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How Do Athletic Trainers Help Athletes Maximize their performance

Alexandro Ozuna

Senior Capstone Paper

Mr. Cahoon
March 28 2016

Sports are becoming more ideally over the past couple of decades.The numbers of high
school athletes has increased since previous years. A study has shown that in 2011, it was
estimated that 55.6 percent of high school athletes participate in a sport (1,Koebler). Along those
statistics, more kids playing a sport meant more injuries and fatalities. Athletic Trainers have

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been a need for athletes in all sports since the 1950's (4,NATA). Because of injuries and the daily
stressors athletes face from their chosen sport, trainers are necessary in various ways so each
individual can reach their full potential. Although athletic trainers focus mostly on sports and
athletes, they can also give therapy to anyone in need; They do not have to in sports. In matter of
fact, according to hope.edu, more than 50 percent of athletic training work outside of school
setting. Athletic trainers help athletes maximize their performance by preventing injuries, making
sure their lifestyles are healthy and make sure that they correctly rehabilitate from their injuries.
Athletic trainers are all about making sure the athlete best shape possible to compete.
They make sure they the athletes follow the guidelines to prevent injuries. A technique on how
athletic trainers prevent injuries is stretching. Stretching allows the muscles to warm up and help
reduce soreness.For instance, Cross country runners use not only their legs muscle but also use
their helps and upper body. They would need to take a couple of minutes and stretch from the
ankles, legs and thighs, to the hips back and arms. It is recommended for athletes to do from 2 to
ten repetitions for around 30-120 seconds. If done correctly, it will allow the athletes muscles to
not be too tense which will improve their performance .

Athletes shouldnt just look healthy, they should feel, look and move properly as well.
Athletic trainers play a role in nutrition by helping athletes maximize their performance by
making sure the body has all its vitamins and minerals and a healthy diet. Athletic trainers are
asked about nutritional and corrects eating habit by athletes numerous of times. It is the athletic
trainers job to make sure the athlete has enough carbohydrates intakes to perform the sport they
preferred. Athletes burn alot of calories and carbohydrates which are source of energy and will
need to replace that energy again. That is when pre-game meals come in handy. Pregame meals
are high in carbohydrates and liquids (8,Human Kinetics). It is usually a something small like a

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snack. Before an event, an athlete should try to consume a shake or a protein bar because they
are low on calories and high in carbs so it's fast to digest. Have a pre-game meal can improve
athletes performance by a lot. After the event it is also important to have an after meal so all
those minerals that got sweeten off, can be placed back to your body

As much as athletes try to prevent from injuries, there will still be injuries they need to
rehabilitate the athlete from. Athletes may help you prevent you from twisting your own ankle on
accident but can not prevent someone causing you to twist your ankle. For instance in football,
you can stretch all you want and eat the proper nutrition but someone can run towards you and
tackle you and land on your ankle. Now you are going to have ankle problems. It started off
playing a trainer's role to the athletes role back to the trainers. Now it's time for the athletic
trainer to do its job now. The athletic trainer will follow a procedure regarding the spot of injury.
for the ankles, the athletic trainer will train athletes with some ankle exercises and techniques.
After they went through techniques, the athletic trainer will tape up the ankle so it can hold the
support it needs to move properly. The AT will let the player know if he or she would or wouldn't
be alright to finish the game. Regardless if they finish or not, the athletic trainer will arranged
meetings with the athlete later on on the week to do therapy on the injury.

Athletic trainers are not just sports therapist, they are another player of the team. They are
held responsible for helping out athletes improving their performance as well as getting the best
out of it. They follow guidelines and techniques to make sure the athlete is in the best form as
possible to compete or function normally.

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1.Koebler, Jason. "High School Sports Participation Increases for 22nd Straight Year." US News. 2
Sept. 2011. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-schoolnotes/2011/09/02/high-school-sports-participation-increases-for-22nd-straight-year>.

Rosenberg-McKay, D. (2014). Athletic trainer career information. About Careers.

Retrieved from http://careerplanning.about.com/od/occupations/p/athletic_trainer.htm.

OBrien, V. (2014). Athletic trainer career information. Net Wellness.

Retrieved from http://www.netwellness.org/healthtopics/athletic/5.cfm.

4.National Athletic Trainers Association. (2015). Health career a life for sport. National Athletic

Trainers Association. Retrieved from http://www.nata.org/athletic-training.

Santiago, A. (2014). Athletic Trainer - how to become an athletic trainer. About Careers.
Retrieved from http://healthcareers.about.com/od/alliedmedicalprofiles/p/Athletic-Trainer-HowTo-Become-An-Athletic-Trainer.htm.

American Dental Education Association. (2015). Athletic training. Explore Health Careers
Retrieved from http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/Career/57/Athletic_Trainer#Tab=Overview.
A, Lorin. "An Athletic Trainer's Role for Sport Nutrition." Human Kinetics. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

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A, Lorin. "An Athletic Trainer's Role for Sport Nutrition." Human Kinetics. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/an-athletic-trainers-role-for-sport-nutrition>.

M, Gabriel. "Stretching Before and After Exercise: Effect on Muscle Soreness and Injury Risk."
NCBI. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.