Tuesday, May 25th (Day 13)

Today I met with Kelly to work on my paper and presentation for senior project. It lasted a total of 3 hours.

Monday, May 24th (Day 12)

Today was a short day in the training room due to my medical science exam. Kelly and I basically discussed what I should produce for my presentation of my senior project. We decided on a poster board and pamphlets for the knee, shoulder, and concussion. Greg Shine showed up with a cramped neck, and Chris showed me how to work a knot out, and I helped stretch Greg, and then Greg heated up his cramped neck. Like I said today was a short day. I worked on my project and self-evaluation. 1 page of the self-evaluation is done, and one of the pamphlets is done.

Week 2 Reflection

Week Two Reflection

This week was a very busy one in the athletic training room and very tedious because it was the end of the spring athletic season. Everything needed to be restocked and cleaned for the summer. I never knew how much effort goes into making sure an athletic trainer has all the materials needed to perform their duties. This week really gave me a clear picture of what the whole process of athletic training is about, because it included restocking materials, taking care of patients, and getting everything ready for next year and clean for the summer. I want to thank Kelly again for helping me out, it was hard work, I learned as much as I could handle, and most of all it was a good time for me.
One thing I learned was how crucial it was to provide athletes with the proper medical kits when they have home and away games. We emptied out the medical kits and restocked them with everything needed for the teams games. It was amazing how many materials get lost from each medical kit. I would have to say each medical kit needed at least four or five, different pieces of medical supplies replaced. We had to restock twelve kits! That is a lot of materials after we went through them all. Next year I would suggest we do it half way through the spring season also. I think Kelly had me do this activity because she wanted to show me athletic training was not all about taking care of athletes. The first step is very important and that is to be prepared to take care of athletes. She also got me into doing the tedious grunt work that all athletic trainers have to perform, which is the cleaning of their work space. We emptied out the ice chest and cleaned it down, and did the same with all the water jugs, and heating packs holder. This made me realize that everything in the training room is not about the glory from diagnosing an injury or taping an ankle, it is about the preparation to be ready to shine in the moment and help athletes out that are injured.
As for the real learning part of this week goes, I learned about concussions and how to access them. I learned that concussions are very difficult to diagnose, not in terms of actually diagnosing them, but diagnosing what grade of concussion they are. There are so many scales of concussions, that is is difficult to tell which one is the best and the most accurate. This over lapped perfectly with my medical science class because we discussed concussions and how they were to be treated, tested, and diagnosed. I learned all the twelve cranial nerves from Kelly and how to test them all using simple tests. Taking the concussion test was very long and annoying because it asked you the same things over and over again and was not interesting, i lost my attention span half way through. After doing that I now know why athletes with head injuries have to take it. It is because it can be compared with their base line test which you take when you do not have a concussion. One exciting moment was when I was the on site trainer at the softball game and an injury occurred. I had to clean up a deep cut from sliding on the field. I did it properly and Kelly was very impressed with my work.
I benefitted from this week’s activities because it brought the whole picture of athletic training into my vision. I learned about the cleaning, and restocking, and first hand about the treatment needed on the spot during an intense competition. I to thank Kelly and Chris for leading me these two weeks and teaching me so much. I will miss the Proctor athletic training room and staff immensely.

Friday, May 25th (Day 11)

Today I met Kelly at 9:30. I worked out from 10-11:15. I returned to the training room at 1. I signed Kelly's yearbook with a long and detailed thank you for letting me do senior project with her. We cleaned out the freezer and let it melt outside of the athletic training room. After we did that it was time to go to the volleyball game. Since Kelly was playing for the faculty team Nik and I were on duty as the real athletic trainers. The game looked like a lot of people would be injured due to Allie's pitching. However, only Eric had a cut, which I patched up with ease. The game ended around 5:30. We got back and cleaned the water jugs and went to dinner.

Total Hours: 5

Thursday, May 20th (Day 10)

Today I reported to the athletic training office at one, after going to assembly, working out, and eating lunch. I started out the afternoon performing a few ankle tapes and storing different shelves from the training room. Today we did a lot of cleaning and maintenance today that I didn't know was involved in the job. Before we got to all the cleaning and all that jazz, Nik, Hannah, and I learned how to backboard a person in a spine board, a very valuable skill to know. We learned that the person in control of the head and neck is the person in charge. They tell you when to tilt the person to a neutral position and when to let the person down. Then you strap them in with two diagonal straps across the chest and two straight across the legs. After we were done strapping and back boarding we moved a cabinet upstairs and other supplies because it is the end of the season and time to clean out the training room. After we did the moving, we went upstairs to get supplies. We stripped all the first aid kits and resupplied them. I got to learn what is necessary to be on hand when an injury occurs on the field and an athletic trainer isn't present or even when they are present. A lot of thought goes into what is needed in the medical kits. After we did the medical kits we went into cleaning mode. I vacuumed, cleaned off all the hard surfaces and tables for injured athletes. We cleaned out the ice machine and resupplied the drawers with all different kinds of tape that could be needed. We also cleaned out the heating pack heater, that contains hot water in order to heat the different size packs. One thing I forgot was that Chris taught me how to make a finger splint. Reconvene at 9:30 tomorrow morning.

Total Hours: 5

Wednesday, May 19th (Day 9)

Today was the last game day for Proctor for the spring season. I met Kelly at 10:30 in the athletic trainer's room after my medical science class. When I got to the training room, I went over the cranial nerves, reviewed them and clarified any issues I had with them to Kelly. I think she will probably quiz me on all of them tomorrow. Nick Libby gets a special shout out today for his volunteer work. After Kelly ran over the assessments of the shoulder and the knee, yet another time, Nick graciously volunteered to have the tests performed on him. I performed knee tests for patellar tracking, ACL, and osteochrondral defect. I think I am going to remember all the tests from all the practice I had. Today we did our fair share of cleaning and and moving. Chris, Nik, and I navigated a large cabinet up the stairs near the gym, and put it into storage. We also brought a new table down from storage to put into the rink. This table will be used for injuries that occur in the rink and is located near the varsity locker room. Later on we did waters for the games, most of the games were cancelled due to weather, however the varsity lax alumni game was still held. After making the waters and putting them out, and made heal pads for taping ankles, which is ripping square patches and putting an adhesive on the squares so they can be stuck on the ankles of the athletes being taped. After practice taping three ankles it was time to go play in the alumni game.

Total hours: 5

Friday, May 14th (Day 5)

Today I met Kelly from 9:30-10 to go over the muscles and injuries of the shoulder. At 1:30 I returned to the athletic training room to fill the waters. From 2-3 I taped shoulders including substitute slings, and denying movement backwards and forwards. At 3 I left for game 7 of the Bruins- Flyers series.

Tuesday, May 18th (Day 8)

Today I started with breakfast and dish duty. Then from dish duty I went to medical science class. We discussed strokes for the most part, along with concussions. After class I met with Kelly in the athletic training room. We went over the 12 cranial nerves and how to test them, because they all factor in on concussions. From 10-11:15 I worked out with Nik Tasiopoulos and Oliver Moore. At 12:15 I reported to dish duty. At 1:30 Nik and I delivered all the water to the athletic fields for practices that day. When I returned I practiced taping Chris' ankle. Prior to that I took the standard concussion test on the computer, so I could see what it was like for athletes that take it when they think they have a concussion. I did a solid job, and look to improve more tomorrow. I also use Connor Toomey as an ankle taping volunteer. After that I had a pop quiz from Kelly on the 12 cranial nerves. I was not very prepared for the quiz. Tomorrow I am going to try to be more successful on the quiz. After that I tested Kelly for a concussion by testing all 12 cranial nerves. Then I used a simple sheet that involved memory for the most part, to test Kelly for a concussion. Chris and I also discussed periodization and how the plan for periodization is a power phase before your season, to make for optimal performance during the season. Sam Zamkow came in with a shoulder injury today, and yours truly was allowed to palpate and try to come up with a diagnosis. Unfortunately I was not able to come up with the same diagnosis as Kelly, however I palpated correctly, and said the source of the injury was right where Kelly said it was coming from. After Nik and I picked up waters in was around 5:15 and I had to run to dish duty.

Hours: 9:30-10 cranial nerves, 1:30 -5 cranial nerves, periodization, taping, assessments, water

Total Hours: 4 hours

Monday, May 17th (Day 7)

Today I met Kelly at 9:20 for an athletic department meeting. At the meeting we discussed the new sign in process in the athletic training room for the most part. The new sign in process is electronic. The athlete has to sign their own code and password, then put their injury in. They only have to put their injury in the first time. So every time an athlete had to sign in today they had to input their sport, type of injury, how it happened, and when it happened. The process was slow today, but hopefully it will be quicker in the future. The goal is to manage athletes faster and get them to practice on time, and for coaches to be able to check their status from an itouch or some sort of hand held computer. From 10-11 I worked out. At 1 I filled the water jugs and brought them to each field. I went to medical science class at 1:30 after lunch, where we discussed more concussion topics. At 2:30 I returned to the athletic training room and helped everyone sign in that was receiving treatment. After the rush died down I went to the boys junior varsity lacrosse game with Kelly and Nik, and we watched making sure no injuries occurred. Luckily no injuries happened. By that time in was around 5. Kelly I went over my homework from the night before. We discussed ultrasound and shoulders. I have to redo my the sports specific injuries for the shoulder because they were not up to par. Nik and I went to clean up the fields and get water. When I got back we cleaned the jugs and tables. Kelly assigned me the 12 cranial nerves tomorrow because we are moving onto concussions. I meet with her at 9:30 after dish duty tomorrow.

Hours: 9:30-10 meeting, 2:30-6 watch jv game, filled empty waters, clean, work on shoulder exercises and understanding of ultrasound

Total Hours: 4 hours

Week 1 Reflection

The detail that goes into running the athletic training room at Proctor Academy is unbelievable to me. There is times where the training room is quiet and nobody is in there, however immediately before sports and after sports, the crowds come. I thought athletic trainers relaxed while there was nobody in there. I learned that was completely false. The spare time in the training room, when nobody there is spent preparing for the times when everyone is in there at once. Kelly did a great job managing what she had to do with all the athletes while teaching me everything I need to reach the goals of my senior project.
This week Kelly and I focused on the knee and shoulder. I learned about three different injuries for both the shoulder and the knee. For the knee we focused on ACL tears, Patellar Tracking injuries, and Osteochrondral defect. The first thing I learned about each was what they were of course. An ACL, tear is a ripped anterior collateral ligament, which is inside the knee and keeps the tibia from sliding out from under the femur. Patellar Tracking injuries is when the knee cap moves out of place, when a person flexes their leg. Osteochrondral defect is when the cartilage layer in the knee wears away and cause bone to bone rubbing. After I learned what all three injuries were, I learned how to rehab to each. We focused on strength exercises for each and split them into three different stages. The three different stages were early injury, middle injury, and late injury to sport specific exercises. I chose five exercises that I thought would help in each stage for each knee injury. I performed them for Kelly, and she told me if my technique was off, or if the exercise was a good one for the knee injury I was talking about. After all three stages had five exercises, I focused on sports specific exercises for football, hockey, and lacrosse. For the shoulder I learned about dislocation, A-C joint problems, and fractured clavicles. Dislocation of the shoulder is when the humerus separates from the scapula. The A-C joint is a joint in the shoulder that is often fractured or hurt in sports, and fractured clavicles are just when the clavicle is hit with force and broken. I made workouts for each of these injuries, for all three stages of injury, beginning, middle, and end. After which I will make sport specific exercises for soccer, hockey, and baseball on Monday.
Kelly also taught me about stimulation and the different types of stimulation and what each can be used for. The main goal of stimulation is to dull pain receptors of athletes, so they can play through an injury and pain. Another thing we really focused on is how to tape ankles, wrists, and shoulders, the three main things athletes have taped. I learned how to do a standard ankle tape and and achilles ankle tape. For shoulders I learned how to make a substitute sling, support for shoulders, and prevent the shoulder from going to far forward or backwards based on what the injury is. Another thing I learned were special tests for each shoulder and knee injury. I now know how to test for all three injuries of the shoulder and knee. Kelly had me do all these things because she deals with them on a regular basis. The week’s activities will help me experience what being a trainer is like because I would like to be one in the future.

Saturday, May 15th (Day 6)

This was my sixth day in the athletic trainer's room. It was a slow and short day. I arrived at 10:30 and had to leave at 12 for the lacrosse game. When I was there we filled up water for baseball because it was the only game for that day. I went over high volt stim, russian stim, and TENS unit stim. We reviewed what the benefits of stim are and how they can help athletes. After that I taped ankles for practice and Kelly gave me homework for Monday. My homework is to research exercises for shoulders in the mid, late, and early stages. Then I have to find sport specific rehab for shoulders for hockey, baseball, and soccer. Monday will be a full day because the lacrosse season has ended, looking forward to many hours next week.

Hours: 1 hour 30 minutes water filling, ankle taping, shoulder review, stim review

Thursday, May 13th

Today was my longest day in the athletic trainer's room yet. I met Kelly at 9:30 and we went over my homework from the night before. I had to tell Kelly what I thought would be good sport specific exercises to perform after having knee surgery. I had to find sport specific exercises for hockey, lacrosse, and football. I learned that the exercises not only vary by sport, but vary by position in each sport. Wide receivers will do different exercises than the tight end or kicker, because they do different jobs on the field. After we discussed and I performed some of those exercises, I went to work out from 10-11. When I finished working out I went back to my dorm, changed and showered, then went to medical science class where we continued to talk about concussions. I reported back to the room at 1 and began prepping for practices. Nik and I took the waters out to each athletic field. After that is was a day of taping. I have never spent so much time taping anything. I started with the ankle. After doing the ankle, a standard ankle tape, I learned how to do an Achilles ankle tape. From there I moved on to doing a simple ankle wrap to reduce swelling. I still need to master all the ankle wraps. From there I moved onto shoulder wraps. I wrapped three different ways. One way to stop from upward/backward movement and another to stop downward/forward movement. The third way was a substitute for a sling. After those wraps I moved onto the wrist wraps. I learned to wrap in neutral, up, and down. I practiced that for awhile after. That brought me to about 5 p.m. Then Chris taught us about stimulation and we were hooked up to it. He taught us about closed loops and open loops, and what that meant when dealing with electricity. After that we picked up water jugs from the athletic fields, cleaned the tables and called it a day. Tomorrow I will report at 9:30 to the athletic training room where Kelly and I will wrap up the information on the knee and move onto the main injuries of the shoulder. Special thanks to Nik Taz, Brett Kangas, and Zach Spencer for letting me practice different wraps on them. An extra special thanks goes out to Connor Toomey who sacrificed his lacrosse practice to let me tape him repetitively for two hours.

Hours: 9:30-10 knee exercises and info with Kelly, 10-11 workout, 11:50-12 medical science class, 1-6 trainer's room stretching, icing, assistance, stimulation/wrapping practice.

Total Hours: 5 hours and 30 minutes

Wednesday, May 12th (Day 3)

Today was a short day in the training room. I went to class at 9:05 and finished at 10. I met Kelly in the athletic room at 10:15. We filled up the water for the athletic competitions and ice coolers for injuries. Nik and I delivered them to all the fields after that. When we returned Kelly and I went over knee rehabilitation exercises for different stages in the injury and I performed them. Tonight I have to find sports specific exercises for knee injuries. After we went over the knee exercises and injuries, we went to lunch from 11:15 to 11:45. I practiced taping several ankles after that and checked out around 12:30. I went to my game from there, tough loss 11-8 to Holderness. Tomorrow I will report at 9.

Hours: 10:15-11:15 game preps and knee injury review, 11:45-12:30 ankle taping practice, ice/stretch athletes

Total Hours: 1 hour and 45 minutes

Tuesday, May 11th (Day 2)

I started the day off at 8 this morning. I went to breakfast then met Kelly in the athletic trainer's room at 9. We immediately started discussing three different types of knee injuries, ACL tears, patellar femoral tracking disorder, and Osteochrondral defect. I knew most information about ACL tears because I have had one myself. At ten Kelly went to advisory meeting. I met up with fellow senior project student, Matt Quinn. We went on a two mile run, did some lifting, and other exercises. By the time that was done with at 12:30 Kelly, Matt, and I called it quits and went to lunch. At 1:15 I returned to the athletic training room. Nik and I filled up the water and supplied all the athletic fields with a water jug. When we returned I started practicing ankle taping. It was more difficult than I thought it would be. I had to focus on doing all the steps in order and starting from the right side of depending on which ankle I was taping. I started off taping a wrinkled mess of tape around an ankle. I progressed to remembering all the parts, sometimes with a little of Kelly's help and finally taping a decent ankle. I must have taped 8 ankles within an hour, because I'm not very quick at getting them done. After I taped a few ankles, my ankle was taped so I could see how it should feel and look and compare it to my work. After the ankle taping I helped athletes stretch and ice and watched some more taping. I looked up several exercises for knee rehabilitation and showed Kelly them, after she saw them she decided to give me another night because I had trouble looking 5 different exercises for each stage of the rehabilitation. Tomorrow I have to show her all those exercises and perform them. At 3 I went out to practice until 5. At 5 I returned to the athletic training room and emptied all the waters from the field and cleaned them out, and finished up the day cleaning the tables in the athletic training room. Then Kelly and I had dinner. We will reconvene at 10 tomorrow morning.

Hours: 9-12:30 teachings on knee injuries/workout, 1:15-3 ankle taping and preparation for practices, 5-6 clean up from practices, help athletes after practice, clean athletic training room.

Workout Hours: 2 hours

Total Hours: 4 hours and 15 minutes

Monday, May 10th (1st Day)

Today was my first day in the trainer's room. First thing today I reported to the trainers room at 9:30 for an athletic department meeting. The athletic director, school equipment manager, and assistant athletic trainer were present. We discussed the end of the year for the athletic department. Gregor, the athletic director created a survey for each of the three departments, that will be given to each of the head coaches this spring. The surveys include areas the three different departments could improve on in terms of their service for each team. After the meeting I went over the the trainer's room and read through the code of ethics for trainers. Most of the material for self-explanatory, as far as I could tell it was general social standards and part of a very basic hippocratic oath, where you don't expose information to a third party unless the person is a minor or has signed off on it. From 10-11:15 I worked out in the weight room. At 11 I headed back to my dorm and showered and dressed appropriately for my job in the afternoon. I at lunch at 12:15 then headed back to the trainer's room at 1. Then Kelly, my mentor for senior project talked to me about rehabilitating glutes. I found five different exercises for Kelly that rehabilitated glutes. Those exercises included butt kicks, flutter kicks, glute kickbacks, leg lifts, and one-legged cable kickbacks. After I performed those exercises, I discussed common knee problems with Kelly, and my homework tonight is to look up more information on knee injuries. I then helped Kelly fill water jugs for each field and deliver them. Afterwards, I went to my medical science class, after which I returned to the trainer's room at 2:30. I practiced stretching techniques on several athletes. I stretched mostly backs and hamstrings. I ran two injured lacrosse players through a warm up for there quads and ankles because both of those areas were injured. After cleaning and helping different athletes ice, I went to lacrosse practice from 4-5. I came back at 5 and picked up all the water jugs from the athletic fields and cleaned them. Then I practiced ankle taping which I need to work on because the steps are more complicated than I thought and there are many different ways to tape ankles for different ankle injuries. After taping and wiping down the trainer's room, I went to dinner with Kelly and we discussed our plan for the rest of the week. I will be meeting her when she get to work tomorrow at 9 a.m.

Hours for today: 9:30-12 meeting, code of ethics, workout, 1-1:30 water and ice for athletic team fields, 2:30-4 learned icing, warming up, and stretching techniques, 5-6 learned ankle taping and cleaned trainer's room.

Working out: 1 hour

Total time for today: 4 hours, and 30 minutes