March is National Athletic Training month and to celebrate we are taking a deeper look at the role of Certified Athletic Trainers, also known as an ATC, in keeping an athlete healthy.
Athletic Trainers are an integral part of an athlete’s team. They are embedded in practices, workouts, and games, evaluating injuries and forming relationships with athletes.
Sports places a high demand on athlete’s bodies, and injuries are inevitable, meaning physical therapy plays a crucial role in their recovery.
“I enjoy the challenge of getting athletes back to high performance. Since sports require high conditioning and complex movements, it requires a lot of problem solving to figure out the best loading strategies to recover quickly,” Andrew Hawkins, Manhattan and Topeka Clinic Director and Physical Therapist, shared.
Andrew is a Certified Athletic Trainer, who completed his training at Emporia State University. There he worked with the college’s football, track, softball and soccer teams. Following graduation, he served as the Rehabilitation Coordinator for the Los Angeles Angels, where he worked with the organizations’ major and minor league players for 5 years.
When an athlete is injured, the ability to communicate about their rehab is vital to a successful return to sport process.
Athletes can more quickly get back to the sport they love when all members of their sports medicine team communicate, including players, coaches, strength and conditioning staff, and athletic trainers.
ARC Physical Therapy+ clinicians have a great deal of experience in working with coaches, trainers and strength and conditioning staff to successfully reintegrate an athlete back into their activity.
“Since athletic seasons are shorter, usually there is a much greater time component associated with returning athletes to competition, and it requires recovery that is focused on regaining sport specific conditioning as well as healing from the injury. ARC Physical Therapy+ is positioned well due to our focus on longer treatment sessions, one on one care and experience working with high performance athletics,” Andrew Hawkins, shared.
At ARC Physical Therapy+, we work with athletes of all ages and abilities, contact us today at 844-755-4272 to learn more or schedule an appointment.
