Scott Webb (Host): Welcome to UK HealthCast, the podcast from UK HealthCare. I'm Scott Webb. Athletic trainers are essential for athletes in high school, college, and the pros. They help athletes to prevent and treat injuries. They diagnose and triage athletes during practices and games, and so much more. And joining me today to discuss the role of athletic trainers in sports is Logan Mattingly. He's a certified athletic trainer with UK HealthCare.

So Logan, thanks so much for joining me today. I have two kids, both played sports. Daughter's still in high school, so she sees the trainer often for various ailments and injuries and things. But just broadly speaking, what is an athletic trainer? What does that mean? What do you do?

Logan Mattingly: I like to think of us as like the first responders of the athletic field, you know, when it kind of comes to practices, games, anything like that. We're the ones who are out there on the sidelines on the court when there's an on-field injury, doing the assessment, the initial diagnosis, things like that. We cover everything from prevention of injuries, examinations, diagnosis of injuries, treatments, rehabilitation as well. You know, it's not just for the acute injuries, but also for chronic injuries as well, and just try to get those athletes back to game shape as quickly as possible.

Host: Yeah. As you say, it's not always the acute injuries, the sort of emergencies, if you will. But sometimes it's just, you know, the daily grind, getting out there for practice and games and so on. And I know you got a bunch of letters after your name, which means you went to school and some advanced schooling. So, let's talk about that kind of education that's required to become an athletic trainer.

Logan Mattingly: it actually changed over the year. What you need now is a two years master degree after your bachelor degree in a related field, whether it be sports medicine, kinesiology, something like that. It used to be a five-year program. You would do your four-year undergrad. Your fifth year would be pretty much all athletic training-based. Even before that, it was only internships and fellowships with teams, and that kind of solidified you as an athletic trainer. So, it has come a long way, you know, in recent years to a more research-based and clinical-based profession.

Host: Yeah, it definitely has. And I want to have you talk about just why it's so important for sports teams, especially secondary school teams, to have a dedicated athletic trainer.

Logan Mattingly: Sure. Like I mentioned earlier, I kind of see us as the first responders of athletics. So, you know, we're with these teams every day. We know them in and out. We kind of build those relationships and build that trust. So, we really know what's going on in a given situation. Now, obviously with an acute injury, we don't know what's going on, but we are a trustworthy person for that athlete to kind of get the information, get the first assessment done, and then get them the treatment that they need.

Host: Yeah. And I know I always feel relieved when I watch my daughter's games when I see that the trainer is there, you know, watching the games. And we're talking about the types of acute injuries that might happen during practice or games, but also the chronic injuries. Talk a little bit about why it's so important, why you know it's so important for trainers to be on site during competitions.

Logan Mattingly: Right. I mean, for example, if it's a practice, there's no athletic trainer there. You have a kid that goes down, the coaches, most of the time, aren't going to be equipped to deal with a lot of the injuries that they sustain in practicing games. And the initial treatment can be very important in those, you know, first couple of hours of the treatment as far as, do they need ice for this? Do they need to be referred straight away to urgent care or the ER just to go ahead and get it checked out? So, it's important to have that knowledgeable person there that can say, "Hey, X, Y, and Z needs to be done for this specific injury so we can make sure that the healing process and the rehab process are optimized."

Scott Webb: Yeah. And it's no disrespect to coaches. But when you think about the, you know, the nature of diagnosing or, at least, initially diagnosing or triaging and determining, "Okay, what do we do here? Do we go home and sleep on this with some ice or should we go right to the ED?" That's why trainers are important, right?

Logan Mattingly: Correct. Yeah, it's all about kind of knowing how to process each injury.

Scott Webb: Yeah, definitely. Let's talk about concussions. We can't really talk about sports without talking about concussions. How has the recent focus on that and our better understanding of concussions and the long-term effects of repeated concussions and so on, how has that really changed your approach as an athletic trainer?

Logan Mattingly: I would say throughout the whole profession, it's changed even from just '80s, '90s, early 2000s to now it's kind of done a complete 180. You have a lot more information on the subject now, so we can better treat it. The most recent change is we went from a SCAT5 to a SCAT6 form, which is just the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool. It's a little more immersive in depth, made it a little bit harder not to fail those athletes that we're testing, but to make them think more, work the brain a little bit more, make sure nothing actually is going on.

And then, there's more, you know, research and development coming out every day. You're starting to see really at every level the prevalence of what's called Q collars. I don't know if you've watched NFL games recently. You might see those guys with these little bands around their neck.

Host: Yeah.

Logan Mattingly: So yeah, it's to restrict blood flow to the brain. It does improve the rate of concussions. It is FDA cleared, not FDA approved. So, there's still research to be done, but you're starting to see a lot more tools like that.

Host: Yeah. I know back in my day when I played, you know, a hundred years ago, the advice was often to rub some dirt on it. You got an injury, you rub some dirt on it. "Oh, you know, you just got your bell rung" or "You just have to get the cobwebs out." You know, it's like, "No, actually I had a bruise on my brain probably." Just maybe you can talk about that, address that a little bit. Just the sort of educating folks, both the players, the coaches, fans, everybody about the importance of trying to avoid concussions and treating them and diagnosing them properly.

Logan Mattingly: Right. So, you know, when you see the event happen, you're looking for a multitude of signs and symptoms. I won't go through all of those now.

Host: Sure. Yeah.

Logan Mattingly: But it isn't just, "Oh, you got your bell rung. You'll, you know, get back out there on the next play." It's a thorough assessment. Your brain, when you take the hit, it's moving inside of your skull. So, it's the impact of the brain on the skull is what's causing those injuries. And that can come from the initial hit, the whiplash, you know, there's a couple things that can cause it. But that's why we have to be so thorough now going through a coherency evaluation, balance evaluation, making sure pupils are dilating correctly, all the things that we have to cover to make sure that they can return to play safely. Because a lot of the times when they are rushed back too soon, that's when they get secondary concussion syndrome. And that is when you're really in some trouble.

Host: Yeah. Just give you a chance here at the end just to tell folks what do you love about your job. What gets you excited about going to work every day and that kind of thing?

Logan Mattingly: Yeah. So, I always wanted to find a job that can kind of combine my love for sports and being able to help other people. And this was just the perfect avenue for that. I hang out with these kids every day. I mean, it's something new every day with them for sure. You know, I've worked in the professional setting with the legends in the past as well. So, that was really a cool experience. Just kind of being in a job where I don't show up and do the same thing every day was really important for me. And like I said, it's something new every day. I have a lot of fun with the athletes and I really enjoy what I do.

Host: Yeah, that's awesome. I'm sure just combining the love of sports and medicine and helping people and just being there. I mean, sort of a dream for many of us to be paid to watch sports, right?

Logan Mattingly: Right.

Host: I mean, sure you're on the clock and you're working. But in those times when you're not, you know, helping players with their injuries and things, and you're just watching sports, like that's awesome, right?

Logan Mattingly: Yeah, it's part of that. Sometimes I feel myself I'm getting into the game and I have to take a step back and make sure I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be doing.

Host: Yeah, it's like, "Oh, wait, that's right. I am still working." It is as exciting as it sounds, right?

Logan Mattingly: Exactly.

Host: That's so cool. Well, I really appreciate your time today. It's always great to learn more about what folks do, especially trainers. You know, it's kind of unsung heroes of sports, both for like from my daughter in high school and college and pro. It's just so important to have highly trained folks there who know what they're doing, to diagnose things, sure, as quickly as possible so we can get them back out there, but, safely, right? Both for the athletes, their families, the coaches, the teams, everybody. So glad we have you and glad to have your time today. So, thanks so much. You stay well.

Logan Mattingly: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Host: And for more information, visit our website at ukhealthcare.com. And that wraps up another episode of UK HealthCast from UK HealthCare. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast and all the other UK HealthCare podcasts. I'm Scott Webb. Stay well.