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.

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.