). Athletic training…show more content…
Personal training is similar to athletic training but more limited in its jurisdiction. Certified athletic trainers can work in many positions including but not limiting them to schools, colleges, professional sports, physician clinics, hospitals, corporations, industries, military, performing arts and manufacturing plants (“Training”). Certified athletic trainers are also required to earn a bachelor's degree at minimum and work under the American Medical Association (AMA), whereas a personal trainer can work without any formal instruction or required certification. Personal training is all about developing and monitoring changes in one’s fitness program, as well as perhaps offering nutrition recommendations. Athletic trainers practice under the direction of a physician and are required to keep up with the most current of events by continuing their education. They must also pass a comprehensive exam before earning their credentials at all. Lastly, athletic trainers are required to follow the guidelines set by one specific certifying agency where as a personal trainer, if they get a license, has many different options due to less regulation and can acquire a training license in as little as a weekend course…show more content…
That is why an athletic trainer must be able to work on their toes; their profession is one that cannot always be planned in advance. However, they do have daily duties they must perform still. Providing physical medicine and rehabilitation is their main duty. Rehabilitation can include a variety things starting with heating and/or icing, massaging, and taping, or going all the way up to using machines and certain stretching procedures such as: use of the foam roller, tension stretching, laser treatment, neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)--otherwise referred to in the training room as “stim”--and muscle strengthening/stamina exercises. Daily, their duty is to prevent, diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate injuries (“Athletic Trainer”). Athletic trainers must coordinate with other healthcare professionals in which they may be working with. Lastly, an enormously important part of athletic training is documentation. It is so important that they document everything they are told since they see multiple patients every day (“Athletic Training”). Misdiagnosing can cause serious trouble. It is important that how an injury occurred, when it occurred, and what the patient did after it occurred is documented. A patient’s mental state should also be documented when an injury occurs as well as the treatment prescribed by the athletic trainer. It is important that all of

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