Gabby Cinnamon (Host): Welcome back to the Well Within Reach podcast. I'm your host, Gabby Cinnamon, and today I'm very excited to be joined by Sara Barr, Riverside's Head Athletic Trainer and Outreach Coordinator, to talk about helping your student athlete ease back into sports to prevent injuries.

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Host: Thank you so much for coming on the podcast today, Sara.

Sara Barr, MS, AT: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.

Host: So you've done a couple podcasts with us, but I think it's been a little bit. Can you kind of remind everyone who you are and introduce yourself?

Sara Barr, MS, AT: Absolutely. So again, like you said, my name is Sara Barr. I'm the Head Athletic Trainer with Riverside. I work closely with our orthopedic providers, work over at the Orthopedic and Spine Center. And what I do is I help provide outreach coverage in the athletic training capacity for our area schools. So we work with a couple of the area high schools, some club teams, some travel teams, as well as youth sports and such to provide athletic training coverage, which is on site medical coverage for the student athletes.

Host: Awesome. Before we get into the topic, can you kind of talk about what an athletic trainer is and talk a little bit about Riverside's partnership with local schools to provide these on site athletic trainers?

Sara Barr, MS, AT: Absolutely. So, an athletic trainer is an allied medical health professional. We have education and training in, more often than not, emergency medicine. So again, if you watch sports, someone gets hurt on the field, the person that runs out to them, that's an athletic trainer. So they provide that onsite medical coverage, evaluation, making sure that the athlete is safe, whether they're coming off the field or returning to play.

And then in the athletic training room, they follow up with that. So they also provide prevention, rehabilitation, return to play, everything from concussion to diabetic issues to orthopedic problems. They pretty much run the gamut on the education that they receive to provide that evaluation and those things for the athletes to be able to return to play safely.

Host: What are some common injuries you and the other athletic trainers see in high school athletes? I'm sure, you know, it varies. If it's a contact, non contact sport, the injuries you see at a cross country match I'm sure are going to be different than at a football game. Yes. Can you kind of talk about what the things are that you guys see out there?

Sara Barr, MS, AT: Yeah. Though well, we are just getting back into high school sports. I know the summer went super fast, as it usually does. We don't slow down. We definitely take care of athletes throughout the summer at the high schools, in their camps. But what we typically see when student athletes get back into it is those acute injuries, such as sprains and strains. Typically people aren't doing the things that they should, you know, we're all bad at taking care of ourselves when, things are hurting.

So the athletes that don't necessarily do athletics throughout the summer, those are the ones that have the sprains and strains, just things that your body's not used to, things that your muscles are trying to get your body to do. However, there are overuse injuries. So maybe if you're doing something, you're not doing it the right way; the wrong muscles are being hurt. The wrong tendons are being injured. So we do see those things as well. But yes, like you said, we get the traumatic stuff as well. You know, getting back into the contact sports, soccer, football. In the winter, we get to wrestling and basketball and that. So you get those contacts.

So we, work with concussions and making sure that everybody's safe and getting back to play after you see any of those types of injuries.

Host: Right. And kind of too, so this is just evergreen for anyone listening, no matter what time of year, the same things apply if you have a student who's a winter athlete, a spring athlete only, then it's just everything's just delayed a little bit as far as when they might be picking up that sport again.

Sara Barr, MS, AT: Very true. Yeah. We like to say, relative rest. So athletes don't typically just sit around and do nothing. But again, now there's e sport athletes. So we do a lot of the overuse because everything's in front. So you get neck problems or you get shoulder problems or carpal tunnels. So, there's athletes that do just about everything.

So we do take care of all of that, but yes, throughout the year, we're dealing with all sorts of injuries, all sorts of maladies, all sorts of illnesses, and make sure that we get that athlete and get them back to doing what they want to do.

Host: For sure. Are there any sports that are more, quote unquote dangerous than others, where injuries are more likely to occur?

Sara Barr, MS, AT: It's relative. So when you look at football, you look at some of these schools, especially the ones that we take care of, there's 40, 50 kids on a team. So obviously percentages, you're going to have many, many more injuries just because of the number of athletes, as well as the severity and the intensity of the sport.

So football, you have athletes that they're supposed to run into each other. That's the name of the game. So you definitely get those injuries, when you have the contact sports. So as I said, soccer, basketball, football, wrestling, those are the sports where you're going to get maybe more of the dramatic, the more, traumatic injuries because of the contact.

However, volleyball, you get the quick movements, so then you get the knee problems or ankle problems, ACL tears, ankle sprains, so the severity of the injuries isn't necessarily correlate with the actual sport, but it's a different kind of injury, and again, the prevalence because of the number of athletes participating at one time.

Host: For sure, I know, I went to kind of a smaller high school and the football team was a little bit smaller too, so there were a lot of guys who were playing both sides of the ball, so you know, you're out there more.

Sara Barr, MS, AT: You get the fatigue and you're not necessarily doing what you're supposed to at the time because you're so tired. Yeah, for sure.

Host: Definitely something to keep in mind. Can you talk about when an athlete should get an injury checked out by an athletic trainer? Sometimes something has maybe been bothering you for a little bit, even as adults, you know, we're like, Oh, it'll just go away. Can you kind of talk about the difference between that and when it's like, okay, you know, maybe you really should get this looked at if it's not some traumatic thing, like you talk about, you know, like a blow to the head, a concussion, that kind of thing.

Sara Barr, MS, AT: Absolutely. Rule of thumb is if it's keeping you from doing what you want, you probably should have somebody take a look at it. The athletic trainer on the sideline, it's nice to have one because they can take a look at it from the point of injury, so to let you know what the severity is. But if you don't have an athletic trainer, it's something that doesn't happen during athletics; if it's keeping you from doing something that you want to do, if the pain is too much that you cannot tolerate it. We usually rate pain on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being you have to go to the emergency room. If you're above an 8 for any period of time, that's probably something you should get looked at.

Or again, if you just have a question, sometimes your primary care can take care of it because it's something simple and it's something that they can't take care of or they're not comfortable with, they'll give you a referral to somebody that is educated in that specific injury.

Host: Yeah, and unfortunately too, sometimes if something has been bothering you, it can get worse because maybe you start doing a movement a different way than you were before.

Sara Barr, MS, AT: You're compensating. You're absolutely right. Yes. Very true.

Host: So that, that can happen too. Before we get into the next question, we're going to take a quick break to talk about Riverside's orthopedic specialist team.

If an injury has you sidelined or away from the activities you love, the sports medicine team at Riverside Orthopedic Specialists is ready to help. Treatments can range from physical therapy and other non surgical options to the latest minimally invasive arthroscopic and reconstructive procedures, all to get you back into the game faster. Schedule an appointment today in the MyRiverside app or by calling 815-802-7090.

Now back to our episode with Sarah. So what are some ways to avoid the common injuries you mentioned, of course, unfortunately, you usually cannot prevent a concussion or those kinds of things because it is, you know, a traumatic thing, but some of these overuse injuries or strains and sprains. Are the things that parents can help their kids do to prevent these from happening?

Sara Barr, MS, AT: Yeah, I say get their butts outside. I'm old school, so it's definitely, we went outside in the morning. We didn't come back till the streetlights came on. But overall activity, just maintaining a very active and healthy lifestyle. So diet goes into that. Making sure that the calories that they're consuming are good calories, making sure they're staying hydrated.

It doesn't sound like that would be something that would keep you from getting injured, but it definitely is because your body is 80% water. So if you don't have the fluid that you need, not only to make your body move and the calories to make it go, you're not gonna be doing things the right way. As you said before, compensating, something's gonna compensate.

So whether it's something you can see like a knee or an ankle or something inside, like your heart or lungs, something's going to compensate if you have not trained well enough for it. So maintaining an activity level that is appropriate for the activities that you're doing, obviously we would never recommend doing more than something that's safe for you. But as a parent myself, I have two active girls and making them get off the couch sometimes just to, maybe take a lap around the block or, maybe do some chores around the house. It is all activity. And again, it's all relative. You do want to have rest.

I mean, there is relative rest, but as an athlete, you don't want to just sit. You don't want to just not do anything because then that just gives you that instance where an injury may occur because you haven't done anything. So then you're trying to get your body doing what you want it to and it is just not ready for it.

Host: For sure. And I think too, it helps, when sports have camps throughout the summer and at least, that's a little bit of something or, you know, I remember when I was in high school, we'd like help out with like kids camps and so that even just keeps you active too. Yeah. When you have friends who also are in that mindset of, hey, let's go out and do stuff. It helps. So if, kind of talking with other parents and be like, hey, you know, let's encourage our kids to get out.

Sara Barr, MS, AT: So and doing things that you wouldn't typically do. So again, if you're a basketball player and you want to go swimming, swimming's fantastic. I don't think it would be anything I would dissuade you from specializing for your enjoyment. You don't want to just do one thing either. You want to do a lot of different things to keep everything in your body active and ready to go.

Host: Yeah, for sure. Can you talk a little bit more about overuse injuries? Is there anything that student athletes can do before their season start, to prevent these injuries? You talked about hydration. It is kind of hard too, because you might go from maybe even just a little bit of training throughout the summer then to really, hitting it hard right away, two a day, all of these things. So it's, unfortunately, it's inevitable sometimes, but what can people do to kind of try and prevent that from happening?

Sara Barr, MS, AT: So the overuse injuries are typically things that happen when you are either not doing something right, you're compensating for it, or you're not taking care of it afterwards. So lots of stretching. I know that's another thing that student athletes don't do well enough or just enough. Staying hydrated and making sure you're paying attention. So if something is hurting, as you said before, get it looked at, make sure it's not something more severe. Overuse injuries can be something that actually can sideline you for a very long time because it takes twice as long to get back what you lost.

So if you are getting an injury or you feel an injury coming on and you let that go for six weeks; after that's healed, it's going to take another 12 weeks to get back what you lost. So it just gets to be a huge process if you don't stay on top of it. So the activity level, making sure that you maintain that, making sure you get it looked at if it's something where you feel it's a real, real issue or it's keeping you from doing something you want to do.

But also as a parent, just, you know, your kids better than anybody else. Listen to them, take a look at it, make sure that you know that they're doing the right things. Again, stretching, hydration, activity, those are all things that keep your body healthy and keep your body active and, make sure that you can do the things you want.

Host: Yeah. Sometimes it's hard to even just thinking back, like, friends would be like, Oh, it's hurting, but I don't want to be out for this game, or, this long, it's like, whatever, but it's, it's like, okay, if you get this looked at now, you could save time in the future maybe it's a brace for a month now or however long it is rather than, surgery, all of these other things.

Sara Barr, MS, AT: I tell people it's a blip on a radar, you know, it does. And especially when you're a young athlete and you're growing and your friends are doing all the things and you've got an opportunity, maybe play a higher level or, a different team or something. And you look at that and how devastating it may be right now, but in the long run, you want to have a healthy body when you're older. You want to make sure you can pick up your kids. You want to make sure you can do the things well into your life, so you should take care of it as soon as possible, for sure.

Host: For kids, everything seems so dramatic. It's very dramatic. Everything's dramatic. Yes. Which is good. It means they care, but at the same time, it's balancing that for sure. Yes. So for parents listening, what are some things that they can do, or what advice can they give their student athletes to help them exceed in their sports, say this fall, for example, coming up here soon, and avoid injuries. How can they assist them in that process?

Sara Barr, MS, AT: Yeah. And as I said before, I think what I would definitely recommend is we call it cross training. You do something that isn't necessarily your sport so that you can use all the muscles that you need for what you want to excel in. So getting into a strength and conditioning program, or doing something on your own, or speed and agility, depending on what sport you're actually doing.

If you do a cross training, so it's something where you are actually just lifting whole body, or you're doing whole body exercises, or you're doing an activity that isn't correlated with what you want to excel at, that gives you all of that background and all of that muscle memory so that you can excel in the sport that you want to do.

And it does help out with overuse injuries, too, because you're not using the same muscles all the time. Again, it's cross training. You're doing something that's not necessarily what you're accelerating or you want to excel at, but it's something that's going to help you in the long run because it's going to give you that overall activity level, a higher activity level.

Host: Yeah. I know that definitely makes sense. So let's say, unfortunately a student athlete does get an injury that will sideline them from their season for a bit, maybe a few weeks, maybe the rest of the season, unfortunately, can you kind of talk about the full continuum of care that Riverside provides? You guys do a lot and I don't think sometimes people realize all that you guys have to offer. Sure. Can you talk about that?

Sara Barr, MS, AT: So again, And as an Athletic Trainer and what we provide on the sidelines, we are that first line of care. So we are there to take a look at it right away, evaluate and see whether or not it's something that needs to be removed from activity or get a further evaluation.

Once we deem that it does need further evaluation, we are able to get it to the right specialist and working with Riverside, we obviously have a ton of that, everything from pediatric to cardiology to endocrinology to orthopedics. So depending on whatever the injury is, we have that direct line of contact with a provider that's able to provide that next level of evaluation.

Typically it's as simple as a phone call. I know even if an athletic trainer hasn't looked at it, a phone call to our office, if it's something that we don't take care of in the orthopedic clinic, we can definitely get you pointed in the right direction within the Riverside system. We have a lot of different locations, a lot of different specialties.

And once they are through the evaluation and the healing process, we also have therapy to return them to play. We have physical therapy, we have occupational therapy, aquatics, there's a whole bunch of things. And again, at different locations to be able to satisfy what that athlete needs and what the parents want for them to return to activity. And then after that, we do have the fitness center that also provides the strength and conditioning afterwards, which is something that you want to return to play so that you're getting back at your highest level. You don't necessarily have to ease into it.

You can get back to doing what you want as quickly and safely as possible.

Host: Yeah, it's good to know that we have all this here because, everyone's lives are busy especially student athletes, parents. We all have a million things going, so it's nice that you guys have appointments, any time of day, really, after school. All of that. So that's great that we have all of this here.

Sara Barr, MS, AT: And again, typically it's just a phone call. If it's something where you have a question, you can typically get a hold of somebody that's able to answer that question. And if they can't answer it, find the right answer or get you to the right person that's able to give you the information you need.

Host: For sure. Is there anything else you would like to add before we go?

Sara Barr, MS, AT: I just want to say thank you for having me. Of course. This is always wonderful. It's always great to get information out there. Always ask questions. I do always let parents know, ask the questions. Make sure that you are doing right by your kids.

Make sure you're doing right by your student athletes. We want to keep them safe and healthy. We don't want to hold them out of sports. Sometimes you look at coaches or old ways of thinking or, athletic trainers or athletes that just think we're out there to hold them out. We're not. We want them safe.

We want them happy. We want them healthy. We want to make sure that it's doing right by everybody. So ask the questions. Make sure you're taking a look, making sure you're listening to your student athletes, and if it is something where you don't have that answer, call Riverside. We're more than happy to help and point you in the right direction.

Host: Awesome. That is a great place to end off on. Thank you so much, Sara, for joining us on this episode.

Sara Barr, MS, AT: Thanks Gabby.

Host: And thank you listeners, for tuning in to Well Within Reach, brought to you by Riverside Healthcare. For more information or to schedule an appointment with a Riverside orthopedic specialist, call 815-802-7090 or use the MyRiverside app.

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