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.