Videos

New rules in place by the Ivy League for the 2011 football season - including a reduction in the number of full-contact practices and drills - were designed to protect student-athletes from subconcussive hits considered a possible cause of long-term brain injury,

Working collaboratively, a team of physical therapists, strength and conditioning coaches, head coaches, and athletic trainers designed an ACL injury prevention program that has reduced the incidence of non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries among female athletes at the University of Pennsylvania, says the school's head athletic trainer, Eric Laudano, M.H.S., ATC.

It is up to school administrators to ensure that an athletic trainer (AT) is part of the athletic department staff at the high school level, says Eric Laudano, M.H.S., ATC, head athletic trainer at the University of Pennsylvania.

Return to sports after an injury is a stepwise process, says Eric Laudano, M.H.S., ATC, head athletic trainer at the University of Pennsylvania, designed to minimize the chances of re-injury.

In determining when an athlete is ready psychologically ready to return to play, communication between the athlete and the athletic training staff, coaches, parents is critical.

An athlete's psychological readiness is just as important for a return to sports as their physical recovery from injury, says Eric Laudano, head athletic trainer at the University of Pennsylvania, especially for long-term injuries.

Eric Laudano, head athletic trainer at the University of Pennsylvania, explains the role of an athletic trainer in preventing and treating sports injuries.

There are several different types of stretching in which an athlete can engage to warm up for sports, including dynamic, static, and ballistic stretching, but dynamic stretching is the best, says Eric Laudano, head athletic trainer at the University of Pennsylvania.