Sports medicine has become a giant umbrella

Student-athletes who are considering a career in sports medicine today may be amazed at just how vast the field has become.

While the primary sports medicine team consists of the coach, the athletic trainer and the team physician, says Kai Aboulian, ''sports medicine has become a generic term that encompasses many different areas of sports, related to both performance and injury.

Photo courtesy of Kai Aboulian
Kai Aboulian

''Among the areas of specialization within sports medicine,'' explains Aboulian, who is both a physical therapist and athletic trainer at Foundry Sports Medicine in Providence, ''Athletic Training, Biomechanics, Exercise Physiology, The Practice of Medicine Relative to the Athlete, Physical Therapy, Sports Nutrition, Strength & Conditioning Coach and Sports Psychology. Each of these professionals has a significant role in regard to the athlete’s optimal health and safety.

"After the initial management of an injury - by the athletic trainer on the field or in the training room - the athletic trainer should routinely refer the athlete to the team physician for further evaluation and accurate diagnosis,'' Aboulian continues. "Then, the team physician will refer the athlete to the appropriate professionals for further treatment.

Aboulian lists some of the support personnel who are involved with the athlete’s health and safety:

• Nurse
• School Health Services
• Physician
• Dentist
• Podiatrist
• Physician’s Assistant
• Biomechanist
• Strength and Conditioning Coach
• Sports Psychologist
• Physical Therapist
• Exercise Physiologist
• Nutritionist

If you have a specific sports medicine question for Kai, e-mail it to him at kai@foundrysportsmedicine.com.

(Some of the above information obtained from athletic training resources and sports medicine journals.)

Posted by Carolyn Thornton  at 2:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)