Play Safe: Injury ​Prevention & Recovery

In this modern era of the chase for the most superior athletic conditioning, it is essential ​that athletes avoid injury. Once a serious injury occurs it is unlikely that a specific muscle ​group will fully recover. The field of sports medicine and recovery does not receive the ​level of recognition and funding that they need and it is our mission to break that trend. ​We need to inform as large of an audience as possible about methods of injury preventions ​and recovery to optimize athlete recovery time to return to their respective sport in the ​best condition possible. The sooner athletes get back in the game, the better. Our group ​has been working on this project for the last semester, and it highlights the importance to ​spread awareness to athletes and those close to them about proper ways to prevent injury, ​and how to expedite recovery while not sacrificing the player‘s abilities when an injury does ​occur.

Some athletes and their parents may find physical therapy and other recovery methods ​are inaccessible, expensive, and some simply have a “rub some dirt on it” mentality. ​Additionally, funding for schools ties into how athletics are handled. this is demonstrated ​by the use of turf fields. Turf fields while bad for athletes are more cost effective as ​demonstrated in this article from My Backyard Sports. For one reason or another, people ​will refuse treatment and some of those reasons are valid. For example, medical care is ​getting more expensive as the years pass and there are many without insurance that will ​cover physical therapy. One visit in Indiana can range from $85 to $140! Athletes who live ​in rural areas could also not have as much accessibility to this care, as some towns don’t ​have any means of therapy. Schools with lower budgets also don’t have enough trainers ​for all sports, so athletes in those areas will have a hard time finding care without ​spending thousands at a hospital. Additionally, some athletes are brought up with a ​mentality of injury being a symbol of weakness, and their recovery method for everything ​is just to “rub some dirt on it”. These are all reasons as to why it is essential to educate ​athletes and parents on the importance of sports injury and recovery. Athletic futures are ​at stake if we don’t take action now.

Let’s look at the numbers, as mentioned before prices for physical therapy can get ​between $85 to $140 in Indiana. Additionally, there are 2.28 injuries per athlete across all ​sports. Because of this, the average athlete will have to spend at minimum $193.80 per ​season on injuries alone, and that’s if they only have a single visit for each injury. Not to ​mention if the injury is severe, it could take months of visits to recover, which can rack up ​thousands of dollars! These are reasons as to why we need to focus more on the injury ​prevention and recovery side of sports. One of the best ways to do this is to use grass ​fields instead of turf in outdoor sports. Turf is used for an inexpensive and easy to maintain ​field, and schools with lower funding are forced to use them as they cannot afford to ​maintain grass fields, however athletic safety should be the first thing in mind, not money. ​Another way to improve athlete’s lives is increasing funding for trainers and other therapy ​related activities in the school environment. Ways we could do this are contacting you ​local representative, fighting for more funding in schools, and if absolutely needed you ​could utilize fundraisers. Many schools don’t even have access to the most basic care for ​their athletes, and it would benefit all athletes to have some form of care.

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Field experience Of Kalvin and alec

On November 22nd, team members Alec Sell and Kalvin Burdine were ​given the opportunity to visit Ms. Stroud, who is an athletic trainer for ​the Lebanon Senior High School located in Lebanon, Indiana. Ms. ​Stroud explained her typical work day while we watched her tape up ​different athletes in different disciplines as athletes get ready for ​their respective sports for practice. Team member Kalvin Burdine ​received an ankle taping which is common for wrestling, certain ​football positions, basketball, and many other sports. Taping the ​ankle helps give more support. The purpose of this taping is to ​prevent common spraining, this is especially important when the ​athlete has previous exposure to ankle injuries. Preventing spraining ​can remove the chance for life long injury or carer ending injury.

Field experience Of Brayden

Team member Brayden Beckham received a wrist taping from Ms. ​Stroud at the Lebanon Senior High School on November 30th, 2023 ​in Lebanon, Indiana. This type of taping is most commonly seen in ​football linemen and its purpose is to reduce pressure being forced ​upon the wrist. Linemen experience pressure on their wrist as their ​position is centered around blocking the offense with their hands. ​The tape accomplishes injury prevention by supporting ligaments ​and not allowing as much movement in the wrist, which prevents ​sprains or breaks.

next steps

Due to athletic injuries, athletes and their parents have to spend time and money to begin ​the slow and painful recovery process. Not every student athlete has access to the proper ​recovery facilities, and that leads them to stay out of sports and can cause problems later ​in life. Keeping student athletes healthy is important as it allows them to be able to ​compete in their sport. One way to do this is to employ student help with athletic trainers. ​If we have students who are interested in the medical field helping out, it would not only ​increase their experience but it also allows the trainers to have some time to be able to ​help more athletes. Another solution is to push the government to increase funding for our ​schools. If you wish to help our cause, contact your local representative, and help bring ​additional funding to our schools to help athletes succeed. We need to improve these ​facilities, as student athletes will continue to suffer if we don’t.

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