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Athletic Trainer Research Paper

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When I broke my Tibia and Fibula playing football my sophomore year of high school, I started to really think about what I wanted to do with my life. I had a lot of love for playing football, and I knew that I did not want to stray too far away from the sport. It wasn’t until I started going to physical therapy that I realized that I didn’t have to, so I decided that I wanted to be a physical therapist, to help other people get back on their feet. However, my junior year, we got a new athletic trainer at my high school. So, I decided to ask Mrs. Pam if she would mind if I shadowed her, to learn more about what she did, and how to help other players with their injuries. She agreed, and I spent my junior and seniors years shadowing her. I learned …show more content…

But, when I began to look into it, I realized that a lot of schools do not actually have athletic trainers for their student athletes. That is something that I think is really strange, considering just how important athletic trainers are. Luke Kuechly, the star linebacker for the Carolina Panthers himself, identified the Panther’s athletic trainers as the ones to keep the players ready to go, and he even mentioned that they are the most underrated members of the team. ESPN even did a story on Ryan “RV” Vermillion, the head athletic trainer and physical therapist for the Panthers. “Vermillion watches over his players, caring for them and encouraging them when injuries bring their everyday world to an abrupt halt, then gradually pushing them along the path toward a return to action …show more content…

If that same student that was treated by an athletic trainer at their school, and rehabilitated with the help of a physician, were to go on to play a sport at a professional level, or even at a college level, they would be able to bring in more revenue for their state. So, whether it saves money in the short term for parents, or in the long run, should the athlete become an ambassador for the athletics of their state, it is still more cost effective for there to be athletic trainers for high school and middle school students. Not to mention more humane.
According to stopsportsinjuries.org, high school athletes make up two million sports injuries, half a million doctor’s visits and 30,000 hospitalizations each year. Those numbers are huge, and a large part of them could have been avoided. The website also goes on to give more specific statistics, and of those, it is mentioned that half of the injuries that student athletes get in middle or high school are from overuse. And of the sports injuries listed on their website, over half of them are

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