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The Role of Athletic Training in Injury Prevention and Performance Enhancement

Writer: Kira BerchKira Berch
17 hours ago3 min read

Athletic training plays a critical role in injury prevention, emergency and long term treatment of injuries and performance enhancements.


A female athletic trainer squats to her knees and has a hand placed on the chest of an injured football player dressed in a red jersey.

Athletic trainers (ATs) are highly qualified, multi-skilled healthcare professionals in a variety of settings. This includes: all levels of athletic competition, traditional sports, and nontraditional sports, like rodeo, NASCAR, special olympics, etc. ATs are also found in clinics with doctors, the military, law enforcement, performing arts, and even industrial settings like Amazon, Chevron, Nissan and Toyota to name a few in Mississippi. Our ATs work with coaches to develop training regimens that minimize injury risks while optimizing physical performance. Through proper assessment, conditioning, rehabilitation, and education, they ensure that athletes maintain peak fitness levels and recover effectively from injuries.





Injury Prevention Strategies in Athletic Training


Athletic trainers employ various methods to reduce injury risks, including:


  1. Coordinate pre-participation physical exams to identify health risks that can lead to catastrophic injury/illness and ensure they get the proper care and clearance to compete safely in their sport.


  2. Serve as sports medicine educators to coaches who are making decisions of an athlete's competition level.

  3. Use risk mitigation strategies in a variety of settings. For example: In high heat advisories, ATs direct coaches and players to modify practices, increase hydration breaks, and provide recovery plans.


  4. Biomechanical Analysis (Injury Screening and Risk Assessment)

    - Evaluating movement patterns. helps identify improper techniques that can lead to injuries. For example, athletes who lunge and squat with knees falling inward can increase their chances of an ACL tear, or lowering one’s head to tackle will increase the risk of spinal injuries.

    - Corrective exercises and movement retraining improve efficiency and reduce strain on vulnerable joints and muscles. For example, encourage the use of hip muscles to move knees more over the foot.

    - Identify limited or increased flexibility issues. For example, tight muscles on the inside of the legs create knees to fall to the midline of the body.


  5. Injury and Illness Monitoring

    - AT’s keep eyes on players' performances to identify subtle limps, guarding, or major sudden injuries to provide immediate first aid or management guidance during competition and practices.

    - ATs implement evidence-based practice to assess, evaluate and diagnose an injury or illness. ATs integrate their robust knowledge of injury pathology and patient history to determine a diagnosis and/or refer for any additional testing. A total of 263 (92%) of the athletic trainer assessments and physician diagnoses were in agreement.


  6. Treatment Plans

    - ATs rehabilitate and recondition injuries, illnesses and general medical conditions with the goal of achieving optimal activity level using the applications of therapeutic exercise, modality devices, and manual techniques.

    - Progressive return-to-play strategies ensure a smooth transition back into competition.

  7. AT’s maximize athlete’s physical capabilities through:

    - Sports-specific training

    - Nutrition Guidance

    - Psychological Support


If you are curious about the schools at which our Athletic Trainers serve, learn more here!

A man assists a baseball player using resistance bands in a physical therapy gym setting. The athlete in red exercises, watched closely by the physical therapist in a gray shirt.

Our Final Thoughts

Athletic training is essential in safeguarding athletes from injuries, identifying injuries, directing proper care, and optimizing their performance. Athletic Trainers take great pride in being the first medical resources for athletes and seeing victorious outcomes.


If an Athletic Trainer has mentioned physical therapy might be the right next step for you, reach out to a location near you today to eliminate pain and stay in the game.





Sources:

  • Behm, D. G., Blazevich, A. J., Kay, A. D., & McHugh, M. (2016). "Acute effects of muscle stretching on performance: A systematic review." Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 48(2), 423-436.

  • Bompa, T. O., & Buzzichelli, C. A. (2018). Periodization: Theory and Methodology of Training. Human Kinetics.

  • Burke, L. M., Castell, L. M., & Stear, S. J. (2019). Sports Nutrition. John Wiley & Sons.

  • Cook, G., Burton, L., & Hoogenboom, B. (2014). "Pre-participation screening: The use of fundamental movements as an assessment of function." International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 9(3), 396-409.

  • Haff, G. G., & Triplett, N. T. (2015). Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. Human Kinetics.

  • Houglum, P. A. (2016). Therapeutic Exercise for Musculoskeletal Injuries. Human Kinetics.

  • Lombardi, N. J., Tucker, B., Freedman, K. B., Austin, L. S., Eck, B., Pepe, M., & Tjoumakaris, F. P. (2016). Accuracy of athletic trainer and physician diagnoses in sports medicine. Orthopedics, 39(5), e944–e949. https://doi.org/10.3928/01477447-20160623-10​

  • McCrary, J. M., Ackermann, B. J., & Halaki, M. (2015). "A systematic review of the effects of upper body warm-up on performance and injury." Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 18(3), 282-291.

  • Myer, G. D., Ford, K. R., & Hewett, T. E. (2015). "Rethinking prevention of ACL injuries: New considerations for 2015." Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine, 8(1), 34-40.

  • Weinberg, R. S., & Gould, D. (2019). Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Human Kinetics.


 
 
 

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