The ATC: It's what we do

 I’ve had several questions this week about how we do things. By “we,” I’m referring to the Athletic Trainers at each of our schools whose job is to keep their teams safe and healthy.

You may not know what an Athletic Trainer is. An Athletic Trainer is a college trained health care professional, usually holding a Masters Degree in Athletic Training. Athletic Trainers do much, much more than tape ankles. We provide interventions to prevent injury, rehabilitate after an injury, provide emergency care on the court or field, and a million other things.

This week, I was asked how we make decisions about when lightning is close enough to be a danger.

All of our Athletic Trainers carry portable devices to detect the exact location of lightning and determine how far away it is. On a recent Friday night, measurements on that device and careful assessment caused a delay of the game and evacuation of the stadium. It wasn’t until it was determined that the storm had passed (and even then we had to wait another 30 minutes) that we were able to restart the game. A 9 o’clock kickoff made for a rather late game.

But I believe that anyone that was there would agree that it was the right decision and the right process. During the worst of the lightning, it seemed like it was literally hovering overhead.

What do you do if you are hiking and a lightning storm crops up? Think profile. What is there around you that might attract lightning? A tall tree?  Get away from it. Hovering under a tree is always a bad idea.

Get away from exposed areas. A low place away from trees is probably the best place you can be. Crouch down and wait out the storm. Remember that it is better to get wet than dead.

I was asked this week how we make our decisions about concussions. In other words, how do we know when something is a concussion?

First let me tell you what a blessing it is to have Athletic Trainers at all of our schools. It is impossible to be there for every practice and game for every sport, but it surprises outsiders how often we are there when our services are needed. 

Here’s my point:  By being around the members of the team, we get to know them…quite well. That lets us do a better job when it comes to dealing with a possible concussion. If an athlete is behaving oddly, we are there to notice it. And since we know that kid well, we are better able to recognize aberrant behaviors. We know which kid might exaggerate their symptoms and which one is going to try and hide them from us.

By our definition, every blow to the head that results in symptoms (dizziness, headache, visual disturbance, et cetera) is a concussion until proven differently. Once an athlete is stabilized and appears in no immediate distress, we assess their physical presentation, their vision, their balance, and assess their cognitive ability and short term memory.

If there is any doubt, it’s off to the Emergency Room for that athlete. We take NO chances in this arena. Too much can happen and it’s pretty much all bad. Sending an athlete back into the game with a missed concussion can result in 2^nd Concussion Syndrome, which can be much worse than the initial concussion.

So we are SUPER cautious when we suspect a concussion. If symptoms abate quickly, we may watch the athlete for a while but more than likely the game is over for that athlete on that night. If the initial symptoms are significant enough or if symptoms tend to linger too long, it is an ambulance ride for our young charge.

Lightning. Concussions. Covid-19. Wearing masks. Social distancing. Wearing a bicycle helmet. Make smart decisions and be safe!