By: Gabrielle Giersch M.S., Assistant Director of Education, Korey Stringer Institute

I am a Ph.D. student at the University of Connecticut in the field of exercise science. I received my Bachelor of Science Degree in Exercise Science from Roanoke College, a small liberal arts college in Virginia, and my Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology from James Madison University. This educational background leads me to the first edition for this educational editorial series from the Korey Stringer Institute: Why Exercise Science Matters. Exercise science is a largely growing academic subject area and department in many universities. But not many people, including students that are in this major, know what to do with an exercise science degree. For many, it’s seen as a precursor for PT or PA school, and the material isn’t always taken very seriously for it’s value. It’s often seen as the in between, something one has to do to get somewhere else, not some place where many students actually want to stay.

 

My hope is that people see that there are so many things you can do with an exercise science degree. For example, technology is evolving to be more adept at measuring physiological variables so everyday people, not just elite athletes or coaches, can monitor their wellness, fitness, stress, sleep, and many other physiological variables. Research is constantly improving to better equip individuals with technology and provide guidance in interpreting the data properly with goals to optimize athletic performance, health, and safety. To achieve that, we analyze detailed data, from the level of microscopic molecules and genetic expressions, in combination with observations from what actually happens in the field, to make informed decisions about human physiology. Exercise science provides practitioners with the ability to directly relate the research back to the human body and its movements. This makes the education of those in exercise science even more important, particularly with regard to evidence and research based education.

 

For this field to advance, it is vital for everyone who is involved in exercise science to have access to evidence and research-based practices, as well as outstanding educational resources. This applies not only to the students, athletic trainers, athletes, team coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, clinical exercise physiologists, physical therapists, professors, and researchers, but, ANYONE who is partaking in physical activity, exercise, or sports. We need to spread the word about exercise science and evidence based knowledge instead of dispelling myths from previous generations (see classical heat stroke vs. exertional heat stroke). Using evidence and research can not only improve performance of elite athletes, it can also help to save lives. The American College of Sports Medicine has a global health initiative called Exercise is Medicine (http://www.exerciseismedicine.org/) which refers to the applicability of exercise and physical activity for all people. Our goal should be to use evidence to broaden our field of expertise and make this field larger and more applicable to our society as a whole. The athletic trainers, the professors, the researchers, the physical therapists, and the exercise scientists already know that it matters. I think it’s time the rest of the world did too!

 

The views represented in this editorial are those of the author and may not reflect the views of the Korey Stringer Institute. Statements made within this editorial should not be construed as official statements from the Korey Stringer Institute.

Rachel Katch, ATC, MS

Associate Director of Military and Occupational Safety

On June 26^th – 29^th, members of both the Korey Stringer Institute’s (KSI) staff and Medical & Science Advisory Board will be traveling to Houston, Texas to present at the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) 68^th Clinical Symposia & AT Expo. Topics for dissemination range from the most up-to-date biomechanical research, to preventing sudden death in sport, all the way to new ground-breaking research regarding insurance costs for athletic trainers. No matter the topic, these presentations will provide those in attendance with evidence based research and information pertinent to enhancing the athletic training profession. Specific dates, times, and locations for each presentation being disseminated by the KSI staff and Medical & Science Advisory Board members are available below in Table 1. Hope to see you at the NATA Clinical Symposia, and always, please make sure to come and see us at our KSI booth at the AT Expo!

 

KSI Medical & Science Advisory Board Presentations

Lindsay DiStefano, PhD, ATC, from the University of Connecticut (UConn) will be disseminating multiple presentations during the course of the symposium. One presentation is titled, “Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Prevention Strategies: Translation of Research Findings into Clinical Practice,” and focuses on introducing the most current ACL injury prevention research and the evidence behind it. Additionally, Dr. DiStefano has a feature presentation during the session, “Lower Limb Preventative Training Programs Best Practice,” titled, “Effectiveness of Lower Limb Preventive Training Programs at Reducing Injuries.” This presentation will focus on educating attendees about the effectiveness, best practices, and implementation of preventative training programs.

 

Kevin Guskiewicz, PhD, ATC from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill will be presenting, “Catastrophic Traumatic Injuries in Sport,” during the session titled, “Catastrophic Sports Injury and Illnesses Among US College and High Schools.” This is a feature presentation alongside Douglas Casa, PhD, ATC, FNATA who will also be speaking during this session with a presentation titled, “Catastrophic Heat and Exertional-Related Conditions Among Athletes.” This session will focus on the incidence and characteristics of catastrophic events, and evidence-based policies and recommendations to minimize the risk of these events in the future.

 

From the University of South Florida, Rebecca Lopez, PhD, ATC will be presenting, “Exertional Heat Illness in Younger Athletes,” as well as a learning lab titled, “Recognition and Treatment of Exertional Heat Stroke.” The purpose of the first evidence-based forum is to provide clinicians with the best evidence-based clinical practice regarding the prevention, recognition, treatment, and return to play for the most common exertional heat illnesses. Second, the learning lab will focus on providing clinicians with the knowledge and opportunity to practice rectal thermometry and cold water immersion in a safe learning environment.

 

Also from the UConn, Stephanie Mazerolle, PhD, ATC, FNATA in the session, “A Multi-Level Examination of Career Intentions and Work-Life Balance,” will be presenting, “Individual Elements that Influence the Development of Career Planning and Work-Life Balance.”  This is a feature presentation that will examine and discuss research available regarding alternative therapies utilized in the clinical setting to promote work-life balance. Additionally, Brendon McDermott, PhD, ATC from the University of Arkansas will be presenting, “Exertional Heat Illness in Younger Athletes.” This committee session will focus on providing clinicians with the best evidence-based clinical practice regarding the prevention, recognition, treatment, and return to play for the most common exertional heat illnesses.

 

Lastly, Kevin Miller, PhD, AT, ATC from Central Michigan University will be presenting, “New Advances in Exertional Heatstroke Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention.” This special topic presentation will discuss recent experimental studies that address the necessity of equipment removal prior to initiating cold-water immersion; whether cooling garments can prevent the onset of hyperthermia or affect hydration status; whether temperate water can be used to effectively cool hyperthermic humans; and how far into the rectum Athletic Trainers should insert a thermometer to obtain the most valid data.

KSI Staff Presentations

Multiple KSI staff will be presenting in a session titled, “Enhancing Safety of Secondary School Athletics Through Policy Change,” including Alicia Pike, MS, ATC, Robert Huggins, PhD, ATC, and William Adams, PhD, ATC. Individually, their presentation titles are, “Examining Sport Safety Policies in Secondary Schools: An Analysis of States’ Progress Toward and Barriers to Policy Implementation,” “State High School Athletics Policy Change Successes and Barriers: Results from the Collaborative Solutions for Safety in Sport Meeting,” and, “Current Status of Evidence-Based Best Practice Recommendations in Secondary School Athletics,” respectively. This feature presentation will provide participants with evidence describing the barriers associated with implementing policy change from a state administrative level and the steps that have been made to initiate change to protect secondary school student athletes.

 

Additionally in a session titled, “The Secondary School AT Value Model, Minimizing Cost and Maximizing Safety from an Insurance Perspective,” Yuri Hosokawa, MAT, ATC, and Robert Huggins, PhD, ATC, will be disseminating their respective presentations titled, “Optimizing the Direction of Care: A Secondary Insurance Claims Analysis,” and, “We Can’t Afford to Hire an AT…You Can’t Afford Not To! Reducing Risk, Saving Money, and Saving Lives.” In this committee session presented by the NATA Initiative, the speakers will: (1) discuss ways athletic training services may directly benefit multiple entities (insurance providers, policy holders, and school districts), (2) critically assess the secondary insurance cost to identify unnecessary medical costs, and (3) minimize the financial burden of secondary schools through injury prevention and appropriate risk management.

 

Lastly, Robert Huggins, PhD, ATC will present, “An Overview of the Secondary Schools ATLAS Project: Where Are We Now?” in the session, “Out of the Fire and Into the Frying Pan.” This committee session presented by the Secondary School Athletic Trainers’ Committee will outline the use of the ATLAS project to show the concentration of secondary school athletic trainers and its value for potential networking within and between states and organizations.

 

Table 1. List of Presenters

Presenter	Presentation Title	Time / Location
	TUESDAY, JUNE 27th, 2017
Rebecca Lopez, PhD, ATC	Exertional Heat Illness in Younger Athletes	8:15 AM BCC, Room 370
Stephanie Mazerolle, PhD, ATC, FNATA	Individual Elements that Influence the Development of Career Planning and Work-Life Balance	8:15 AM BCC, General Assembly A
Brendon McDermott, PhD, ATC	Exertional Heat Illness in Younger Athletes	8:15 AM BCC, Room 370
Kevin Miller, PhD, AT, ATC	New Advances in Exertional Heatstroke Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention	10:45 AM BCC, Grand Ballroom C
Rebecca Lopez, PhD, ATC	Recognition and Treatment of Exertional Heat Stroke	1:30 PM BCC, Room 342
Robert Huggins, PhD, ATC	An Overview of the Secondary Schools ATLAS Project: Where Are We Now?	2:10 PM BCC, Grand Ballroom A
	WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28th, 2017
Kevin Guskiewicz, PhD, ATC	Catastrophic Traumatic Injuries in Sport	7:00 AM BCC, General Assembly A
Douglas Casa, PhD, ATC, FNATA	Catastrophic Heat and Exertional-Related Conditions Among Athletes	7:30 AM BCC, General Assembly A
Lindsay DiStefano, PhD, ATC	Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Prevention Strategies: Translation of Research Findings into Clinical Practice	7:30 AM BCC, Room 370
	THURSDAY, JUNE 29th, 2017
Lindsay DiStefano, PhD, ATC	Effectiveness of Lower Limb Preventive Training Programs at Reducing Injuries	10:45 AM BCC, General Assembly B
Robert Huggins, PhD, ATC	“We Can’t Afford to Hire an AT”… “You Can’t Afford Not To!” Reducing Risk, Saving Money, and Saving Lives	10:45 AM BCC, Grand Ballroom B
Yuri Hosokawa, MAT, ATC	Optimizing the Direction of Care: A Secondary Insurance Claims Analysis	11:15 AM BCC, Grand Ballroom B
William Adams, PhD, ATC	Current Status of Evidence-Based Best Practice Recommendations in Secondary School Athletics	3:30 PM BCC, General Assembly A
Robert Huggins, PhD, ATC	State High School Athletics Policy Change Successes and Barriers: Results from the Collaborative Solutions for Safety in Sport Meeting	4:00 PM BCC, General Assembly A
Alicia Pike, MS, ATC	Examining Sport Safety Policies in Secondary Schools: An Analysis of States’ Progress Toward and Barriers to Policy Implementation	4:30 PM BCC, General Assembly A