September 17, 2003
Fielding medical questions
High school athletic trainers tape, ice and offer guidance
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
At 3 p.m. John McDougal's day really starts jumping.
A certified athletic trainer with Munson Healthcare's Sports Medicine Program, McDougal is one of four area trainers serving the public high schools and junior high schools in Traverse City. When school lets out, athletes pour into trainers' offices, looking for taping, icing, guidance and a reassuring word.
And McDougal provides it all for players at Traverse City West High School.
First he helps a player on the verge of returning to practice strengthen a sprained ankle, evaluating his readiness to play before taping it up. Then, taping ankles after ankle at lightening speed, he talks with one player about a should injury, his doctor visit and the proposed physical therapy plan. Then McDougal sends another to soak in ice while asking a third to help fill the five-gallon water containers while waiting his turn with the tape.
Soon the rush is over and players head to practice, McDougal accompanying the Titan football team to the field. He remains there until practice is over and the players are gone, clocking many a late night during football season.
Throughout the school year, he is available to all the sports teams for both girls and boys, including soccer, hockey, basketball, volleyball, swimming and skiing.
"On a typical afternoon I tape ankles, fingers, knees, get ice ready for girls basketball and get water ready for football," said McDougal, who works mornings at Munson in corporate health and wellness.
Certified athletic trainers serve as a frontline defense keeping players healthy and safe during the school year.
"They are an integral part of the program," said John Sonnemann, athletic director at Traverse City Central High School. "They cover everything and any of our athletes. Even in those sports that typically don't need a trainer, such as golf, trainers are available for assessment and treatment."
When an injury occurs, the trainer is part of the process of deciding - along with the player's physician and parents and the team's coach -when the player can return to play.
"We want to get them back playing as fast as they can and as safely as they can," noted McDougal, who worked at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. "We want everybody on the same program with the decision."
Munson provides the trainers to the schools on a contract basis. The Sports Medicine program also provides two doctors as well, who patrol the sidelines of home football games in case of a major injury requiring immediate medical attention.
Dr. Mark Davenport has worked with athletes at Central High School since 1990. Board certified in family practice, he is also certified in sports medicine, which comprises 25 to 35 percent of his practice. During football games, he is ready to help although he said major injuries are rare.
"There are not very often a crises, most of the things we see are just minor things that primary physicians see in their office: strains, sprains and knee injuries," he said. "Two or three things throughout the season are serious."
Davenport enjoys the grit of high school athletics and enjoys watching the Trojans play.
"It's athletics without the extra distraction of professionalism that you see at the college and professional level," said Davenport who served as team physician for the rowing and freestyle wrestling teams at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
The certified athletic trainers also keep detailed statistics on injuries throughout each sport's season. This information can help coaches modify their training program in subsequent seasons if a pattern emerges from the trainers' data.
"We look at those stats at the end of the season and if there's been an unusual number of concussions, for example, we look at if there's equipment failure or the way we're structuring the practices," said Kelly Clark, coach of the Trojan football team for the past four years. "Depending on the injuries we're getting, we look at how to prevent them in the future."