Michael Boisselle
The use of technology in the athletic training field serves many important roles. The National Athletic Training Association web page serves as a great resource to the field. On the webpage one can find all sorts of news and information pertaining to the athletic training field, this includes conventions or meetings, and many position statements that hold valuable information that everyone should take advantage of. The availability of making an electronic spread sheet on excel can be used to monitor and keep track of athletes that enter the athletic training room and the treatments they receive making the treatment history process a lot more organized. Instead of fumbling through a bunch of disorganized files, with the use of computers, a click of the mouse can take the athletic trainer to all the treatment and injury information about an athlete from a daily log.
Along with the basic logs, and organization of athletes’ information, computers serve other roles also. A click of the mouse on a web browser can easily bring up information regarding treatment to specific injuries, the length of recovery, and even finding specialists in the local area to take a look at the athlete for further evaluation of there injury. A computer hooked up to a CYBEX machine can give a visual picture of the strength of the athlete during rehabilitation, store it, and keep the athletic trainer up to date on timely progress of the treatment plan. Having the World Wide Web in front of you, when used properly, brings all the information found in books right to your fingertips. Many textbooks these days provide a CD-ROM along with the text. The use of the application is a great learning tool; many of these applications provide visuals and diagrams to go along with the text and can be very beneficial. Another great use of computers is learning by visualizing, with all the various web pages out there, it is easy to find and watch athletic injuries, providing the learning experience of determining the mechanism of the injury, and possible diagnosis, both of which may not be able to learn in the lecture hall. Lastly, the use of computers and software that tracks weather patterns helps the athletic trainer determine whether it is safe to play the activity, or whether or not to keep an eye out for thunder storms, and be prepared to stop all play in the event of the storm, protecting all athletes and spectators at the athletic event.
It is very important for students in the athletic training field take an early approach to the use of computer technology during their education. Books can tell you a lot and lectures can bury you with information. But the use of computers may often go overlooked, restricting students from learning the many ways that computers can be helpful in the career of athletic training. By enrolling in classes such as technology and assessment in health and exercise science, students are opened up to the skills of what will eventually make their lives easier in the future. It is receiving this proper knowledge that will make the transition into using computers in the career field an easier adjustment when needed, or asked by your employer.
In addition to computer driven technology, the athletic trainer uses many therapeutic modalities when dealing with the rehabilitation process. These modalities include ultrasound and electrical stimulation units. These modalities are used to help speed up the recovery process and the healing of deep tissues underlying the skin. There are also different gadgets out there that can determine the distance of lightning. Instead of using the flash to bang theory in which one counts the seconds from the time lightning is seen to the time one hears the thunder, dividing that number by five to get the distance. The device measures the current in the air and determines the distance at which the storm/lightning is and whether it is safe to continue to play the sport as well as when the continuation of play can start after a lightning delay. Technology is used in numerous ways in athletic training field, and in the future I am sure that many more things will be computer driven, as the generation of athletic trainers will have been around computers all there lives. Technology is always advancing, and with the proper knowledge of how to use it, one will be able to use it as a valuable resource.