SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus athletic training department is participating in the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers Association (GLATA) “Safety in Football Campaign,” which aims to lessen the risks of injury by employing an athletic trainer and keep the focus on the fun and camaraderie of football.
As a part of this campaign, 22 high schools and four universities in Minnesota have joined the effort to identify ways in which they can lessen the risks of injury and raise awareness of the role of the athletic trainer.
Gustavus employs four full-time certified athletic trainers. Gustavus also houses an Athletic Training Education program with 25 students who spend time with the student-athletes promoting safety among all sports.
“Gustavus is proud to be a leader in the safety of its student-athletes,” Head Athletic Trainer Troy Banse said. “We are grateful to our coaching staff of the support they provide the profession of athletic training.”
Beginning last Friday and culminating with the weekend of Sept. 21, designated high schools and colleges, Gustavus included, are donning a small helmet sticker on the back of each player’s helmet. The sticker represents the cumulative efforts of these schools and the Minnesota Athletic Trainers’ Association towards improving safety in youth football in the state of Minnesota.
Football is one of the most popular sports among youth athletes, and it leads all other sports in the number of injuries sustained. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, “in 2007, more than 920,000 athletes under the age of 18 were treated in emergency rooms, doctors’ offices, and clinics for football related injuries.” There are three times as many catastrophic football injuries among high school athletes as college athletes.
Sixty-two percent of injuries occur during practices but across the country only 37 percent of secondary schools have a full-time athletic trainer on-site daily. This is why athletic trainers are such vital components of safe and successful football teams. Athletic trainers are multi-skilled health care professionals who provide preventative services, emergency and acute care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions. Athletic trainers are one of, if not the only healthcare professional who can successfully take an athlete from the point of injury and successfully take them through the entire recovery process.
All across the state of Minnesota athletic trainers are providing their clinical skill and expertise each and every day to improve the overall health and safety of their athletes. According to a study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the presence of athletic trainers in the secondary schools lowers overall injury rates, improves diagnosis and return-to-play decisions, and reduces the risk for recurrent injuries. In fact, the placement of athletic trainers in every secondary school that offers an athletic program is recommended by both the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine.
*GLATA contributed to this article