Exploring the Athletic Trainer's Role in Assisting Student-Athletes Presenting With Alcohol-Related Unintentional Injuries

Abstract

Compared with their nonathlete peers, collegiate athletes consume higher quantities of alcohol, drink with greater frequency, and exhibit an increased propensity to engage in heavy episodic drinking (ie, binge drinking), which often may result in alcohol-related consequences. Moreover, collegiate athletes are also more likely to engage in other maladaptive lifestyle behaviors, such as participating in physical fights and riding with an intoxicated driver, and less likely to engage in protective behaviors, such as wearing a helmet while operating a motorcycle, moped, or bicycle. Taken together, these behaviors clearly pose a health risk for student-athletes and increase the likelihood that they will experience an alcoholrelated unintentional injury (ARUI). An ARUI represents a risk not only to the health and well-being of collegiate athletes but also to their athletic performances, collegiate careers, and potential professional opportunities. Therefore, athletic trainers need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to provide face-to-face brief interventions to student-athletes presenting with ARUIs and to evaluate the effect of their involvement. We address potential action items for implementation by athletic trainers.

Athletic Trainer Services in the Secondary School Setting: The Athletic Training Locations and Services Project

“…2 As such, ATs play a critical role in the promotion of safe physical activity and return to participation after injury. Furthermore, the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) position statements and bestpractice documents require ATs to be educated on, and assist in, preventing or otherwise managing orthopaedic injuries, [3][4][5] concussions, 6 eating disorders, 7 heat illnesses, 8 lightning injuries, 9 cardiac-related deaths, 10 diabetic episodes, 11 exertional sickling episodes, 12 early-onset osteoarthritis, 13 substance abuse, 14 disease transmission, 15 weight management, 16 and dental and oral injuries 17 in their scope of practice using evidence-based techniques. These prevention mechanisms are common practice for ATs and well within their scope of practice; however, many secondary schools that do not provide on-site AT services are left to implement these measures through other means.…”

Alcoholic beverage preferences and consumption among Polish professional athletes

“…An analogous inclination was noted in American studies. the consumption of alcoholic beverages was higher in students of athletic fields than in their colleagues studying other subjects [19,20]. A great popularity of drinking was additionally documented in the case of French students of sports-related majors [5].…”

Injury Occurrence and Return to Dance in Professional Ballet: Prospective Analysis of Specific Correlates

“…To the best of our knowledge, no study to date reported associations between alcohol consumption and injury, which is surprising mostly due to two reasons. First, previous reports evidenced disturbing prevalence of alcohol consumption in ballet; and second, drinking is related to injury status in physically demanding professions, such as sports and the army [ 20 , 38 ]. Therefore, our results of the negative influence of alcohol consumption on recovery from injury in ballet are pioneering to some extent, and a brief overview of the physiological mechanisms that generate such associations is provided.…”