April 26, 2002

A completely pain free student-athlete is lucky--and also very rare. From nagging injuries to those that need surgery, from cross-country to football, there is a constant flow of athletes in to and out of the training room each day.

Some injuries are the result of competing at a high level for many years, others happen at practice, and a few occur away from the sport. Whatever the reason-shoulder, back, knee, ankle, little toe--nearly all student-athletes deal with pain while practicing or competing at some time during the season.

Student athletic trainers Denise Cromwell and Meagan Ribikawskis estimate that during the day 50-100 athletes come for treatment... not including football, where virtually all players make a stop to get taped up. And, this is also not including athletes who are treated outside of the main training room: volleyball, wrestling, and basketball all can go for treatments in facilities where they practice.

The people who make the biggest commitment to helping athletes recover are the 40 or so students in the athletic training program. They're in the training room everyday an hour before practice and an hour after. Student-trainers don't get paid, don't get scholarships, and sometimes, the only recognition they get is "hey water girl." They definitely deserve more.

There is a steady flow of athletes in to and out of the training room from when it opens at 7:00 am until the last athlete leaves around 7:00 pm.

Because of the sheer number of players, football wins for having the most athletes coming in for treatment. But coming up behind them is gymnastics and surprisingly, I think, women's track and cross-country. Female cross-country runners are highly susceptible to injury because of their size and track runners develop leg problems because their quadriceps muscles are so much stronger than their hamstrings.

According to Meagan, the worst and most rare injury she's seen was a gymnast who dislocated her knee, because that only happens when there is complete destruction of all the ligaments surrounding the kneecap. Also, a broken bone in the thumb of a football player could end his career, depending on how it heals. Across the board, says Denise, the most common injuries treated are tendonitis, ankle sprains, and ACL tears- basketball player Lucas Johnson's knee being the most notorious of the 2001-2002 year.

A typical day for someone rehabbing an ACL injury would include two 45-minute sessions a day in addition to time at practice. That translates into time after morning practice or before classes in the training room and then once again after classes and before practice in the afternoon. All together, it adds a lot of hours to the week.

The severity of an injury determines how much time an athlete will have to spend getting treatment. An ankle sprain can mean anywhere from a couple of days of ice to many weeks of rehab. Other injuries like chronic shoulder or knee problems force athletes to make regular visits to the training room. A common treatment for these kinds of injuries is to use the "stim" machine. It sends electric impulses around the injured area to stimulate the muscles and the blood flow--kind of like that contraption seen on infomercials where people put the magic belt around their stomach for 10 minutes a day and suddenly have an incredible six-pack.

The "regulars" spend a lot of treatment time bonding with other athletes. It's like having a date with a big group of people everyday at 2:00 pm. Denise describes this time as an "athlete social hour."

Life in the training room can be difficult. It means going early to practice, treatment that can be painful, and possibly a long, hard journey through rehab.

But it's not the time commitment or the physical pain that makes an injury so agonizing--it's the time away from practice and competition and having limitations as a result of the injury. Speaking from experience, there's nothing more frustrating than not being able to work hard with your teammates or do the same things that they are. I hate not being able to do what I want to do. And, in competition, knowing there's something out of your control holding you back is absolutely maddening.

Rehabbing is more difficult for some athletes than running laps or doing sprints. But, injuries are inherent to sports, I guess; and they're a small price to pay for the opportunity to compete in the Big Ten. So, a thank you needs to be said to all the student-trainers who commit so much time and effort to helping the athletes get back out there!