Athletic Trainers (ATs) are health care professionals who collaborate with physicians. Athletic Trainers are licensed in their respective state and nationally board certified. The services provided by ATs comprise prevention, emergency care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions.
Licensed Athletic Trainers will be at every home event for Seminole High School student competitions.
We also have an on-campus clinic available to all IN season athletes free of charge. Injuries that occur out of an athlete’s season or on weekends will be referred to their primary care physician. No exceptions.
Location: Dr. Bill Vogel Gymnasium (Competition Gym)
Immediately after school, athletes may come into the athletic training room for pre-practice taping, treatment, rehabilitation, and evaluations (acute or chronic injuries). Taping is reserved for injured athletes who are consistently performing rehabilitation to strengthen the injured area. If your child would like to be taped all the time or only for competition with no current injury they can bring their own tape or purchase our tape for $2 a roll.
NEW CONCUSSION LAWS
Florida legislators have passed two laws that address the issue of concussions and playing time for high school athletes. The bills require that coaches and/or athletic trainers immediately remove students from competition or practice if they may have sustained a head injury. The student must obtain a physician’s clearance before returning to practice or play. The Brain Association of Florida estimates that more than 40 percent of its athletes with serious head injuries are permitted to return to competition or practice before their symptoms have fully dissipated. A person’s brain does not fully develop until he or she reaches the late 20s, so young people are especially at risk for brain injuries from concussions. All concussions are serious injuries that can alter the way the brain functions. Most do not involve a loss of consciousness but can cause short-term neurological changes. The effects of concussions vary greatly between individuals, and many mild concussions are undiagnosed and unreported. If an athlete is removed from his or her respected sport for a concussion, paperwork with symptoms to be aware of and concussion information, will be handed off to the athlete to go over with a parent or guardian.
We work diligently with the Advent Health Concussion Clinic and advise parents/student to obtain clearance through them if a concussion is sustained.
Before an athlete’s season begins they are ImPACT (Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) tested on campus. This test is a baseline that is incorporated into our program to ensure the best care for all athletes should they sustain a concussion.
The process to return to play after a concussion is lengthy and requires time, patience, and your full cooperation. An athlete who sustains a concussion will need to see a physician and receive an AT18 form filled out and signed by the treating physician. This form needs to be handed over to our athletic training staff who will begin the exertion phases to return to play. There are 6 steps in total. Step 1 is recovery, 2 is light aerobic exercise, step 3 requires sport-specific exercise, 4 is non-contact training, 5 is a full contact practice, and step 6 is to return to competition. Each step, beginning with step 2, requires 24 hours to complete. Should an athlete have any symptoms occur during any of the exertion phases, they will immediately stop, rest for 24 hours, and return back symptom free to begin the last completed phase of exertion. After step 5, our athletic training staff will fill out the bottom of the form along with the athlete and fax over the form to the physician for clearance. If the physician does NOT fax the Return to Competition Affidavit form then the athlete is NOT cleared to play until the Affidavit is signed by the physician and turned in.
Please keep in mind that any athlete who has sustained a concussion will not be allowed to participate in ANY physical activity (including P.E. or running around outside for example) until full clearance has been given. Our staff works well with one another to ensure athletes, parents, coaches, teachers, and physicians have all the available information needed to provide the best care for all athletes.
DOCTORS NOTES
Any athlete that has either been given an evaluation by our athletic training staff or referred to a doctor or takes it upon themselves to visit the doctor MUST bring in a doctor’s note. This note MUST be given to our athletic training staff and not given to attendance, guidance, or any coaches. If an athlete has missed school because of a doctor’s visit, a second copy will be needed: one for attendance and one for the athletic trainers. Please understand that athletic trainers work under the supervision of physicians. An athletic trainer cannot clear an athlete to return to play if a physician has not given the proper notification.
If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our athletic trainers via e-mail.
Dr. Jeannine Difranco: [email protected]
NEWSLETTERS
