All athletic trainers have to complete a program at an accredited university or college. Each program is vetted by a national accreditation board regularly to ensure they are meeting all standards and producing the highest quality ATC‘s out there.Throughout school they are attending classes and shadowing certified ATCs to get hands-on experience. As they progress through classes and learn skills they begin to utilize the techniques under the supervision of fully certified athletic trainers.

Traditionally these programs have been a four-year bachelors degree however as of 2022 all future ATCs will come out with a masters level athletic training degree. After sitting for and passing the national board of certification exam (BOC) we must maintain our certification by completing 50 hours of education every two years. This includes any hands-on, refreshers or advanced trainings that we attend to improve our skills.

Athletic trainers provide coverage and care all the way from the point of injury on the field, court or workspace through to returning to activity/duty. This means that no matter what the injury, we are prepared to run up, evaluate, and take decisive action to ensure safety as well as take the first step towards healing. Throughout the recovery process we can make the necessary referrals if deemed appropriate, progress a rehab/treatment plan and lastly functionally test the individual to ensure they are ready to return to activity.

During recovery from injury, ATCs can bring a full set of skills from scraping/cupping/needling to progressive loading exercises. Our exercise prescriptions will cover the necessary mobility and stability for the injury site as well as any contributing areas of the body. That means if we have a knee injury we will explore the foot and ankle as well as the hip and low back to make sure that we aren’t missing a weak link.

Returning to full activity whether that’s sport, job, or just pain-free activities of daily living is known to an athletic trainer as being “full go“. This means that you have not only successfully completed the treatment plan but also completed return to activity testing.

This testing is going to be dependent on what level we are trying to get back to. Testing for "discharge" will entirely depend on what you are returning to. For lower body injury in athletics, we will often complete power testing like single leg hops for distance and measure endurance with runs such as the 300m test. While these tests aren't 100% needed they are a solid measure to make sure you are actually ready AND confident in the recovered injury. For something specific to what you're dealing with please reach out!