717-523-2502 MARCH 2020
39 PORTER ROAD, SUITE 1, TOWER CITY, PA 17980
WWW.SNYDERPHYSICALTHERAPY.COM
A HEALTH CARE TEAM WORKING TOGETHER TO PROVIDE THE BEST TO EVERYONE
March is Athletic Training Month, and we are celebrating the important role athletic trainers play in a health care team. Who better to talk about the impact of athletic training than our physical therapist Jessica Lentz? As she shared with you last month, Jessica got her start in health care as an athletic trainer responding on the front lines of injuries at Penn State. The experience is what led Jessica to physical therapy, and it also gave her an appreciation for the athletic training profession and its role in injury treatment and prevention. Like physical therapy, athletic training is, in a lot of respects, all about education. Athletic trainers working at high schools and colleges are teaching people at an early age about health, how their bodies move, and about how to manage injuries and pain. Athletic trainers are an amazing part of the health care team who can play a crucial role in injury prevention and rehab. As an undergrad at Penn State interning with athletic trainers, I had a lot of good friends working in the collegiate setting, but when I thought about where I wanted to be, I thought about working in high schools. I felt that’s where I could have the most impact.
care to athletes. In both professions, we work on the sidelines to advocate and care for our patients. Communication between the physician, athletic trainer, and the athlete is crucial to getting an athlete back on the field after an injury and preventing future ones. As a PT, when I work with students recovering from an injury, their athletic trainer is my partner. When I transition the student out of my care, I want to make sure the athletic trainer is in the loop as far as the student’s status and recovery. The athletic trainers are the ones who’ll be watching them during practice and during games to ensure the athlete is staying healthy and injury free. In many situations, athletic trainers are also the first one on the scene after an injury occurs. It wasn’t always this way — growing up, my parents didn’t have athletic trainers at their schools. Even today, in smaller towns and more rural areas, schools don’t always have the funds to have medical staff work with their athletes, and they miss out on an important part of the recovery process for injured players. If your child’s school has an athletic trainer, give them an extra thanks this month! Anyone who watches sports, whether its football, soccer, or golf, knows that on the other side of their
favorite athlete’s epic goal or swing is an athletic trainer who’s making sure they are at peak performance. What I learned as an athletic trainer has been instrumental in developing the way I practice physical therapy. When I work with athletes, whether they’re a college football player or a weekend warrior, I incorporate my background in sports medicine to customize treatment to the individual player. Sports medicine was a great knowledge base to have coming into physical therapy, because the knowledge I gained isn’t just applicable for college level athletes, but for anyone who wants to stay healthy and active. I understand what that individual needs to get back on the field, the golf course, or the gym.
As physical therapists, athletic trainers are our partners in providing seamless
–Jessica Lentz
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