Basic Athletic Training Paper

What is athletic training? Athletic training is the concern of the well being of the athlete and generally assumes the responsibility for overseeing the total health care for the athlete. This basically states that an athletic trainer's job is to be there for the athlete whether he/she is injured or not, and to practice the prevention of injury. By learning the proper techniques and steps to stretching, an athletic trainer can pass that information onto the athlete to help prevent common problems such as cramping. Another way of looking at an athletic trainer is that they must be prepared and capable of dealing with any type of trauma or catastrophic injury that may occur. If that wasn't enough, the NATA website offers this definition, "Certified athletic trainers (ATC's) are unique health care providers who specialize in the prevention, assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and illnesses that occur to athletes and the physically active."

Now that we know what an athletic trainer is and what duties they carry with them, it's time to look at what started it all and what works behind the scenes of athletic trainers everywhere. There have always been athletic trainers since the Greek empire and that tradition still continues today through the NATA. The NATA (National Athletic Trainers' Association) was established in 1950, and still stands today as the official head of all certified athletic trainers. The NATA is recognized as an Allied Health Profession by the American Medical Association, as well as accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Program.

With the background in check, you might be asking yourself how would to become an athletic trainer. Here at WIU, after taking required entry courses with the allotted hours spent observing a certified trainer, you can enroll in the ATEP. After graduating with a BA from an accredited program along with 800 hours in the field, the NATA Board of Certification offers a nation board exam for you to pass and become a certified athletic trainer. The exam, called the BOC exam, is split into 3 parts. A written multiple-choice exam, followed by a scenario exam (where you must highlight the correct action to be taken), and then a practical exam. Unlike most other professions, say a physical therapist, an athletic trainer spends more time preparing for the professional world than others.

What about physical therapy, you ask? Physical therapy, unlike an athletic trainer, is more of a one-on-one profession with the patient at hand. The definition of physical therapy, as told by the online glossary of medical terms is "the treatment of injury and disease by mechanical means, as heat, light, exercise, and massage." While athletic training is directed more towards sports than any other profession, physical therapy is open to a variety of patients, ranging all ages. You ask