Vol. 38, No. 18

3-13-2007
By: Julia Harris

'Tape' one for the team

Athletic trainers help OSU student athletes play at their peak

When Vince O’Brien recently watched Greg Oden make four out of five free throws with his right hand, he felt like a proud parent.

After all, the March 3 game against Michigan was the first time the Ohio State basketball star had attempted free throws with his injured wrist since Dec. 30.

No one knows better than O’Brien, co-head athletic trainer, how far Oden has come since having reconstructive wrist surgery last summer. O’Brien’s the one who made the silicone brace that cradles Oden’s wrist. And he’s had Oden under the basket all season, rehabbing that wrist and coaxing confidence back into the big freshman.

“Athletic trainers aren’t just about helping injured athletes regain range of motion or strength,” O’Brien explains. “A lot of what we do is to help them get comfortable again on the court or field.”

To make people aware of what athletic trainers do, the National Athletic Trainers Association has dubbed March “National Athletic Trainers Month.”

At Ohio State, there are 12 full-time athletic trainers to cover the 36 varsity teams that comprise just fewer than 1,000 athletes. Five graduate assistants, who already have their athletic trainer’s license, fill in the coverage as needed.

O’Brien has been at the university for 14 years. For seven of those years he’s been tending to the men’s basketball and golf teams. In 2003, he was voted Trainer of the Year by the Ohio Athletic Trainers’ Association, an honor he’s characteristically understated about.

When it comes to the field of athletic training itself, however, O’Brien is more than willing to boast.

“In the 1940s and ’50s, a trainer was the old guy in the corner with the boxer,” O’Brien says with a laugh. “Today, certified athletic trainers are the first line in terms of evaluating injuries. We are licensed members of the allied medical professions. We’re not personal trainers and we’re not doctors, but we are all about preventing injuries from happening.”

Unlike personal trainers, O’Brien says, athletic trainers are required to be licensed, to practice under the direction of physicians and to obtain 75 hours of medically related continuing education credits every three years. They are nationally certified by an independent Board of Certification, must pass an online and a practical examination and hold a bachelor’s degree.

For O’Brien, the job is about more than treating injuries. Keeping student athletes at the top of their game means keeping them in good condition, with stretches and drills that focus on agility, strength and balance.

With golfers, O’Brien says, the emphasis is on preventing back and shoulder injuries from all of the rotation involved in the athletes’ swing.

“Often, they play 36 holes in a day rather than the 18 a normal person does, and they do that four times a week,” he notes. “I’ve never had an athlete receive back surgery, but I’ve definitely done a lot of back rehab.”

When injuries happen on the basketball court, they tend to take the shape of ankle sprains and knee problems, particularly a condition called “jumper’s knee,” a tendonitis that develops with overuse.

Chalisa Fonza, the athletic trainer for the women’s basketball team, says her athletes are even more susceptible to knee injury than the men.

“Unfortunately, you’ll see a lot more ACL injuries in women than you do in men, and there are different studies going on to figure out why that’s happening,” Fonza says.

Dealing with cuts and blood on the sidelines is something O’Brien and Fonza do on a regular basis, but both said it’s a small part of the job.

“The best part of working with student athletes is seeing them grow as people,” O’Brien says. “And sometimes an injury ends up being a good thing, because it helps them refocus and overcome a challenge.”

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