by Dawn
Brazell
Public Relations
Some of the
athletes Michael J. Barr, DPT,
trains he'd rather not meet in a
dark alley. Given his job as
sports medicine coordinator for
MUSC Sports Medicine, that's a
good thing.
It means he and
his athletic trainers are doing
their jobs well, and in today's
world of sports medicine, that
means going far beyond providing
injury treatment and prevention.
It extends into the area of peak
performance and sports neurology
as well.
That's why Barr
and the sport medicine's seven
athletic trainers are logging
70-plus hour workweeks and loving
it, he said.
"I love dealing
with athletes. I love treating
them and helping them get stronger
and faster and better than ever,
and then getting to watch them
play. Sports medicine is more than
just the doctors and the surgeries
that happen. The athletic trainers
are the workhorses of the group.
They are the faces in the
community."
That's a good
thing.
Athletic trainer
Stephie Davey (background)directs
drills for Academic Magnet High
school students Emily Gossen, who
plays soccer and Tyre Moore, who
plays basketball.
An important
community outreach they do is to
provide pre-season concussion
testing. Epidemiological studies
have suggested an association
between repeated sports
concussions and late life
cognitive impairment, but while
this remains an area that needs
more research, enough is known
that these type injuries need to
be taken more seriously.
Most adult
patients, between 80 to 90
percent, recover from a
concussion within seven to 10
days; however, there is evidence
to suggest that the recovery time
frame may be longer in children
and adolescents. Some patients —
children, adolescents, and adults
— have more persistent symptoms,
lasting weeks to months.
Baseline
testing takes some of the
guesswork out of it.
MUSC Sports Medicine
started providing baseline testing
for the Charleston County School
District last fall with plans to
expand that service to private
schools as well this fall. Barr
said baseline testing allows MUSC
sports neurologists know when an
athlete, who has experienced a
concussion, can safely return to
competition. Historically,
concussed athletes have returned
too early or have been held out
longer than necessary because the
examination was more subjective,
and there was no way of
determining their cognitive level
prior to the incident. Now
with pre-season baseline testing,
sports neurologists can use an
objective measure to determine
when it's safe to return to play.
The department
also offers a comprehensive list
of resources for parents and
coaches about concussions and when
it's safe to return to play.
(Visit http://www.muschealth.com/neurosciences/about/sports_neurology/resources/).
"The more we
know what they can do before an
injury, the better assessments we
can provide and the better
treatment we can provide them."
Another new
area of community outreach is the
start of MUSC Sports Performance
Training Camps this summer for
teen athletes. There will be two
sessions, June 11-28 and July
9-26, 1 to 4 p.m., for athletes
ages 13 to 18. All skill levels
are welcome, with the program
being tailored to meet the needs
of the athletes who enroll.
The sessions,
which will be held at the MUSC
Wellness Center, cost $180 for one
session and $300 for both. Space
is limited to 10 athletes per
group. Each session includes
baseline performance and skills
testing, customized training plans
for the athlete's sport and goals,
sport specific exercises and
education and nutrition and injury
prevention strategies. For
registration information, visit www.muschealth.com/sportscamps
or call 843-876-1890.
Barr said the
program focuses on treating the
whole athlete and teaching them to
train smarter with sports specific
drills and conditioning that have
been shown to improve performance.
Gone are the days of high
repetitions of weights in the gym
as a generic way of training, he
said. That doesn't necessarily
produce the best performance
results.
"We can teach
the principles that will help
athletes to jump higher and run
faster — whatever the needs are
for their sport."
MUSC athletic
trainers work with athletes
ranging from local high school
squads to professionals teams such
as The Charleston Battery. MUSC
Sports Medicine also works with a
number of semi-professional teams
such as the Lowcountry High
Rollers, Charleston Outlaws Rugby
and the newly developed Charleston
Man-of-War Football team.
The combination of the youth,
professional and semi-professional
teams in the lowcountry is what
makes Charleston unique in the
realm of sports, Barr said.
Trainers
Lindsay Clarke and Stephanie Davey
both said they love the switch in
their profession to treating the
whole athlete. Clarke said being
able to treat the complete athlete
is gratifying. "The schools and
organizations we work with are
fantastic. We're there to make
sure the athletes stay healthy and
on the field. Implementing the
sports performance program is one
more piece of the puzzle."
Barr agreed.
The teen
athletes who come to the summer
performance camps won't magically
be turned into elite athletes in
three weeks, but they will learn
to move correctly, train smarter
and fuel their bodies better. "And
those are lifelong concepts that
will make them into healthy, elite
athletes."
For more
information about MUSC Sports
Medicine, visit http://www.muschealth.com/mski/about/sports/.
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