If you have ever worked in the secondary setting you have received this note, “no athletics for 1-2 weeks” or “no physical activity for 1-2 weeks”
This phrase can be the most frustrating phrase you read as a student athlete, your patient, walks in the athletic training room not dressed out for practice and announces, “I went to the doctor and I can’t work out.” What is even more frustrating is if you were never informed the student was injured, you did the evaluation and recommended modified practice, a treatment and rehabilitation regimen confident that you could get them back to playing very soon, or even better yet, the doctor on your sideline evaluated the student, along with yourself and recommended a plan spoke with the parent and they still went to a different doctor and got the 1-2 weeks rest note.
I find that this type of scenario tends to happen most often in off-season or sub-varsity sports.
I always blame myself first, and ask the questions;
Did I not take enough time in my evaluation, or explain the injury or the plan to the student and parent? Why do they not trust me? Why do they not want to see the sports medicine orthopedic that works on our sideline every week?
Sometimes I find the answer to these questions and find that it was a lack of communication or the parents have a connection with a different doctor in town that they trust. But the problem I am still left with a kid that thinks they can’t do anything for 2 weeks, oh how it would be so nice if the note read, “limited activity with the affected limb, continue cardiovascular fitness and progressive rehabilitative exercises” that way when I try to explain this to the student and parents they do not look at me like I am ignoring the note that says no activity.
We try hard as athletic trainers to let our community know who we are and what we do. At our school we encourage student athletes to come and tell us about injuries and pains, we tell them and their parents they can see any physician that they please, we try to suggest those that work closely with us as team physicians, and those that specialize in sports medicine and offer sports injury clinics. We do all that we can not to have a student sitting on the sideline doing nothing. I know that the physician that wrote the note usually expects the student to do rehabilitation exercises and that rest will allow time for the injury to heal and that they too have the best interest for their patient, so do we, the frustrating part is when the student athlete is content with not doing anything. When the patient, a student athlete is content sitting on the sideline, I am so frustrated; I must work to put in the effort to motivate them to try to do something to get back in the game.
This is me on my soap box for the day, please feel leave a comment, a suggestion or idea.
1 comment:
Not only is this a frustration for athletic trainers, but it creates a situation where the coaches are telling kids not to report injuries and/or go to the doctor! What we started doing was contacting the physician directly and asking them to clarify the student-athlete's limitations. If it is a shoulder injury, can s/he ride the bike? do lower body lifting? If they are on total rest for the knee, can they do abs? I express to the doctors that I am working to keep them active, conditioned and engaged and not interested in prolonging their injury. I have found that by developing a relationship with several doctors in town, their notes are getting much more specific.
I feel your pain!
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