Athletic trainers serving the military

By: Carolyn Dartt, MEd, ATC*

Athletic Trainers (ATs) who work with the U.S. military are employed in many ways. Two of the most common settings for military ATs are at training sites, such as boot camp, and with special operations units. ATs are also being increasingly embedded at the unit level in the conventional forces, with many set to be hired to work in Total Force Fitness models, like the U.S. Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) program and the U.S. Air Force’s Operational Support Teams (OST). ATs use their expertise in injury prevention and wellness promotion to keep Military Service Members healthy and performing at optimal levels. In addition to injury care and rehabilitation, ATs are also trained in injury prevention and performance optimization. They work closely with other military medical providers and performance specialists such as strength and conditioning coaches to care for injured Military Service Members and help them transition back to duty and improve their physical performance. ATs are a valuable asset to the military because they can fill an expansive role and improve access to health care, while also optimizing and extending Military Service Members’ careers.

CHAMP has several ATs who apply their unique backgrounds for conducting research as well as creating educational content on exercise, injury prevention, and performance optimization for Military Service Members. As one of the ATs working at CHAMP, I get a unique perspective seeing how ATs utilize their skills in health, performance, research, and education to support the military. After completing my undergraduate and graduate degrees in Athletic Training, I worked as an AT in collegiate athletics for over 5 years providing care for athletes in a range of sports, from lacrosse and rugby to basketball and soccer to triathlon and sailing. Working with orthopedic patients, sports teams, and individual athletes gave me a wide range of experiences that I now apply to the military setting in my work with CHAMP.

I’ve been with CHAMP for 4 years now, primarily doing research on military musculoskeletal injury prevention. This research focuses on preventing injuries in groups of people, rather than individual Military Service Members—there’s no way to know exactly who will get hurt, so it’s hard to prevent a specific person from getting injured. However, I can use my clinical background and experience in providing healthcare for athletes to understand the demands placed on Military Service Members during training and operations and how this might contribute to injuries. While the physical demands of military service often differ from those of collegiate athletics, Military Service Members sustain similar injuries to athletes. For example, a basketball player might sprain their ankle by landing on another player, while a Military Service Member might sustain the same type of ankle sprain while completing a ruck march or playing pick-up basketball. (Most military injuries happen during physical training and recreational sports.) Similarly, a baseball catcher and a Military Service Member might both have low back pain. While the exact causes of the injuries might differ, the injuries and their healing process are the same. We then apply this understanding to our research projects, investigating ways to prevent those injuries and working on incorporating injury-prevention strategies into military settings. 

Being an AT allows me to have a common understanding and communicate closely with the ATs working directly with Military Service Members at our research sites too. By collaborating with the existing medical and operational personnel, their experiences and knowledge can be incorporated into our injury-prevention research, allowing CHAMP staff, Military Service Members, and military ATs to work together to produce research that’s actionable and useful for everyone involved. ATs’ roles also provide a lot of insight into the demands placed on Military Service Members and common injuries sustained in their settings; this insight is invaluable in developing our injury-prevention research. For example, I’ve been fortunate to work closely with ATs at several of our military research sites. They’ve been able to show me what a “day in the life” looks like for them, which can include spending time in the field with their units, preparing to care for any injuries that are sustained during training exercises, and helping Military Service Members prevent injuries. These same ATs also work in on-base healthcare clinics, evaluating and rehabilitating injuries sustained by Military Service Members in their units. Having ATs both in the field and in the clinic ensures that they’re able to bridge the gap from rehab to return to duty, and successfully transition Military Service Members back to their units.

Many people watching college or professional sports no doubt have seen Certified Athletic Trainers (ATs) working on the sidelines or rushing out to attend to an injured player. However, ATs also work in a variety of other settings, including performing arts, secondary schools, and physician practices, as well as public safety settings such as police and fire departments, and the U.S. military. ATs have been working in military settings for decades. In the late 1990s, the U.S. Navy began investigating the use of ATs to provide medical care in a model inspired by the collegiate athletics setting. Now, more than 20 years later, ATs work in every branch of the U.S. military. ATs are allied healthcare professionals whose expertise includes prevention, examination, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions. While this might seem like a broad definition, ATs use their skills and education to provide health care and wellness services to a wide variety of athletes, patients, industrial employees, and Military Service Members. As March is National Athletic Training Month, let’s discuss the ATs who work with our U.S. military and with the Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP).

Athletic trainers bring a variety of experiences and education to many practice settings, including the military. ATs are also a valuable resource for Military Service Members for injury diagnosis and treatment, injury prevention, and performance optimization.

For more information about athletic training, visit the National Athletic Trainers’ Association page.

About the Author
Carolyn Dartt, of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, is a Research Coordinator for the Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

* The opinions and assertions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of USU or DoD. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. Mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. The author has no financial interests or relationships to disclose.