Athletics: Sports Medicine
ATHLETIC INFORMATION
(Return to Sports Medicine)
Until
a little over a decade ago, a patient's regular doctor would treat
sports-related
injuries with rest, prescription painkillers, and sometime
surgery.
Sports Medicine has become a medical field unto itself. In the
1980's
it was dominated by orthopedic
surgeons. Today the field of sports medicine includes
a variety of specialists, including psychiatrists, sociologists, physical
therapists, athletic trainers, exercise physiologists, and certified exercise
program directors. These specialists try to find ways of improving an
athlete's proficiency in a particular sport. Sports medicine has expanded
its focus in other ways as well. In it's early years, it served mainly professional
athletes. Now, because of an increasing intrest in physical fitness,
its focus has expanded to include everyone who engages in physical activity.
Doctors are no longer interested in just treating injuries. They are also
trying to prevent them through research and counseling on nutrition and proper
training. By helping people learn more about their capabilities and their
limits, experts in sports medicine hope to reduce the number and severity
of injuries and make physical activity safer for everyone.
The
Leander
ISD has established a sports medicine passport program. The
objective
of the Sports Medicine Program is to prepare student athletic trainers
for college experience and/or a career in sports medicine. Sports
Medicine
I is focused on the foundations of sports medicine regarding treatment
and prevention of athletic injuries. The course is hands-on and
laboratory-drivin
as students work directly with a certified athletic trainer in a
specialized
training facility.
What type of person does it take to be a Student Athletic
Trainer?
(Return to Sports Medicine)
A
student athletic trainer needs to be able to work well with others.
He/She
will work closely with coaches, athletes and other student
trainers.
As a staff, you will work through many situations in which teamwork is
needed. Being able to communicate is a vital aspect to being a student
trainer. Many times it is the student trainer who will talk to coaches
about injuries and the status of an athlete. A student trainer is the
head
trainer's right hand person. A student trainer needs to be responsible
and dependable.
You
can
join the Cedar Park Sports Medicine staff by contacting the head
athletic
trainer, David Bowman. Once you set up an appointment, you can
also
drop by to observe a practice or game. This allows you to really
get an understanding for the responsibilities of a student trainer.
Sports Medicine
offers a variety of wonderful opportunities to get ahead in a related career.
Our Sports Medicine program also offers outstanding scholarship opportunities
for its student trainers. Once in college, a student trainer has continuous
experiences in the field of Sports Medicine to further prepare them for their
future occupation. The experience you obtain can be utilized in occupations
such as physical therapy, sports medicine, exercise physiology, and certified
exercise program directors. Your experience will even be an aid to you
as a psychiatrist or sociologist.
