Last Post

This is going to be my last post in this blog. It's been a lot of fun.

I'm going to print my blog after this. I can't believe it's that time. It went by really fast. My research commentary is done, as are my bibliography and my narrative. I'm going into school tomorrow to turn all of that in. My presentation is Friday, and I am evaluating a project on Thursday night. Then I'll be all done.

It really has been so much fun. I want to thank everybody who has been a part of my project-Ms. Lang, Mr. Heurich, Kim, all of the IC trainers (although they won't read this) and everybody else. My parents especially for coming late to get me all the nights that I stayed late.

Goodbye readers.....

Home Stretch...

So, a few weeks ago, for class, we were asked to write a final entry. It was called "A Journal Assignment for the Home Stretch." I figured I should probably put it in my blog.

Looking Back

I feel like I should have more reflection than I did. I could work on that in the next few weeks making it better. Reflection has been something hard for me to actually write about. I don't know exactly what to say about it. I'll write an entire post about it I guess.

I should have spaced out my project more. I spent so much time at Kim's earlier in the season, I was there for 3 hours a day 4 or 5 days per week every week. I wish that I could have kept that going, though I guess it would have been kind of difficult to have kept that up through recital time and senior week, etc.

I definitely should have planned out my time better. I had some major issues with time management. I know that's a big problem with kids in the WISE program, and it was one for me as well. However, I am giong to have a really tough time in college if I don't plan out what I am going to do better. At the beginning of the project, 16 weeks seemed like forever, so I figured I would be just fine. But as I went through, the time seemed to get shorter and shorter.

I am proud of all that I have learned. I did a lot of research about different issues related to sports. I also learned how to tape an ankle and tape shins. So, that gives me a little bit of an advantage over some of the kids that I am going to be going to college with.

Research

Research was kind of vague for my project. I knew I wanted to find out some common injuries associated with sports, and I did. So for that part, I think I did the research part of this project. Along with that, I wanted to find out what the specifics of being an Athletic Trainer was, and I did that as well, again fulfilling my research component of the project.

The only issue that I had was getting a variety of sources. There were a ton of websites that I got, and I have two "interviews". They weren't really interviews, they were more like prolonged correspondence, so that counts, I think. But I couldn't really find good periodicals. There wasn't a famous person that I could read about, and there weren't really any articles specifically about Athletic Training that I could read about. So, I don't know about that part.

Hands-On

I know for certain that I fulfilled the hands-on part of the project. For the past few weeks, I've been the main person taping people up. Many of the people who come in need their shins or ankles, and I know how to do that, so it frees Kim up to do the other things that she needed to do. I made the video (which by the way has been watched 25 times) and have had a lot of time to work on this part of the project.

Presentation

I think my project is going to go very well. I'm excited to be able to show what I've learned since I started the project 16 weeks ago. I know I'm going to be taping an ankle, and I'm totally prepared, and I pretty much know what I am going to say, so I'm not really worried at all. I hope that it all goes well, and is a good tribute to what I've done this semester.

Reflection

I was told by Mr. Heurich that I needed to work more on reflection. So, I'll do a post right now.

This has been a tumultuous road since I started the project. There have been a lot of issues, starting right off the bat. I had dance 5 nights a week some weeks. So it was really difficult for me to start meeting with Kim. Then competition season ended and I had a ton more time. I absolutely loved being in the Training Room. There was such a good vibe in there. Kim, as well as the college trainers were all amazing and so friendly. They got me really excited to go to college next year. I worried a little bit, when I first chose my major about the fact that I didn't really know if Athletic Training was what I actually wanted to do. This project cleared that up for me a lot.

Then, May came, and I had a lot of studying to do for my APs. For about 2 solid weeks, I couldn't meet with Kim as often because of the studying. Then after those two weeks were up, it was back to more dance rehearsals for the recital. During this time, I didn't meet with Mr. Heurich and I had a really hard time keeping up to date with my blog. I had a written journal, but neither Mr. Heurich nor Ms. Lang saw that, so there was no evidence that I had done anything. However, I did add some. Then senior week where I didn't do anything really. I added some back posts then. But most of my back posts came after Senior Week.

I thought at the beginning that it was going to be easier to have a blog. I type faster than I write, so why wouldn't it be easier? But I found out, that for me, it was more difficult. If I had a regular journal, I could have written whenever I had the opportunity. I wouldn't have had to be near a computer. I didn't think about that side of it when I first started the project. Don't get me wrong, I love my blog, I'm just saying that it might have been easier to have had a regular journal.

Stress

These past few weeks have been sooo stressful. I've done WISE work a lot. For a long time I didn't have any posts, because I was so busy. Okay, maybe that's a little misleading. I had entries, in a written journal. I kept an account of what I did in that so that I could type it up and put it in my blog later. The problem was that I didn't get to type it all up for a long time; there was a lot that I had to make up. So, the past few weeks, I've been doing that. It's been crazy. Plus, last week was senior week, so that pretty much took up all of my time.

I haven't been able to meet with Kim nearly as much as I would like to. However, when I have, it has been excruciatingly boring. Oh the joys of working with sports teams. When their season is over, at least in high school, so is yours. She's excited because that means she has early nights. She'll get off at 5 instead of 7:30 every night. But for me, it just got really boring. She could do paper work. I was stuck there just standing there doing nothing.

I would have done more work during the time that I was there, but I needed a computer, and while Kim has one, she was using it; plus I would feel bad asking for it so I could work on my English project.

Anyways, I guess that's all for now. Bye.

What is an Athletic Trainer??

I was looking at my bibliography from earlier in the year, to see if there was anything that might be useful, and the first source I saw was http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos294.htm. This is a site from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's all about Athletic Trainers, so I figured it couldn't hurt to look at it and see what they had to say. This is what I found.

Nature

Athletic Trainers prevent and treat injuries for people of all ages. They work with anybody from athletes to industrial workers. They specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of muscle and bone injuries and illnesses. They are the first responding when there is an injury and as such, must be able to recognize, evaluate and assess injuries and provide immediate care when needed.
Athletic Trainers help prevent injuries by educating people on how to reduce their risk of injuries by advising them on proper use of equipment, proper stretching and home exercises. They also help by applying braces or taping athletes to make them more stable.
What Athletic Trainers do is mainly determined by who they are hired. Most Athletic Trainers are hired by a physician, so many spend their time indoors working 40-50 hours per week. However, some Athletic Trainers work as many as 12 hours per day or more, depending on what they do. It is possible, if the trainer works with a collegiate or professional sport that they spend as many as 14 hours per day working.

Qualifications

A Bachelors' degree is usually the minimum degree required to be an Athletic Trainer. However, many Athletic Trainers hold a Masters' or Doctorates' degree. In 2009, 47 states required Athletic Trainers to be licensed. In 2009, there were about 350 accredited collegiate programs in the country. According to the NATA (National Athletic Trainers Association), about 70 percent of Athletic Trainers have at least a Masters' degree.
In order to be certified, one has to take a Board of Certification exam, which is a very rigorous test. The 4 places where certification is not needed (but may prove helpful) are Washington D.C., Alaska, California and West Virginia.
Because of the fact that Athletic Trainers deal not only with athletes, but a variety of people, they should have good communication and people skills. They should be able to manage difficult situations and the stress that comes with them. They should be organized (we'll have to work on that part), have good time management (haha), be inquisitive and have a strong desire to help people. (hey, half ain't bad)

Employment

In 2008, Athletic Trainers held 16,300 jobs all over the country. While most jobs are related to sports, a growing number are not. Many are now found in settings like office buildings, industrial factories, etc. About 39 percent were found in public and private educational services-primarily in high school and college settings. Another 38 percent worked in health care in jobs in hospitals and offices of physicians or practitioners. About 13 percent worked in fitness and recreational sports centers. Lastly, about 5 percent worked in spectator sports.
(Note. This does not add up to 100 percent)

Job Outlook

Employment for Athletic Trainers is projected to increase 37 percent from 2008 to 2018. This is higher than the average for all occupations. This is because of their role in injury prevention and decreasing the cost of health care. Jobs in school settings will be available, but there will be competition in areas like college or spectator sports.
Job growth will be centered in the health care industry, like in hospitals or physicians offices. However, growth in college teams or sports teams will be slower because most already have a complete Athletic Training staff.
As the population ages, it is expected that more elderly people will be turning to Athletic Trainers because they can help to decrease the cost of health care. In some states, there is an effort to have a licensed Athletic Trainer on hand to work with student athletes, so that will open some jobs as well.
Some trainers will be called upon to work in more work-related places to cut down on the costs of health care to the owner. For instance, they may be hired to increase the fitness and performance of policemen and firefighters.

Earnings

Most Athletic Trainers work full time and receive benefits. The salary of an Athletic Trainer depends on experience and job responsibilities. In May of 2008, the median wage for an Athletic Trainer was $39,640. The middle 50 percent earned between $32,070 and $49,250. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $23,450 while the highest 10 percent earned above $60,960.

Presentations

Today I saw two presentations. One that I was evaluating and one that I just wanted to go to. I saw Luke's presentation. His project was to learn how to play harmonica. It was really well done. I got some good ideas from his presentation about how to break things up and how to order things. The flow of his presentation was good, he kept things moving. I really enjoyed going.

The second presentation that I saw was Kayla's. She learned how to cook Italian food. I was evaluating this project, so it shed a different light onto what I was seeing. Her project was pretty good. I read her blog and she had a very short blog, so I saw what was needed in order to have enough. I did like however, how she dedicated her project to her great-grandma Mimi. It made it a little more personal. Her power point was done very well.

Both projects lent themselves to be emulated in certain ways. Luke broke up the monotony of just talking by playing some music, which was really nice. Kayla had her food, so that was a little added bonus. Both power points were good. The only thing about that is the fact that I am not going to have a power point. But I liked both presentations a lot.

Mentor Meeting

Today in our mentor meeting, Mr. Heurich and I talked about my presentation. We outlined what was going to be said, and what I should do more of before I have my presentation. For instance, I should write more about reflections before I have my presentation, so that people can see how my project affected me.

One thing that I wanted to look at at the beginning of my project was the difference between AT and PT. I never really looked at it. We thought though, that I should before the presentation, that way I can tell people what the difference is, and what I would be doing.

Our meeting was cut short because Mr. Heurich had to go give a presentation to the 8th graders that came in from DeWitt, but we got some really good ideas for what I should do. I'm going to try to meet with him one or two more times before my project on the 18th.

Concussions.....

The bane of the high school athlete...concussions. High schoolers are the most prone to getting a concussion. This is because their brain and skull aren't fully developed, yet they are going at everything 100%, or more in some cases. Younger athletes don't push themselves as hard, and thus aren't as likely to get a concussion as an older athlete. At the same point in time, adult athletes have a fully developed skeletal system, so are less likely to sustain injury to the brain.

A concussion is a traumatic head injury that occurs both from mild and severe blows to the head. It is typically caused by a severe blow during which the brain moves around violently in the skull. Brain cells will fire all at once, much like a seizure. This may result from a fall or when an object hits the head. A sudden turning of the head, like from a punch will more often result in unconsciousness.

Symptoms
Some early symptoms of concussions include

• Confusion
• Disorientation
• Memory Loss
• Unconsciousness
• Unequally sized pupils
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Tinnitus
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Vision Changes

Later symptoms would include

• Memory disturbances
• Poor Concentration
• Irritability
• Sleep disturbances
• Personality changes
• Fatigue

At the beginning of each season, an ImPACT test is done so there is a base line to measure against to see if a concussion is present. ImPACT stands for Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing. If there is a concussion, the best that can be done is rest. That is really the only way it is going to get better. No physical activity can be done immediately following the concussion, for at least a week, usually 2 or 3 weeks, then the athlete will start to work their way back up to full activity.

Since You've Been Gone

As has been mentioned, the student trainers from Ithaca College have left. Their last day was a few days ago. Since that time, I've been able to do some taping in the training room. Bob and Matt are there too, but Bob only knows how to tape ankles, and he doesn't get there right away, so it's usually just me and Matt. Matt doesn't do taping, so it leaves me. I tape ankles, wrists and shins. I've watched Kim tape an Achilles and knees but I don't trust myself with those yet. Kim is so great about all of this. She'll talk me through things if I'm not sure if I'm doing it right, and she always asks me if I want to do the taping.

As much as I want school to be over, I don't, because that means the end of this project. I've had some major issues with keeping up to date with everything that I've been doing, but I have absolutely LOVED this project. One day I was talking with John Dale, the guy from IC. He was saying that freshmen don't do anything in the AT major. So, this is going to be my taping quota for a while because there's going to be a period of about 2 years where I'm not really going to be involved with taping anybody, but it's giving me a headstart on what we're going to be learning in college. Yay! :)

Chrondomalacia Patella

Commonly called "Runner's Knee", Chronomalacia Patella is often the cause of pain in the knee. It is common in any sport that involves a lot of running, i.e. cross-country, track, lacrosse, etc. It usually affects healthy, young athletes.

Runner's Knee is caused by an irritation on the underside of the knee. The underside of the patella is covered in a layer of cartilage. The patella can usually glide along with the movement of the knee. However, in some individuals, the patella tends to rub against one side of the knee joint or the other, causing an irritation to the cartilage, thus giving the athlete pain.

Unlike the damage done to the cartilage in arthritis, it is thought that the cartilage from runner's knee can be repaired, because unlike arthritis, it isn't a degeneration of cartilage, it is the blistering that causes the pain.

Along with athletes, women are more likely to get runner's knee than men. It isn't known why, but it's suspected that because of anatomical differences between men and women, there is more lateral force put on the woman's knee than the man's.

Treatment
Most people can get throuh runner's knee if they just rest and do some physical therapy. Letting the inflammation settle is the first part, along with avoiding any activity that would involve heavy stress on the knee, like running or other sports. Gradually the athlete can return to activity. During the time of rest, the athlete can still do cross-training like swimming to keep them active. They can do what they want, as long as it isn't putting a lot of stress on the knee.

Surgery isn't as common as a treatment for runner's knee as it used to be, but it is still used. Sometimes, common therapy is not effective in reducing the inflammation or pain associated with runner's knee, so surgery is necessary.

Torn Rotator Cuff

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that help to stabilize the shoulder. One or more tendons may become inflamed due to overuse, age, falling or collision. Sports requiring extensive, repeated use of the shoulder have more injuries to the rotator cuff. The injury most often happens to pitchers and quarterbacks because they throw the ball countless times not only during the game but during the week as well.

Signs
Somebody who has an injury to their rotator cuff will likely complain of pain in their deltoid muscle and outer shoulder, especially when the arm is raised in front of them, or out to the side. The shoulder may feel weak, especially when trying to lift the arm into a horizontal position. The athlete may hear a clicking or popping sound in their shoulder when it moves.

How is it diagnosed?
Pain or weakness on an inward or outward rotation of the arm may indicate a torn rotator cuff. There may also be pain when the arm is lowered to the side after the shoulder is moved back and the arm is raised. The problem is that with torn rotator cuffs, you can't look at an X-ray and tell. The shoulder may appear normal. In order to fully detect a torn rotator cuff, an MRI needs to be done, but even that does not detect partial tears.

Treatment
If bad enough, Tommy John surgery may need to be done. However, most times, it is possible to get away with putting heat and ice on teh shoulder and wearing it in a sling for a few days. Other treatments may be done like electrical stimulation, ultrasound or cortisone shots.

On a semi-side note, Tommy John surgery is named after the baseball pitcher, Tommy John, who was the first pitcher to have surgery done to repair his torn rotator cuff. He had 288 victories, the most for any pitcher not selected for the Hall of Fame. He has the 7th highest number of wins for any left-handed pitcher. He made his major league debut for the Cleveland Indians in 1963 and went on to play for the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, California Angels, Oakland Athletics and back to the Yankees before he retired in 1989. He had surgery on September 25, 1974.

Achilles Tendonitis

The Achilles Tendon is the most vulnerable tendon in the whole body. It joins the gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles. Tendons are strong, but they aren't very flexible, so they can only go so far before they get inflamed or they tear.

Achilles tendonitis is a chronic injury that comes primarily from overuse. It tends to come on gradually, until it gets to the point that it is too painful to do sports, or even normal daily activities like walking, or getting in the car. The biggest cause of chronic Achilles Tendonitis is ignoring the early signs and pushing through the pain. Another major case is weak calf muscles. If the muscle is weak, it becomes fatigued and it will tighten and shorten. The tightness will increase the stress on the Achilles, and tendonitis can occur. Sudden increases in training, hill climbing, or a lot of speedwork can also lead to Achilles Tendonitis.

At the first sign of pain from the Achilles, the athlete should cut back. Stop speed training, hill running, etc. Begin gentle calf stretching after exercise when the tendon is still warm and flexible, and put ice on the ankle after workouts. Be careful though, not to overstretch. Strengthening the muscle leads to less stress placed on the tendon. Cross-training can also be done while reducing the amount of work done every day. Toe raising, balancing on the toes and wall stretching can also be beneficial.

Last day

Today was the last day for the student trainers from Ithaca College. I've liked having them there. They were helpful if I had any questions about college, IC in particular. They taught me how to tape shins when an athlete has shin splints. There were negatives though. Three of them were really good friends with each other, so they were constantly goofing off, which made it really difficult for Kim. Having four trainers was a bit of a problem. It got really crowded, because the training room isn't the biggest room in the school.

I have some pictures from today. I asked them to take the pictures expressly so I could include them on here. So here they are. I only have pictures of the three of them, because the other trainer was on the other field with baseball. The guy is John, the tiny one is Kara and the other girl is Chelsea. Mary Rose was with baseball today.

When The Job's A Game: Athletes, Coaches, Sports Officials and Related Workers

This was a periodical from SIRS Knowledge Source that I found for my bibliography during the first semester. I thought it would be a good idea to look through some of those, so that I had a variety of posts; not just posts about mentor meetings or what I was doing with Kim. This is what it was about.

First of all, it gave an inside look at how all of the different people involved with sports work together. That, I thought, was a really nice touch. It showed how everybody has a major part.

Athlete
During the section specifically about athletes, it talked about how they not only play the game for spectators, but they spend hours and hours under the supervision of coaches and other sports officials while they practice. "To succeed, professional athletes need to understand the rules and strategies of their sport, be in exceptional physical condition, use excellent form and technique, and compete fairly. "

Coaches
Coaches train the athletes by having them perform drills routinely. They improve skills, techniques, conditioning and they strengthen weaknesses. They advise the athletes so that they play to their potential. One of the most important functions of a coach that is often overlooked is the fact that they motivate the athletes to play well. Coaches also instruct their athletes during a game to get the to play the way they need to, or run a certain play, etc.

Sports Officials
This group includes Referees, Umpires and other sports officials. These are the people who control the game. They make sure everything is played according to the rules. They make calls for scoring, outs, just about everything. They promote fair, safe play, and encourage sportsmanship.

Athletic Trainers
They specialize in the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of athletic injuries. There are many injuries in the professional sports scene, so they have been necessary there for quite some time. There are still quite a few in college, so many colleges have their own team. More and more high schools have been employing Athletic Trainers to help with student athletes. They help athletes avoid being hurt by teaching them how to condition correctly. Trainers design and monitor strength, cardiovascular and training programs for athletes. Athletic Trainers also select equipment, maintain athletic training areas, stock supplies and keep records.

Scouts
The scouts are there as intelligence agents for the team. They go around looking not only at younger players making their way up, they also look in on other teams to see what they are doing. This helps the team get a better feel for what to expect when they play other teams.

For everybody involved with a job in sports, the hours are very irregular. Some teams have 4-7 month seasons, so many people work part time, and nights and weekends. A trainer for instance will work with the team, not only during the season, but will work with the athletes during the off season so that they stay in shape and continue doing a proper exercise program. During the season, they work with the team, and they travel with the team, so they work many nights and weekends.
Travel is a big part of the job. Half of the games in a professional sport are away from home. In extreme cases, like baseball, that's 81 games away from home. That is a long time, there are stretches where people won't be home for 2-3 weeks at a time, multiple times during the season. It is a big commitment to be involved with a job that is in the sports field.


Kasper, Henry. "When The Job's A Game: Athletes, Coaches, Sports Officials and Related Workers." SIRS Knowledge Source. Gale, Spring 2001. Web. 29 Jan. 2010.

The BOC Exam...

In order to be licensed as an Athletic Trainer, you have to take the Board of Certification exam. It is a very rigorous exam, or so I'm told. In order to be eligible to take the exam you have to meet the following requirements:

• Endorsement of the exam application by the recognized Program Director of the CAATE (Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education) accredited education program

• Proof of current certification in Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC) or proof of enrollment in an approved ECC course

A sample exam question would be like this:

Which modality would BEST control pain in a two-day-old Grade I (mild) lateral ankle sprain in a 25-year-old male with Raynaud’s phenomenon? Choose only one.

Continuous 3 MHz ultrasound

Electrical stimulation - biphasic continuous current

Ice massage

Paraffin bath

Warm whirlpool (100 degrees Fahrenheit/38 degree Celsius)

(Continuous 3 MHz ultrasound should have a bubble by it as well.)

ECC Certification includes:

• Adult and Pediatric CPR
• AED (Automated External Defibrillator)
  
• 2nd rescuer CPR
• Airway obstruction
• Barrier devices (e.g., pocket mask, big valve mask, etc.)

I just got kind of worried. On the 2009-2010 exam, only 38.2 percent of people passed. However, Ithaca College has a 97 percent pass rate, so that makes me feel a little better.

I found all of this information at http://www.bocatc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10&Itemid=8

Injuries and Statistics

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Report, sports injuries in baby boomers increased by 31 percent from 1991 to 1998. About 276,000 emergency room cases were for people aged 35-54 in 1991. In 1998, that number skyrocketed to 365,000. In 2006, the NEISS (National Electronic Injury Surveillance System) reported over half a million injuries associated with basketball alone.

Baby boomers suffered over 1 million sports related injuries, which ended up costing $18.7 billion in medical costs in 1998.

Basketball is the sport with the highest number of injuries. I didn't realize there weren't hat many injuries associated basketball. It makes sense though, between the colliding and the jumping involved with basketball, there is a high possibility of injury. One might think that football and lacrosse and other contact sports would be right up there. They are, but you have to remember when thinking about this issue, that with lacrosse, football, etc. the players are wearing pads. In basketball, they aren't.

I've looked, but I couldn't find any statistics about rugby. On this website rugby is combined with lacrosse, and they had relatively few injuries, but I think that that would be a sport that is pretty high as well. There is all of the intense contact of soccer and football, all the collisions, but no padding like in football. I guess I'll just always wonder.

NEISS put out predictions based on 2006 data. Here is what they said

bold=sport
italics=number of projected injuries

Basketball-529,837 These injuries are mainly cut hands, sprained ankles, broken legs, eye and forehead injuries
Bicycling-490,434 These injuries are mainly feet caught in spokes, head injuries from falls, slipping while carrying bicycles, collisions with cars
Football-460,210 These injuries are mainly fractured wrists, chipped teeth, neck strains, head lacerations, dislocated hips and jammed fingers
ATV's, Mopeds, Minibikes-257,123 Riders of ATV's were injured when they thrown. Along with this there were also fractured wrists, dislocated hands, shoulder sprains, head cuts and lumbar strains
Baseball, Softball-274,867 These injuries were mainly head injuries from bats and balls or ankle injuries from running bases or sliding into them
Exercise, Exercise Equipment-269,249 These injuries were mainly twisted ankles and cut chins from tripping on treadmills. Head injuries from falling backward from exercise balls, ankle sprains from jumping rope
Soccer-196,544 This injuries were mainly twisted ankles or knees after falls, fractured arms during games
Swimming-164,607 The injuries were mainly head injuries from hitting the bottom of pools, and leg injuries from accidentally falling into pools
Skiing, Snowboarding-96,119 These injuries were mainly head injuries from falling, cut legs and faces, sprained knees or shoulders
Lacrosse, Rugby-85,580 These injuries were mainly head and facial cuts from getting hit by balls and sticks, injured ankles from falls

This is a comparison of injuries associated with 16 popular sports between 1991 and 1998.















http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/sport_injuries.html

Torn ACL

There are 4 ligaments that stabilize the knee. The four are the MCL, LCL, PCL and ACL. The MCL is the medial collateral ligament; the LCL the lateral collateral ligament. These are the two that run down the sides of your knee, the MCL is on the inside, the LCL the outside. Contrastingly, the PCL is the posterior cruciate ligament and the ACL the anterior cruciate ligament. The PCL runs down the back of the knee, and the ACL runs down the front.

Last year, I sprained my PCL in dance. It is much more difficult to do that than to sprain or tear the ACL. However, it is much more difficult to repair the ACL and to rehab it than it is to work with rehabbing the PCL.

The ACL is crucial to knee stability. It helps to prevent excessive motion. Most people who have torn their ACL will complain of a feeling that their knee is "giving out" from under them.

An ACL tear is usually sports related, but can happen in motor vehicle accidents, falls and work related injuries as well. Approximately 80% of sports related ACL tears are non-contact tears. This means that they don't involve another athlete in the injury. Most of them are from landing from a jump or from pivoting on the leg while running. Interestingly, women are more prone to injury involving the ACL than men are, but it is unclear as to why this is.

Symptoms
People who have a torn ACL often complain of hearing or feeling a pop in their knee at the time of the injury. The loudness of the pop surprises a lot of people; people can usually hear it from the sidelines of a game. Even if you don't hear the pop, you will usually feel the shift in the joint. There are always those people though who have no idea that they've sustained an injury. It has been known that people don't always feel the tear. People have gotten hurt, not realized it, felt fine and continued with the game. It has happened.
Other symptoms include the giving out that was mentioned earlier and swelling and pain in the knee.

Surgery?
People can get surgery done to reconstruct their ACL, however it might not be necessary. If you don't do a sport routinely that requires the use of your knee, and you don't have knee instability, then you probably won't need to have surgery to reconstruct the ACL. There is also a debate over whether to perform surgery on a partial tear. Some say that you can, but others say that it's better not to do it. Most people start feeling better after a few weeks, but problems with instability might continue.

At Ithaca High this year, we've had three ACL tears. Two guys and one girl tore their ACLs this year. One was in soccer, one in football, and one in lacrosse. ACL injuries are also more common in younger people. There is a debate in the health professions about what to do when the ACL injury happens to somebody who is not only younger, but a child. Some people say that it is better to repair the ACL before skeletal maturity, however, the other side says that problems that arise may lead to growth plate closure or alignment deformities. Who knows what's going to happen?

Mentor Meeting

In my mentor meeting today, I taped my friend Courtney's ankle to show how much better I've been getting since I went to Ithaca College and had them teach me. It was nerve-wracking because I didn't know what to expect. I wasn't sure if I was going to do everything correctly, and I didn't want to waste the tape that I had, because that was ALL the tape that I had. But it went quite well I thought. I'll let you decide, here it is:

It proved to be helpful. YES!!

So, my WISE project has officially proved to be helpful to my well being. I stepped on a hammer the other day and I bruised the muscle on the bottom of my foot, either my flexor digitorum or my flexor hallucis, I'm not sure which. The flexor digitorum is the muscle that runs down the back of the tibia, under the foot and flexes the foot for the final push off while you are walking. The flexor hallucis flexes the big toe.

How has it proved helpful you might ask? Well, I am able to tape my foot so that it is stable when I walk. Naturally, it still hurts, but I am able to take care of it and not put as much pressure on it while I walk or dance. This is a VERY good thing. I have a dance competition in about three weeks, in which I NEED to perform, so having the pressure off of the foot has been a major bonus, and I can do it myself which is even better! yay!!

Yawn

Oh my gosh, today was the most boring day of my WISE project thus far. Chelsea, the final student from IC finally came in today. She is a gymnast, so they were still in season, so she couldn't come down to the high school until today. Since she's going to be working with Kara doing Lacrosse or Track, Kim said that maybe it was better if I did a different sport. I have been changing it up like I mentioned before, but I don't have as many choices now. She doesn't want me working with Lacrosse as much as I have been recently. So, I changed sports. Remember how I mentioned that Girls's Lacrosse was the most boring thing? Yea, I had to work with Girl's Lacrosse today. John and I spent most of the time trying to stay awake...soooo boring.

In better news, during my WISE mentor meeting today, I taped my best friend's ankle. The video is going to be posted as soon as I find my cord. That will hopefully be tonight, but I don't know for sure if I know where my cord is, so at the earliest possible time, I will upload that so you can see it. It was really weird to be doing a tape job without anybody explaining it to me. I talk to Mr. Heurich, and tell him, and the camera what I am doing. I'm not used to that, it was kinda cool. :)

I guess that's all for now, hopefully you will see the video soon. bye!

Spreading Out

So, I started working with other practices other than just guy's lacrosse. I liked it and all, but I thought if I was going to get the full impact of this project, than maybe I should branch out and get the experience working with sports other than just lacrosse. Since I started with this idea, I've worked with the Track and Field athletes as well as the baseball players. I think I still like guy's lacrosse the best. I've also worked with John Dale (a student from IC) on girl's lacrosse, and I don't think I've ever seen anything more boring than girl's lacrosse.

I'll continue to work on other sports just to get an idea of what it will be like to work with other teams. I think sticking with one sport doesn't really get me to see what it is like to be an Athletic Trainer. Being an AT, unless you are specifically working with one team, and most people don't do that, you work with all different teams. For instance, Kim works with soccer, football, hockey, baseball, softball, track, lacrosse, and all the other teams, so that it what it is really like to be an Athletic Trainer, not just focusing on one sport in particular.

Sprained Ankles

Another injury that seemed common on the Lacrosse Injuries Forum was sprained ankles.

Oh, here's the link to that forum if you want it...

http://forums.insidelacrosse.com/showthread.php?t=39299

Anyways, like I said, sprained ankles seemed common among the list of injuries commonly sustained by a lacrosse player.

A sprained ankle, or a twisted ankle, is the stretching or tearing of ligaments. The most common kind of ankle sprain is an inversion sprain. When this happens, the bottom of the foot faces inwards, which damages the ligaments on the outside of the foot.

A medial ligament sprain rarely occurs. This would be when the bottom of the foot is facing outward. When it does occur, it is usually in conjunction with a fracture.

The most common ligament injured in an ankle sprain is the anterior talofibular ligament. This ligament connects the talus (ankle bone) to the smaller bone in the calf, the fibula.
However, if the sprain is severe, there could be damage to
the calcaneofibular ligament which connects the heelbone to
the fibula.

In addition to ligament injuries, tendons, bones, and other tissue might also be damaged. Because of this, it is important to get an x-ray of the ankle if sprained, because small fractures are not uncommon.

With a severely sprained ankle, there can be complete ruptures of the anterior talofibular, calcaneofibular, and posterior talofibular ligaments. These can result in a dislocation of the ankle joint which is often associated with fractures.

There are three stages of ankle sprains.

Stage 1:

• some stretching of the ligaments, possible minor tearing of the lateral ligaments
• little or no joint instability
• mild pain
• mild swelling around the bone on the outside of the ankle
• some joint stiffness while walking or running

Stage 2:

• moderate tearing of the ligaments
• some instability of the joint
• moderate to severe pain, and difficulty walking
• swelling and stiffness in the ankle joint
• minor bruising

Stage 3:

• total rupture of the ligament(s)
• major instability of the joint
• severe pain initially followed by no pain later
• severe swelling
• extensive bruising

There are two parts to rehabilitation of an ankle sprain: immediate and long-term.

Immediate:
RICE

R: Rest. This helps to reduce pain and prevent further damage. Many therapists say to have some moderate weight on the foot as soon as possible-it is thought to accelerate rehabilitation.
I: Ice. Applying ice and compression can reduce pain and swelling and encourage blood flow. Apply an ice pack immediately for 15 minutes and repeat every 2 hours.
C: Compression. This reduces bleeding and swelling.
E: Elevation. Elevation uses gravity to reduce swelling and bleeding by allowing the fluids to flow away from the injury.

Later on, strengthening things such as ankle circles can get the ankle moving again and reduce swelling even more. After a sprain, the calf muscle often tightens up so protect the joint, so slowly strengthening the calf can also help get the rehab done quicker.

The steps to taping an ankle.

So, when I went to IC on Friday and learned how to tape an ankle better, I wrote down the steps that I will be talking through when I tape somebody's ankle next Tuesday. These are the steps I learned from the person who taught me.




The only difference was that I was taught the two figure 8s before the medial heel locks and then 1 more after the lateral heel locks. I was also taught to do an anchor between each stirrup.

At IC...

I had an appointment on Friday, so I didn't end up going to school. My mom and I went to Ithaca College. She had to get an allergy shot, but I didn't really want to sit through that, so I went to the Training Room. I met Courtney Gray, one of the Trainers. She is super sweet. I was talking to her about how I am going to Ithaca College to study Athletic Training. However, I also told her that I wanted to learn how to better tape somebody's ankle. Mr. Heurich and I talked about having me tape somebody's ankle during our mentor meeting the Tuesday we come back. In order to do that, I needed to get a better understanding.

I met a guy in the Athletic Training program. I feel bad, I don't remember his name, but he taught me how to tape an ankle better than before. It was nice because it was one-on-one. It was a little difficult for him though because he was teaching me on himself, and I've since tried doing that and it isn't easy. The thing I love the most about Ithaca College is how accommodating everybody was. When I left, they gave me pre-wrap, and three rolls of tape to practice with. They just invited me in and taught me in the spur of the moment, then they invited me back later in the week. I don't know if I'll be able to make it back up, I might on Friday, we'll see. I just thought it was amazing that they were so welcoming. They were so nice.

Shin Splints

I was looking up "Common Lacrosse Injuries" on Google and I came across a link that led me to a forum. This girl was writing a paper for her Athletic Training class and he had to research Common Lacrosse Injuries. So she asked what the most common ones were. I looked over the list and the one that kept coming up was shin splints. So, I figured I would start there.

Shin splints are defined as pain along the front or inside edge of the shinbone (tibia). They are common among athletes who run and jump. Pain along the front of the tibia is called anterior shin splints, while pain along the inside of the tibia is called posterior shin splints.

Shin splints are usually the result of overuse. If an athlete hasn't trained in a while or hasn't done the exact thing that they are asked to do in a while, chances are they are going to get shin splints. Repeated movements of the foot can lead to the tibialis muscles pulling away from the bone. The injured muscle and the bone covering may become inflamed.

Anterior shin splints tend to happen to people who take up a new activity like jogging, sprinting or an activity that requires sudden starting and stopping. Running downhill can lead to and even bigger effect because the muscles in the lower leg have to control the planting of the foot which is more difficult when running downhill. People who run on the balls of their feet or who don't have good running shoes likely have a big problem with anterior shin splints.

Posterior shin splints likely result from imbalances in the leg and foot. Muscle imbalances from a tight calf muscle can lead to this problem. One major cause of posterior shin splints is having flat feet. As the foot flattens out, the posterior tibialis muscle gets stretched and will tug on its connection to the bone. The attachment eventually becomes damaged, leading to irritation; posterior shin splints.

A stress fracture in the tibia can have many of the same symptoms as shin splints, so it can be hard to differentiate between the two. A stress fracture is a crack in a weakened area of the bone. Continual stress from running on hard surfaces or from heavy strain on the muscles can lead to tibial stress fractures. People with shin pain who try to work through it can often develop a stress fracture.

One big issue surrounding shin splints is compartment syndrome. Compartment syndrome is when pressure from muscle damage and swelling builds up in a certain "compartment" of the body. As the pressure builds, the capillaries that bring blood to the area are squeezed shut. When the blood is not getting to the muscle, it can lead to a pain. like a muscle cramp. If the pressure continues to rise, it can lead to coldness, numbness, and swelling in the lower leg and foot. If the pressure builds up and is not treated, it can cause serious tissue damage in the leg and foot.

When someone is experiencing shin splints, they will often feel a dull ache where the muscles attach to the bone. Redness and swelling can also be found in this area. There might be small bumps or ridges along the part of the leg where the person is experiencing pain.

Diagnosis is usually made through physical examination. Reducing inflammation is the first step to fixing shin splints. This can be done with ice, rest, and taping of the shin. Iontophoresis can be used. It is when a small electrical current is used to push a steroid up the leg into the sore area. Ultrasound treatments and deep tissue massage can also be used.

Surgery is rarely needed to help shin splints. However, shin splints where there is also some compartment syndrome might need surgery, sometimes immediately.

Lax Scrimmage vs. Homer

Today was a Scrimmage for the Lacrosse team. If you don't know what a scrimmage is, it's a game played during preseason. It doesn't count for anything, but it gives both teams a chance to get used to playing other teams before the season actually starts. Today's scrimmage was vs. Homer. It was awful out. It was cold and rainy. We, Kim, Kara, and I, were outside in the rain from about 6 o'clock to about 8 o'clock. It was miserable. The good news is that Ithaca won like 14-5 or something like that.

During the game, we stood on the benches by Ithaca's players and watched what was going on. There were no injuries (luckily), but Kim told me that when I was there, if there was an injury, I could run out onto the field with them. I figured I would be able to, but it was good to hear it. So, we got to watch the whole game from the sidelines (which was seriously cool) and then after it was done, we packed everything up and went back to the training room and put everything away. Not a great time, I was soaked, but worth the two hours. Plus, I hadn't gotten to work with Kim earlier in the week as much as I usually do, so I got to work with her then and make some of that time up.

So, I'm cold...I'm gonna go make some tea. Bye!!

In the meeting this week...

Mr. Heurich and I met today 7th period like we do every Tuesday. He and I discussed what I had done this past week. There wasn't a whole lot that we needed to talk about. He thought that I was doing a good job and that I was on track. What we did talk about however was the fact that I hadn't been consistent with my blogging. So, I told him what a busy week it had been and we agreed that during our meetings, we would start out by talking about the basics of what I had done, and then I would be able to do some work on my blog, if I need to catch up, or do some research. I think it is a beneficial use of the time because in the library, I can work in a quiet environment, and focus on doing my work.

So, after we talked about that, I got to work on writing some of the old blogs that I needed to write, and I'll finish the rest later.

Lists

Planning: In the Next Week

• Find out common Lacrosse injuries
• Read more periodicals
• Put more pics and videos on blog
• Stay consistent with writing
• Make up blogs from past week
• Talk to Kim about taping
• Start getting taping lessons from Kim/Kara/IC

Recording: With Mr. Heurich

• Presentation Plans
• Blog Ideas
• Magazines of interest
• Online resources
• Documenting with Pics and Videos
• What I've Done
• What I Plan To Do

Reflecting: I've Enjoyed

• Talking with Kim
• Meeting Chris Hummel
• Being outside
• Talking with the athletes
• Hanging out with Bob
• Talking with Mary Rose about IC
• Hanging out in the Training Room
• Hands on work
• Blogging
• Finding cool videos online

A bit more...

So, I did a bit more research today. This time it wasn't periodicals that I was looking at because I've decided that I am going to use the "Relief in a World of Hurt" article. I did some research on common Lacrosse injuries. I think i am going to need to focus on maybe the upper or lower half of the body because there are so many injuries. I haven't yet decided what part of the body I am going to focus on, I will know that after a bit more research, so until then, I'll leave both you and I wondering. However, when I know, you'll know.

Until tomorrow....

A wee bit of research

I have an English assignment this week. For it, I have to get an article or a book and I have to read it and wrote about it, tying it to the Four I's that we talked about at the beginning of the semester. I've looked at a bunch of articles and I don't know that I have found one yet that I really like. The problem with the articles that I've read is that most of them are about gymnastics and I've changed my topic of interest to Lacrosse. I might end up using one that I've read earlier in the semester called "Relief in a World of Hurt", written by Lynne Heffley of the LA Times. It is about dancers and their overuse injuries, and although I don't want to focus on dance, it is something that is close to my heart.

So, yea, I guess that's it for now...

Yup,. Bye!

Such a long day.

Oh my goodness. I had the longest day ever today. It started when I got up. My alarm woke me up an hour early. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy. I couldn't fall back asleep, so I ended up getting up about a half hour early. I got ready and went off to school. But the day just dragged on, it was awful. I don't remember a day ever taking this long. I couldn't wait for the end of the day, because I was meeting with Kim and I was going to be there for like 3 hours, a good chunk of the time that i need to spend on my project every week, but the day wasn't going to work like that. However, when the end of the day finally came, I went to go meet with Kim. I was really hoping that maybe I could do some taping. Well, good news. She let me!! I got to tape somebody's knee. It took me a really long time, and Kim watched and guided me. It was so weird, but it was a lot of fun. I don't know when the next time I'll be able to do some taping is because today is the last day I'm going to be able to meet with Kim this week, and the college students are going to be back next week, so they'll probably be doing a lot of the taping. Grr.

So, after we finished the taping, we headed out to the turf where the Girl's Lacrosse team was meeting. The guys would have been practicing, but they had an away scrimmage, so they weren't there. But it was such a nice day. Kim and I had such a good time. It was the first time that I really got to talk to her one-on-one. We talked about all sorts of things, from Athletic Training to her daughter being at a sleepover at ACS this weekend to the fact that she was excited because she was going to be able to put together her new vacuum this weekend. It was great being able to get to know her in a way that doesn't have to do with my project. I love her, she is soo funny.

After I left Kim, I went to the spaghetti dinner for the seniors. It was to save graduation. It was fun, but I left at around 8:30. That means that I was at school for almost 12 hours. It was awful, but after school, I had so much fun. I loved it. Well, that's all for now.

See ya!

Wednesday.

The college students aren't here right now, they are all being cool down in Florida, Cancun, you know the deal. Lucky them. But it also means lucky me. I get to help out a lot more now that Kim can actively work with me. I learned a lot about taping this week. I don't know if you caught it, but in the video that I posted earlier about ankle taping, there was a point in the beginning of the video that the guy put two pieces of foam on the person's ankle. I had always wondered why they did this, and I asked Kim today. The reason that they do this is because it is lubricated on the insides of them, and it helps to not have the foam stick to the leg and it creates a good base for the pre-wrap.

So, Kim started teaching me how to tape and by the end of the week I should be able to tape a knee or something of that sort....I'm so excited!!!!!

OH SHOOT!!!

I forgot to mention that i think I am going to change my focus. At the moment, I am focusing on the injuries that you would get in gymnastics. However, I think I am going to changes this to lacrosse. This is for a few reasons.

1. There will be more injuries because it's an impact sport, so there will be more to look at.
2. It will be easier to get someone in for my project and demonstrate. I could stop a Lacrosse player when i needed them to stop, I couldn't really do that with a gymnast...or at least not so easily.
3. I am going to be working with the Guy's Lacrosse team at school with Kim (and Kara, the IC student I am paired with), so I will be able to get some hands on experience...possibly?

So, I guess THAT'S all...bye for now.

Another Mentor Meeting

I met with Mr. Heurich today 7th period. We talked about what I have done this week, and some ideas for new posts that I could write...I have already written a blog about the ideas...look below. We also talked about what my plans are for my presentation.

As far as the presentation goes, I would like to give a taping lesson to people. I don't know if it would be ankle taping, wrist taping, etc, but I think it would be a good idea to look at doing that as a culmination of all the things i've learned about Athletic Training. Along with that, I thought of having some handouts with pictures of injuries, and I could have a someone come in and demonstrate how doing a certain thing could cause the injury, and I could stop them as soon as the injury would occur.

Mr. Heurich and I also talked about doing a blog about the differences between Athletic Training and Physical Therapy. There are a lot of differences, but a lot of people don't know what those differences would be off the top of their head, so it would be a little more information to help peOple understand just what I want to do with my life after high school and college. Even I am not totally sure of all of the differences, so it would help not only the general public that doesn't know about Athletic Training, it would be able to help me as well.

Part of the reason that I wanted to do this project was that I wanted to make sure that the field that I definitely wanted to go into in college was Athletic Training. That's what I love about this project so much. It helped me to officially decide that I want to go into Athletic Training. Yay!!

Mrs. Sauls suggested that I look at a magazine called Oxygen. It is about women and them getting in shape and doing things to help their bodies, and I think this a great idea. I am going to take a look at this magazine at the earliest possible time...which might be in a few days after I have looked at Runner's World, the magazine not the online articles...so we'll see.

I guess that's all for now...bye! :)

Entry Idea

Entry Ideas:

• Write an overview of the kinds of fitness and injury prevention articles found in various popular magazines such as Oxygen, Runner's World, etc.
• Develop the perfect marketing plan for a new magazine that would fit in a niche-for the general public about all different kinds of sports.
• More analysis of taping videos and prevention clips found online.

IC Training Room

I went over to teh Training Room today. I spoke to Chris Hummel. By an extreme amount of good luck, he happens to be the Athletic Trainer for the Ithaca College Gymnastics team. Good luck, right? I told you. So, I asked him questions about what the common injuries were in gymnastics and he gave me a list of five. They are:

• Tibia Stress Fractures
• Ankle Sprains
• Stress Fractures in the Lumbar Spine (Spondylysis, commonly called "Spondy")
• ACL injuries
• Concussions

I then asked him what some of the common prevention methods that he uses are. He said:

• Educating the athletes on the possible injuries and informing them of issues with them, etc.
• Having them come in as soon as possible, if they have any early signs, meet with an Athletic Trainer
• Talking with an Athletic Trainer about the history of their injuries
• Strengthening as far as ankle injuries go
• Mechanics of jumping and landing with an ACL injury

I asked him when I could go and learn some basic taping techniques. They are open 9-12 Monday through Friday and between 2:30 and 8 pm. He said those were the best times. In the morning they are the least busy and in the afternon, they are the busiest. He also sent me to an online reference that I can use. I can use the Journal of Athletic Training. It is an online magazine that I can use. The volume that he sent me to has statistics about a lot of college sports and the injuries that they involve. I'll blog about this later when I read up on it.

That's it for now...

A Day Off? What's That?

This morning I went to a class at Ithaca College. It was a Lumbar Examination Class. I went because I have a herniated disk in my lower lumbar spine...aka my lower back. I knew two people in the class, so I was asked to go, and I did. It was nothing like I expected, but then again, I didn't really expect anything.

So, that was my morning. Instead of going back to school today though, since I only have one class the rest of teh day, and we're going to take notes, and Ms. Gornall said I could miss it, I am going to go hang out in teh Training Room here at IC. I'm taking Todd Lazenby up on his offer to go in there and hang out and ask questions. A lot of times it is going to be busy, but a lot of teams left either today or yesterday for sports. I know, for instance, that the Men's Lacrosse team left at 2am this morning...yea, have fun with that one.

So, I'll post a blog tonight about how the afternoon went and if I learn anything interesting, I will definitely post it.

ImPACT Testing

I met with Kim again today. Usually I spend about 1.5 hours with her per day, today I spent a good 2.5 hours. Just meeting with Kim this week has fulfilled my 8 hour requirement...that's not taking into account the mentor meeting, the class meeting, the research I've done, the time online writing the blog. If I keep up this pace, I will be in good shape come May or June.

The reason I was with Kim for so long today was because we were doing ImPACT Testing at 5 o'clock. The ImPACT Test measures how your brain works if you don't have a concussion so you have something to compare to in order to see if you do have a concussion. I don't know if I've written about this before, but I think I have. Sorry for the repetition. Anyways, so I was just going to watch to see how the test was done, but Kim suggested that I take it as well. Let me tell you. That thing was a pain in the butt.

The test itself is 6 sections. It all has to do with memorization and things of that ilk. The first thing you do is fill out a section about demographics-who you are, what you weigh, etc. Then you start the actual test. This is the obnoxious part. They flash words up on the screen and you have to memorize them. Then at the end, they will ask you if certain words show up...annoying right? Well, that's just the first section, they then do the same thing with shapes, and the shape is a line that is all squiggly. At the end when they are showing you the shape, they will turn it every which way, and you have to do the exact shape or you are wrong. So, they had 6 of these sections. Then they throw you for a loop. At the very end of the test, when you think you are all done, they ask you to remember the words and shapes from the beginning and be able to identify them again. Ugh. It was so annoying. It took a good 15 to 20 minutes for the test. Something I never want to go through again.

A Little Bit of Research

Today, 7th and 8th periods, I went to the Library and borrowed one of the boxes of magazines that Mr. Heurich and I talked about yesterday, DanceSpirit. It wasn't very helpful, the magazines are more about costumes, competitions and famous dancers and choreographers than it is about injuries and things that I am looking for. However, I had fun looking at it. I recognized some people and some of the costumes that were featured in the magazine. For instance, on the cover of one of the magazines was Maud Arnold. I met her February 20th, in Syracuse, she was my Tap teacher at a competition that I was at. This, for me, was the best part of the whole bit...the fact that I knew her and she was on the cover. It was pretty cool.

I think I'm going to go back and look at Runner's World Magazine to see what I can find in there, if anything. Having the magazines at school is getting me so amped. This way I'm not just looking at the computer screen trying to read periodicals all the time. I think I am going to be doing a lot more work now that I have that resource.

I Met With Kim Again

Day 3 of meeting with Kim. I love it. I have so much fun, not only with the IC students and Kim herself, but with a lot of the students that come in there. The girl who had to put her foot in the ice bucket yesterday, Harmony, came back today for another round. We were joking around because Kim wasn't in there when she got there. Throughout the time that she was in the ice bucket, we were joking and laughing and having a good time. It's a lot of fun. I'm so glad that I decided to do this for my project.

Today started Impact Testing. If you don't know what it is, you get asked a series of questions, and it tests how your brain works normally, or when you don't have a concussion. That way, they can more easily tell in the future if you have a concussion or not; all they have to do is compare the scores that you got on the two tests and they can figure out if you have a concussion or not. I was going to get tested myself, but I had to leave before I could. Kim told me I should take the test, that way I can get more acquainted with the process.

I am going back for Day 4 tomorrow, so I will likely take the test then...with the guys that are going to be taking it as well. Should be fun...

Meeting with Kim...Day 2

I met Kim again after school today. Mary Rose and Kara were there again, along with Bob Wu. It was a lot of fun. I got a video of Bob getting his ankle taped, and I'll put that up here soon. A girl came in and had to go in the ice bucket because she rolled her ankle. I do not envy her that. The bucket was half filled with ice and then water, and she had her foot in there for fifteen minutes.

We went out and saw the Girl's Lacrosse practice today. Kim was talking about how it would be easiest if each high school student was assigned to an IC student and a team, that way it wouldn't be so crazy everyday trying to decide who would go where because after school, the training room is crazy. It was fun today, Bob kept things really light. I know I am going to have a good time working with Kim.

I am going to try to go back either tomorrow or Thursday...we'll see.

Pain relief for runner's knee from RunnersWorld.com

Pain relief for runner's knee from RunnersWorld.com

I found this website with Mr. Heurich and it shows some cool information about taking care of yourself and preventing injuries like runner's knee if you are a runner. The website is runnersworld.com.

Mentor Meeting 3/9/10

Today is my third meeting with Mr. Heurich. I filled him in on what I have done lately...keeping him apprised of what my progress is.

What I've Done Since Last Meeting

• Met with Kim Bailey for the first time and saw her taping some of the athletes
• Looked up some videos of taping knees and ankles on youtube (will blog about some of the videos that I liked and that were useful)
• Read another periodical online, however it was of no help
• Set up an appointment with Dr. Getzin for the 24th of March to talk to him about my back along with talking about common injuries in sports.

What I plan To Do

• Before the next meeting, I am going to come into the library and look at some magazines that Mr. Heurich and I found. One magazine is DanceSpirit, another is Runner's World to se if they have anything that could be useful to me.
• I am going to meet with Kim Bailey again today and any other day that I can to keep going on my interning. I will talk to her to see if I can find out any more on the common injuries that she works with. I don't know that I will have a lot of time to do this because it is the beginning of the season and she is going to have a lot to do getting ready and getting Impact Testing done. Impact Testing is testing to see if an athlete has a concussion or not to start the season.
• I will blog about any videos that I found useful and interesting from YouTube.
• I am going to work on making my blog media-rich. This will include videos, pictures. Anything that I learn or want to learn will be included from now on.

First Meeting with Kim

After school today, I had my first real meeting with Kim Bailey. At first, we were just in the Training Room and she was taping people's ankles and toes and knees. Brandon Jordan came in and had to do some shoulder stretches with a band because he has problems with his shoulder.

We went out the football field and watched the Boy's Lacrosse practice for a little while. There really wasn't much to do. Kim said herself that until there is a game that a lot of the job of being an athletic trainer is standing around.

There are four IC students that are going to be shadowing Kim along with myself, Bob Wu and Matt Foote from the high school. Today I met Mary Rose and Kara, they are two of the students from IC. I think it is going to be a lot of fun working with Kim this semester.

Class Meeting

Today we had a class meeting. We talked about the journals that we read for homework. A bunch of people liked the journals that they read; I however, did not. I thought it was not strong, and that it got weaker as it went.

We also talked about fundraising. This didn't apply to me, since I'm not doing anything that involves needing money or supplies to go anywhere or do anything. It was a pretty chill class period.

It's so difficult to go to class on these Mondays. I am so used to having 8th period free, and I love it, to get other work done so that I can do my project after school with Kim, or when I go home, and since Mondays are my late night with dance, it's difficult. But, oh well, you deal, I guess.

Taping Video

For part of my project, I wanted to learn some basic techniques for taping of all kinds, whether it be ankle, knee, wrist, whatever. In my meeting with Mr. Heurich the other day, we found this video and I watched it in its entirety at home that night and it looked really interesting, and answered a question I had when I went to see Kim last week. I saw her tape an ankle for a basketball player, and I wondered what the things were that she was putting on either side of the ankle, and I didn't have a chance to ask the question, but this video answered that question for me.



If you don't know, a sprain is when the ligaments stretch or tear. An inversion ankle sprain that was mentioned in the video is when the ankle is rolled to the outside thus either stretching or tearing that ligament. The heel lock that he was putting on after the stirrup help to prevent this from happening.

Second Mentor Meeting

I met with Mr. Heurich today and we talked about two different topics. One was what i had done since the last mentor meeting that I had last Tuesday, and the other was what I am planning on doing in the next week or two.

What I've done since Last Tuesday

• I read multiple periodicals that I had picked out and put in my annotated bibliography before I even really started working on my project. Some proved to be helpful while others weren't. There were one or two that I got a lot of information on and that I will be using in the future. (Soon I will post a blog entry about the articles that I read.)
• I had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Andrew Getzin, who is a doctor at Cayuga Sports Medicine. I was talking to him about my project while I was having my appointment, and he said that I was welcome to go and visit him at Ithaca College if I wanted any hands on experience.

What I plan on doing in the next two weeks

• I am going to meet with Dr. Getzin most likely this Friday to see what he can tell me and who I should get in touch with.
• I will be heading up to Ithaca College to talk to some of the professors in the Athletic Training program. If I could get an appointment, I would like to meet with Paul Geisler to see if I could go to his class and observe every now and then.
• I am going to start meeting with Kim Bailey next Monday, March 8th. The spring sports are going to start then and I will be able to do something as far as helping Kim and learning some of the information that I want to.
• When I meet with some of these people, I hope to find out some of the more common injuries associated with gymnastics. When that happens, I can start researching those specific injuries.
  
  

Self-Assessment

I think I need to get working more now that i have a lot of the starting points. I said in my original two week plan that I wasn't going to be able to do a whole lot at the beginning of the project because of dance, and that proved to be true. However, now that I have a lot of my competition season out of the way, I should be able to focus more on getting the work for my project done.

I have been able to work occasionally on what I wanted to do, and when I was able to, I got a lot done in a short period of time, so now with the time that I have, I will be able to get a ton of research done.

Periodicals

I spent part of my day today looking at periodicals that I had put in by Annotated Bibliography. The first one that I read was entitled, "Overuse Injuries in Young Athletes". While the article itself wasn't very helpful, there was a section at the end that talked about recognizing and preventing overuse injuries. I don't know if this will be helpful to me or not in the future, but it might give me a place to start when I talk to people in the future.

The works cited for the article is:
Billhartz Gregorian, Cynthia. "Overuse Injuries Plague Young Athletes." SIRS Knowledge Source. Gale, 11 Jan. 2008. Web. 29 Jan. 2010.

I have been looking over a bunch of other articles that I chose briefly, and they looked to be either as helpful or more helpful than this article was. I hope to be able to blog about those very soon.

First Mentor Meeting

So, today was my first meeting with Mr. Heurich. We talked about what my project entailed. I was telling him how I wanted to have a diagram at the end of my project and what the final project would be. He said he has some ideas about putting videos in as part of the presentation.

I told him about how I hope to lean about basic taping techniques. I can learn those from either Kim Bailey, the high school's Athletic Trainer or from Todd Lazenby, one of Ithaca College's Athletic Trainers.

We talked about not only my goals with how I hope the project will go, but also with how I hope he will help me stay focused, because I have a major problem staying focused.

This is my first time using a blog. I had never thought about using one before Mr. Heurich told me about the fact that I would be using one. This is a new experience for me, and I'm super excited to keep blogging throughout the duration of my project. I will be doing a lot of photography along with videos that I take so that I can illustrate what I am learning and doing, and some of those will be posted on here as well.

First Meeting with Kim

I went to meet with Kim today. I watched as she taped up some of the girls basketball team. She told me that there really wouldn't be a whole lot for me to do until March 8th because the winter sports are over pretty much and the spring sports haven't begun yet. I might go the Boy's Basketball game tomorrow to see what a trainer does at a game, but I don't know if I'll make it or not. We shall see...

Accomplishments

During the two weeks since I've been exited, I've read all of my periodicals that I put in my bibliography. I see this as my success. The periodicals weren't as beneficial to me as I thought they'd be. A lot of them were more about people's experiences in their sports and how they were injured and not so much about how they got better.

I got sick over these two weeks, so there wasn't a whole lot more that I could have done. There was a whole lot more that I had been planning to do. For instance, I had thought that I was going to meet with Kim, but I wasn't feeling well, so I left after 6th period most days. My first meeting with Kim is today after school.

I am going to have my first mentor meeting with Mr. Heurich tomorrow 7th period. I am going to set up my blog and from there I'll be adding most of the information I get to that. Megan Mormile has Mr. H as a mentor and she has a blog as well. Every few days, he will go on her blog an dread her entries and comment on them. In this way, it is like they are meeting more often than just once a week.

I regret that I haven't done more on my project yet, but I am going to really be starting today. I hope to find more helpful periodicals than what I've found thus far. For my goals, they are quite simple, get something done. getting my blog up and running is going to help get me motivated. I think it will be a good thing for me to have a blog. I hope you have fun reading it!

Email

So, it's been a week since I last wrote, my bad. I emailed Kim Bailey the other day and she got back to me. i am going to meet with her on February 22nd. From then, I don't know when I'm going to meet with her. It will depend on my schedule.

I read the rest of the periodicals that I chose. None of them helped me very much. One of them was about dancers with injuries. This helped me with personal issues. I have a herniated disk, so this was a good one for me to read.

I spent some time on a site that helped me look at a certain area of the body and the common injures associated with that area, it was tons of fun. The only problem with it was, that it was a general site, not really a site that helped with certain sports, but I'll try to find one of those too.

That's all for now.

Started some Research

I read a bunch of periodicals on SIRS, one of the schools online databases. A bunch of them, I found out weren't actually about Athletic Training. A bunch were more about gymnastics. Since I am going to mainly be researching gymnastics injuries, I thought this would be okay, but they weren't as helpful as I thought they would be.

I talked to Todd Lazenby, the Trainer from IC I mentioned in the first post. He invited me back to hang out in the Training Room, so I plan on taking him up on that, at some point.

Not much else has happened,

bye!!

Dear Reader

Dear Reader,

For my WISE project, I plan to shadow Kim Baily, Ithaca High School's Athletic Trainer. By the end of the semester, I want to have a diagram and be able to show the major injuries sustained in gymnastics. I want to know how to take care of the injury and prevent it from happening again. For your reference, I am going to Ithaca College next year to study Athletic Training.

I am really excited about starting my project. I have talked to an Athletic Trainer at Ithaca College and he said that I should learn the basics. By this, I mean get my taping skills better and learn how to spot. I'm nervous about getting as much done as I want to get done. There is going to be a large amount of research involved in this project, and I'm worried about putting it off until the last minute.

For the next two weeks, I am not going to be able to do a whole lot because I have a lot to do with dance, but I am going to start meeting with Kim two to three times a week and asking her questions. I could go up to Ithaca College and spend time in the Training Room. After I learn what the major injuries are, I could start doing the research on them.

For Now,

Taylor Dyess