Over the course of my 25+ career as an Athletic Trainer, I have had the opportunity to see the profession evolve. Athletic Trainers can be found working in a variety of settings. These settings may include high school / clinic setting, college athletics, government agencies, public safety, essentially any profession that involves physical activity. One area that has become more attractive to athletic trainers is in the manufacturing or industrial settings.
The decision to switch to the industrial setting is an attractive change for a variety of reasons. In the high school setting, the work schedule is similar to a 2nd shift dynamic. Arriving prior to school dismissing in the early to mid-afternoon and concluding when games and practices are finished. Athletic Trainers may have to work on the weekends providing coverage for games and events as well. The work schedule of athletic trainers in the industrial setting often resembles that of an employee who works first shift. Adjusting to an earlier schedule may be one of the more challenging changes. However finishing the work day in the mid-afternoon makes achieving a work life balance much easier.
The industrial setting provides opportunities for athletic trainers to utilize their broad skill set. These may include anything from taping techniques, injury rehabilitation, educating employees, job coaching to teach proper lifting techniques to name a few. This makes athletic trainers a perfect fit for the industrial setting. Commonly, Athletic Trainers spend a portion of their career working with athletes. Just as minimizing the number of missed practices and games due to injury is a similar approach is taken with employees working in manufacturing. Taping techniques and other symptom management strategies can be helpful minimizing missed work time. Those who benefit from the onsite athletic trainer services are not limited to those employees working on production floor. Often, there are requests from those employees who work in administration seeking help their aches and pains. Although the physical demands of these employees are not as significant in this population, they are just as prevalent. Ergonomic training, an essential skills necessary for this setting, can be very helpful in identifying potential symptom contributors. This may include observing posture, work area set up, and body mechanics to name a few.
As they progress in their careers, some may find the physical demands of the job becoming more challenging. The residual aches and pains that may be associated with the job, is another common motivator for considering a change to the industrial setting. Although I still enjoyed working with high school athletes it was time to ask where I saw myself in the latter years of my career. Industrial sports medicine provided the opportunity to continue down this path. Settling into this new role, I have come to embrace the new challenges. I have been able to use many of the strategies to help industrial employees or “industrial athletes” as they have become more commonly known work through a variety of injuries or musculoskeletal disorders. Having an onsite athletic trainer provides a resource for employees to seek help and advice to treat their symptoms. This is not only a potential cost saver to the employee, and also to the company by minimize workers compensation costs.
Many workers’ compensation programs will offer services in addition to those the onsite athletic trainer provides. Work hardening or conditioning allows employees to continue working towards their goal of a full unrestricted return to work. Once the employee is discharged from physical therapy, the employee will benefit from participating in a program that focuses on creating a routine of functional activities that are similar to what they do as part of their regular job responsibilities. This allows the athletic trainer to be creative in constructing return to work activities the employee can perform help improve muscle strength and endurance. In addition this will provide the opportunity to observe and improve any deficiencies that are identified in lifting techniques and body mechanics.
As you can see there are several reasons athletic trainers transition into the industrial setting. Providing a better work life balance, competitive wages, and the ability to utilize the variety of skills in other settings has become a more common occurrence across the profession. As the athletic training profession continues to evolve, more opportunities for athletic trainers will present themselves. The industrial setting is one such niche of the profession that is helping athletic trainers step away from traditional settings for other opportunities. As companies work to find ways to cut costs and save money, athletic trainers will continue to be significant contributors to this goal.
Learn about The Center’s Industrial Medicine program here.