Athletic Training Program

 

Fequently Asked Questions

 

 

• What is a certified athletic trainer (ATC)?
• How do I become an athletic trainer?
• When do you heat an injury? When do you ice an injury?

 

New Virginia High School League Athletic Participation Physicals:

• Where can I get a copy of the current VHSL physical form?
• Why do we also need an Emergency Care Card?
• Information for athletes insured by Kaiser Permenante
• Common mistakes made on physical/parental consent forms

 

 

What is a certified athletic trainer (ATC)?

• Certified athletic trainers (ATCs) are unique allied health care providers, recognized by the American Medical Association, who specialize in the prevention, assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and illnesses that occur to athletes and the physically active. Their official title is “certified athletic trainer” or “athletic trainer.”
• Certified athletic trainers hold a bachelor’s or master’s degree with a major in athletic training and are focused on injury prevention, assessment, treatment and rehabilitation. ATCs are required to pursue continuing education to retain their certification, which is awarded by the Board of Certification, Inc., an organization independent of the National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA).
• ATCs should not be confused with personal trainers, who are focused primarily on physical conditioning and fitness. There are no standardized educational requirements for personal trainers.
• For more information: http://www.nata.org/publicinformation/

 

How do I become an athletic trainer? In order to become an athletic trainer, you must attend a school that has an approved athletic training program. The courses you will take and on-the-job-training you receive in your undergraduate studies will allow you to meet the requirements to take a national exam at the end of your senior year in college. Once you pass the national exam, you are able to work as an athletic trainer and use the credential "ATC." Follow this link for more information:

 

Return to top

 

When do you heat an injury? When do you ice an injury?

When an injury occurs, blood vessels in the area break and bleed, and surrounding muscles may spasm to “naturally splint” the injured area. In addition, the body’s natural response sends cells and releases chemicals through blood and lymph fluid to begin clotting and removing damaged tissue. This causes the swelling and pain. The initial injury response time period (the acute phase) typically lasts up to 48 hours. A more significant injury may require a longer time period of icing only.

If an injury occurs during practice or a game, please see the school's athletic trainers - they are there to evaluate your injury and determine the proper treatment for your injury.

• Ice a new/recent injury for 20 minutes at a time, DO NOT HEAT!
  • During the acute phase of injury, ice helps to reduce the blood flow to the area which helps reduce swelling. It also calms down the pain response from surrounding nerves and reduces pain. The recent or acute injury should be iced for 20 minutes (10-15 minutes for fingers and toes) and repeated about 1-3 times the day the injury occurs. Only ice should be administered during the first 2 days (48 hrs). Heat will increase the swelling and cause a delay in the healing process. Although it also relieves pain, the increase in blood flow to the area requires the body to spend more time removing additional swelling in the area before it can efficiently begin the healing process.
  • Please see the school's athletic trainers when you are injured - they are there to evaluate your injury and properly treat and rehabilitate it back to full health.
• Heat a healing injury before activity, ICE it after activity
  • After the acute phase, when healing starts to take place, heating the area for 10-15 minutes helps to reduce muscle spasm, and increases blood flow to the area (the blood vessel are now healed so they do not cause significant swelling) and allows more cells to the area that repair and remove damaged tissues. Once rehabilitation or physcial activity (such as a practice or game) is completed, the injured area should be iced to ensure swelling does not increase and to reduce pain and spasm.
  • In some cases, an injury become chronic, or reoccuring, such as a pulled hamstring or torn cartiledge (meniscus) in the knee. Heat is recommended prior to activity for these types of injuries to reduce the stiffness and aching.
• If you have any questions or are injured during practice or a game, see the school's athletic trainers!

 

Where can I get a copy of the current VHSL physical form? A copy of the 2007 VHSL physical form can be obtained in the Activities Office or found on the following web sites: http://www.annandaleatoms.com/ click on "files / forms" tab; or the VHSL web site: http://www.vhsl.org/forms.htm

Please remember that only the 2007 VHSL physical form will be accepted this year. Some physician offices may have copies of older versions of the form which cannot be accepted. Make sure you have the right form; look for the VHSL logo on each page, and look in the upper left hand corner for this mark:

 

Why do we also need an Emergency Care Card? Each student-athlete’s physical is kept on file in the Activities Office. The emergency contact and insurance information on the physical is not available to the ATCs or coaches on the field. Copies of the completed Emergency Care Card are kept by the ATCs and/or coaches and are available in the event of an emergency at practices or competitions. Copies of the Emergency Care Card can be obtained in the Activities Office or online at

http://www.fcps.edu/DIT/forms/se3.pdf

 

Return to top

---

KAISER PERMANENTE INSURED - PLEASE READ Individuals having their pre-season physical completed by Kaiser physicians: Kaiser policy requires that the completed physical form be processed by their record keeping department BEFORE being returned to the patient. This process could cause a delay of 5 days before the completed VHSL form is returned. To address this delay, Kaiser has developed a form that indicates the athlete has completed a physical and is cleared to play competitive sports. However, according to FCPS Division Council and the Risk Manager, a copy (or original) of the COMPLETE VHSL physical form MUST be provided to the school to be eligible to practice. Therefore, the Kaiser form is NOT acceptable in lieu of the VHSL document.

 

Common mistakes made on physical / parental consent forms

• Missing signatures: PARENTS MUST SIGN THE FORM IN THREE (3) PLACES: (At the bottom of page in Part II, and bottom of page TWICE (2) in Part V)
• Student signatures: Students must sign the form in two (2) places: bottom of Part I and II.
• No Medical History Information (Part II) Check YES or NO, and explain as necessary.
• Missing physical exam date AND physician's office address: (Part III - next to physician signature) The physical is NOT VALID without the date the physical exam was performed - this date must be after May of the previous school year (example: all physicals for the 08/09 school year must be dated on or after May 1, 2008). ALSO, an office stamp or printed address and name of the physician’s office is required.
• No Insurance Information: (Part IV) athletes may not participate without medical insurance. There are school insurance forms available in the activities office. Students must purchase school insurance if they do not have health insurance. (Price available in activities office - check or money order - NO CASH). This insurance can also be used as supplemental insurance.
• Information must be completely filled out: (Part IV) Name of health insurance company, policy holder's name (usually a parent), and the person's insurance identification number (located on the insurance card)
• Wrong Physical Form – only VHSL physical forms dated “Revised April 2007” will be accepted for 08/09 school year. No earlier forms can be accepted.

 

Return to top

 

This web site contains links to one or more web pages that are outside the FCPS network.
FCPS does not control the content or relevancy of these pages.

Curator: Rebecca.Bartelt@fcps.edu | Site Map