What are alternate options for sports players who are injured/need training?

Athletic Trainers work with their patients in the patients' environment. 

The economic principle I’m exploring is Because of scarcity, people choose. All choices have an opportunity cost.

My research question to help me study the economic principle is “ How do athletic trainers differ from physical therapists and what do they do differently?” The article published by Study.com titled “Athletic Trainer Vs. Physical Therapist” demonstrates this economic principle by showing the difference between Athletic Trainers and Physical therapists, What the two do differently, and what else a player can use rather than an athletic trainer.

 First, the difference between an athletic trainer and a physical therapist is difficult to understand unless explained well. An athletic trainer work with athletes and players to help prevent injuries and giving workouts to assist a person if they are actively trying to prevent or treat an injury. Athletic trainers help prepare the athletes for practice and games-whether that’s wrapping a pitchers wrist or helping them stretch out better. They also assess and document the injuries that occur and document how they are treating them since they help the injured player with the treatments and workouts in order to bring the player back to their sport in a timely manner. A physical therapist only works with injured people-not only athletes but also elderly, people who have been involved in car accidents, and anyone else who have been injured. Physical therapists teach their patients exercises to improve their injuries, monitor their movements and progress along with making sure that their patients don’t have any issues with mobility.

 Second, the physical therapists and athletic trainers share some of the same responsibilities for their patients, but approach the situations differently. When a patient is injured, an athletic trainer can diagnose them with an injury and acknowledge what is wrong with the patient. The athletic trainer then comes up with plans to help the patient go back to their sport as fast as possible, while the physical therapist also helps them return to a sport, most of their patients don’t do sports so they don’t have to do things as quick as an athletic trainer would. Athletic trainers also work with the injured athletes everyday for large amounts of time and also give them exercises to do while physical therapists work with senior citizens, some athletes, kids/teens, people who have been involved in accidents, or people who have had surgery.


In my next blog post I will research the question: Who are the people that need athletic trainers the most? What do they NEED from the trainers?

What do Athletic Trainers do?

What do Athletic Trainers do?

Athletic trainers do most of their rehab and assist their patients in their offices.

The economic principle I’m exploring is Because of scarcity, people choose. All choices have an opportunity cost.

My research question to help me study the economic principle is “Due to a scarcity of athletic trainers in major league sports, what is the opportunity cost of the athletes that need assistance with training and injuries?”

The article Current Concepts in Sports Injury Rehabilitation published in National Institute of Health titled “Current Concepts in Sports Injury Rehabilitation” demonstrates this economic principle by arguing and showing the planning that it takes for an athletic trainer to help all their patients/team members, the rehab they have to go through, and how to let the person go back to the sport.

First, an Athletic Trainer helps all of their patients and team members that they work for and with. Normally, an athletic trainer works for a specific team, such as The Chicago White Sox, and they are dedicated to work with the players and create workouts, rehabilitation workouts, assist in training, workout with the players, and always take care of the injuries that occur during games, practices, and even off the field. When an injury occurs during a game or practice, the athletic trainers are responsible for taking them out of the sport temporarily or permanently so the injury can start the healing process. Athletic trainers work with the injured player and the coaches to create schedules for the player to ensure a safe return to the sport.

Second, the athletic trainers put the players through rehab if necessary after an injury occurs and slowly bring the players back to playing regularly. They create workouts to do with the injured player and make sure that they will be coming back to playing and have a plan of when they should be back in the sport. During the rehab time, they have to make sure that the player is doing the correct work in order to return back to the sport by making sure that they are using correct form so they do not injury themselves more.

Third, the athletic trainer is able to release the player when they believe they are capable of returning and continuing practice with a higher intensity. First, the athletic trainer allows the player to go to a practice when they believe they are able to continue practice as usual. The player goes to practice but does not give full effort while the trainer watches to make sure they are not showing signs that the injury is restricting them in any way. The player has to go through one practice before a game without any signs that the injury is interfering with the players activity, and after they go through a practice with their teammates, then they are able to return to playing to their fullest ability-which includes games.

In my next blog post I will research the question: What are alternate options for sports players who are injured/need training?

Blog Post #1

Athletic Trainer at a Sports Event

• The economic principle I will explore is: Because of scarcity, people choose. All choices have an opportunity cost.
• The overall question I will research to help explore the economic principle is (the question should contain 1-2 keywords from the economic principle):
• Due to a scarcity of athletic trainers in major league sports, what is the opportunity cost of the athletes that need assistance with training and injuries?
• Subquestions that will help me answer my overall research question are: 
• What are alternate options for sports players who are injured/need training?
•  How do athletic trainers differ from physical therapists and what do they do differently? 
• Who are the people that need athletic trainers the most? What do they NEED from the trainers?
• What are the working conditions and why do people NOT want to be athletic trainers?

• RESOURCES FOR RESEARCH:
• NCBI  
• PT vs. AT
• NATA
• BLS
• Occupation Details