muscles, tendons, and bones oh my

when the going gets tough ... SEE AN AT

[kristinabu27]

KT Tape

If an athlete were feeling pain in their shoulder while they were playing volleyball, a way to relieve that pain, and still allow them to play, would be to apply KT tape.

What is kinesiology tape? KT tape is a comfortable, lightweight tape that can be used for hundreds of different injuries from shoulder, to ankle.  The tape provides twenty-four hour relief when it is applied to an injury, and it can be worn at all time until it comes off.  The tape can withstand sweat, humidity, and water because of the special design.

How to use kinesiology tape?  You must align the tape with the muscle, ligaments, or tendons where the pain is being felt.  The tape will provide support to allow the athlete to still be active while the recovery takes place. 

KT tape allows muscles to relax and creates stronger firing from the muscles and tendons.  The feedback helps to support muscles without creating the bulkiness that a brace or wrapping with create.  By having the freedom to preform as usual, it can help an athlete to perform to the best of their abilities.

[kristinabu27]

Electrical Muscle Stimulation

There have been many interesting tools and information that I have gathered during observations hours, but one of my favorites happened just last week.  I was with another student observing and we were asking if we wanted to feel "estim."  This is something that I have seen other athletes do before but never experienced for myself.  Estim is used for rehab for partially or totally immobilized patients, it is a strength training tool for athletes or even just healthy subjects like the other student and myself.  The common ways that this is used if for training or therapeutic purposes, like in a physical therapy session.  Estim acts similar to the action potential that comes from the CNS, and it causes muscle to contract.  So if someone were experiences pain, you would place one electrode where the muscle starts, and the second where the muscles ends.  

When the AT placed the markers on me I was really nervous because I didn't know what to expect, and he just turns the intensity up until you feel it, so I never knew when it was coming (referring back to my pain post; everyone feels things differently, so everyone is going to feel the sensation at a different level), and when it finally hit me it completely took me by surprise.  I was expecting a very sharp tingling but instead it just felt like my skin was vibrating.  I think that this is such a great new thing that is being used more and more today than it was in the previous years.  There are athletes here that have torn their ACL and when this happens, they undergo rehab, and Estim is one of the tools that our AT's use.  They place the electrodes on muscle on their thighs, and cause a contraction so that even though they may not be able to participate in physical activity, their muscles are not not being used.

[kristinabu27]

Pain

Right now in Athletic Training we are doing observation hours with Athletic Trainers here at the University.  One night when I was observing the Mens Lacrosse Athletic Trainer, we had a very interesting, or at least I found it to be, conversation about pain.  He started off the conversation by saying that we all are made with some nature, and some nurture, meaning that we do some things simply because of biology and we do others things because of the impact things around of have had.  Growing up there were always the players that you never really understood how they were always hurt because that wouldn't hurt you, or they were always hurt and you never understood how.  There is a difference between pain threshold, and pain tolerance.  The way that Brian stated his opinions, made a lot of sense to me.  He said that he believes everyone has the same pain threshold, where we start to feel something, like "Oh that's different", which has a lot to do with biology.  Pain tolerance though, is a totally different thing, having a lot to do with nurture.  If when you were learning to ride a bike and you fell off and your parents just told you to get back on, then you have probably been raised to push through pain, and this will results in having a higher pain tolerance.  If you were raised that when you fell off of a bike your parents said that was okay and they cuddled you to make sure that you were okay, then you probably have a lower pain tolerance.  I never really thought about pain from this point of view until he brought it to my attention, but now it makes a lot of sense.  So when I am an Athletic Trainer I hope that I will be more understanding of people that feel as though they have a horrible injury, even if they may not, because it might not be entirely their fault.  

[kristinabu27]

http://travisthemovie.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ssgtravismills?fref=ts

[kristinabu27]

"Everyday is a challenge, but it's not a challenge you can't overcome."

After Athletic Training....

Almost three years ago one of my family members was hurt while over seas.  I don't know if any of you have heard about him, Travis Mills? And I don't mean that weirdo looking rapper.  He is just one of five quadruple amputees to survive such injuries.  So I am going to try and make this blog about both social media, and telling you about my career goals.

I have always wanted to be a Physical Therapist, Athletic Training is still what I am doing now, but after someone in my family went through such a traumatic event, it really made an influence on what I think I want to do with my life.  Watching videos that have been posted to try and raise awareness of his situation has been very inspirational and I think it would be great to be able to help people that need it, like him.  Travis has had his story through many different forms of social media, including Facebook, Instagram and there is a big chance that I am not the first to write a blog about it.

Seeing what amazing work can be done with prosthetics has really helped me to think about what I want to be when I grow up.  Travis has made almost a full recovery, which is absolutely amazing.  He is such an inspiration to everyone that he talks to, and continues to keep going no matter what.

So hopefully by posting this blog, I have done two things ... continued to tell Travis' story, and I hope that I let you know a little bit more about myself and my career path. 

[kristinabu27]

Why?

Why did I choose Athletic Training?

Until I came to college, I have been playing sports ever since I was little.  When I was in high school and really started to play competitively my schools Athletic Trainer played a big role in keeping me healthy.  He created a bond with most of the athletes and I guess he made such a big impact on my life that I ended up choosing Athletic Training as my major in college.  When I was applying to schools I looked to see if they had this major, but I am also interested in Physical Therapy, which is why I ended up choosing to come here.  

Right now I am at the time where I need to apply to the professional phase of Athletic Training, and we need to get observation hours.  When I am shadowing an Athletic Trainer I see what kind of a connection they have with all of the athletes here and the relationship that they have, and I think that seeing that is really great, and it makes me really think that I have made the right decision by choosing Athletic Training, and reassures me that I am going in the right direction. 

So through out my blog I am going to be posting about my experiences with Athletic Training, applying to the professional phase, and my time with observation hours.