NATA Now

Although shin splints and stress fractures both affect the lower legs, the two overuse injuries are different. To help you educate members of your community, the NATA has created a shin splint and stress fracture infographic handout featured in the November NATA News. The infographic handout can be downloaded and distributed to coaches, parents and students to help educate them on these two injuries and how they can minimize risk.

The November NATA News features a profile on Elizabeth Wolfe, CAGS, ATC, which examines her role as an injury prevention coordinator at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. The medical center had never considered an athletic trainer for the position, so Wolfe had to advocate for herself and prove that her knowledge and skillset could be applied to those outside of the athletic sector.

After more than 7 trillion gallons of rainwater covered Louisiana and Mississippi Aug. 8-15, the Baton Rouge-Lafayette area experienced historic flooding resulting in extensive damage to homes, schools and entire communities. In the November NATA News, “ATs Taking Care of ATs” (p. 25) details the work conducted by members of the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association and others in the AT community to support those affected by the flood.

We are excited to announce the official launch of the AT Grant Program, the latest collaboration between NATA and the NFL Foundation! This new pilot program was created to provide funding to public high schools with football programs that have limited or no access to an athletic trainer. Gatorade, the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society and the Korey String Institute have also partnered with the NFL Foundation on this important initiative.

Conducted every 2 years, the NATA Salary Survey is a nation wide effort to equip members with the data they need to negotiate their pay with a current or prospective employer. Upon survey publication in the spring, NATA members will be able to manipulate salary data through various categories including level of education obtained and years of working experience in order to best fit their needs.

Last year we conducted a contest to promote #BetterTogether, which was the theme of the 67th Clinical Symposia & AT Expo. The winner of the contest ending up being Brock Wright (@brockwright14), a student at Truman State University, with his friend Aaron Patterson. Below he explains the process of creating the tape outfits they wore for the photos they submitted, so if you’re looking for a unique costume for Halloween this year, this is your guide. Here’s Brock: 

Our thoughts are with the NATA members and their families who have been affected by Hurricane Matthew.

The NATA International Committee is proud to announce two important initiatives focused on furthering the recognition of athletic training and athletic trainers on a global scale.

By Kara Gainer

Did you know HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) recently celebrated its 20th anniversary? As you may recall, President Bill Clinton signed HIPAA into law on Aug. 21, 1996. After having noticed various media outlets reporting on HIPAA’s 20th anniversary, I was prompted to look more closely at the law whose acronym we all are at least somewhat familiar with.