Although you might not think athletic training has much to do with the environment, it most certainly does. The way a player is acting can have direct correlation to the environment they are in. If a player is under much environmental stress and is not careful to take the right precautions, there could be drastic and devastating consequences. That is why it is always key for athletic trainers to understand and know the conditions the athletes are playing in.
I myself never really thought of athletic training as having much to do with the environment, but after some examination it was easy for me to see. Athletes play in all sorts of conditions. Whether it be rain, snow, or just plain old heat, the body is effected. Being able to recognize potentially dangerous situations before they happen is key to being an effective athletic trainer.
A major concern for athletic trainers is athletes practicing in extremely hot conditions. This is a major concern in sports such as lacrosse and especially football because of all the pads they wear. Athletes who exercise in hot, humid environments are particularly vulnerable to heat stress. And it is not uncommon to see a few stories on national or local news every year about a death of an athlete taking place due to this. It is for this reason that I sometimes wonder why more sports teams do practice inside on a regular basis.
Work Cited
Peiser,
B., et al. "Seasonal Changes and Physiological Responses: Their Impact
on Activity, Health, Exercise and Athletic Performance." International SportMed Journal 7.1 (2006)ProQuest. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.
This is really true from my experiences. Ive seen many people suffer from heat exhaustion. I also know of a case of someone dying at a football practice in the summer from the heat. The trainers were always there and they did a great job dealing with heat exhaustion and dealing with rehydrating the athletes. Have you ever seen this happen in person?
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear you can relate to this. Did you see this football player pass away in person or did you hear the story over the news? Hope you heard it over the news and didn't have to witness a sad, emotional sight like that. It appears as though the athletic trainers you have come into contact with took their job seriously and did a good job taking care of the athletes. Rehydrating is a key factor in preventing heat exhaustion and other injuries and is something not all athletes take right to heart. And the answer to your question would be yes; I have seen two people suffer from heat exhaustion. Both of these instances took place during summer lacrosse practices. The weather was extremely humid and although we were not wearing as many pads as football players, we still felt the affects of the very warm, sticky weather. Both times the situation never got out of hand as the athletic trainers acted promptly to the scene and took care of the athletes in a timely, orderly, professional fashion.
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad we had such a good trainer at our high school in Dexter and no tragedies like these happened. During football season, she, along with an assistant trainer, were out there every day in the heat with us bringing us everything they could to keep us hydrated and safe. They actually shut down practice a couple times my junior year because of the heat. The coaches weren't happy about that, but the trainers realized that it was their job to step up and make sure the kids were safe. There's always controversy on how far you can push athletes in extreme weather conditions, but the trainers usually have it under control.
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