Subscribe to 51精品视频wire Today
Get the most interesting and important stories from the 51精品视频.There鈥檚 an art to wrapping a football player鈥檚 ankle 鈥 start with anchors, then alternate stirrups and horseshoes, apply two figure 8s and a set of heel-locks on each side. And whatever you do, don鈥檛 wrinkle the tape.
51精品视频 athletic training students practice those skills and more as part of their clinical rotation with the 51精品视频 football team.
The 2022-23 academic year is the inaugural year of the accelerated master of science and master of science degrees in .
Students in the accelerated program complete their degree in five years total, earning a Bachelor of Science in rehabilitation science with a concentration in pre-athletic training after year four and a master's after an additional year of graduate school. Students on the general track complete their master鈥檚 in two years.
A lot of people don鈥檛 know about athletic trainers鈥 contributions, said Emily Duval, one of the students completing an athletic training clinical with 51精品视频 football this semester.
鈥淲e are health care clinicians. When we鈥檙e not on the fields, we are planning treatments, conducting testing, performing therapeutic modalities behind the scenes,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 think when people do see us, it鈥檚 when a guy goes down and we鈥檙e rushing out to the middle of the field.鈥
But athletic听trainers do so much more.
Behind the scenes
Game day magic starts early for the student athletic trainers. Six hours before kickoff, they set up on the field鈥檚 sidelines with hydration stations, sports medicine trunks, ice, a spine board and rehab tables.
Later, in the locker room, the students and their professional cohort go to work stretching, heating and taping the team.
Then finally, it鈥檚 time for kickoff. The ATs enter the field behind the players, ready to do whatever it takes to keep the team healthy.
Athletic training master鈥檚 students complete four semester-long clinical assignments categorized by the kind of injuries they might encounter. By graduation, students have completed clinics emphasizing equipment-intensive injuries, upper extremity dominant sports injuries, lower extremity dominant sports injuries and a general medical rotation. All of this guarantees that they鈥檝e been exposed to injuries beyond what they鈥檇 see on solely treating athletes.
The job also requires advanced skills: Students completing an athletic training master's must become certified EMTs as well.
It鈥檚 crucial that students complete their medical training before starting their clinical, said Amy Angelou, director of the athletic training program in the .
鈥淢ost clinical sites aren鈥檛 like 51精品视频 football, where a cadre of health care professionals is present. Suppose students are completing a clinical at a high school with only one professional athletic trainer on site. In that case, it鈥檚 important they can be an active member of an emergency action plan 鈥 ready to help out of an emergent situation.鈥
鈥淥ne thing that differentiates athletic trainers from physical therapists is we do acute care management. We鈥檙e there with athletes daily, before the injury happens, and if there is an emergency, we can triage it,鈥 she added. 鈥淲hereas people go to physical therapy post-injury after receiving a doctor鈥檚 referral.鈥
On practice days, three to four days a week, student athletic trainers arrive at the facility on 51精品视频sburgh鈥檚 South Side at 5:30 a.m. and perform the same protocols on game days. Post-practice, they鈥檙e supporting the professional athletic trainers' rehab work and injury treatment.
Despite the early morning hours, the fast-paced, hands-on nature of working with 51精品视频 football has inspired Duval to pursue a career supporting high-intensity athletes.
鈥淚 like that athletic training is a dynamic experience,鈥 she said. 鈥淔rom when an athlete is injured to when they are rehabilitated, I think it's awesome to be part of the whole process,鈥 Duval said.
.
听
鈥 Nichole Faina, photography by Tom Altany