When you hear “Athletic Training” what comes to mind? Most envision a coach working with Lebron James or a trainer motivating an athlete to push through a grueling workout. Although athletic trainers are often found working for sports teams, they usually are not performing the duties you envision. Those duties are more in line with a strength and conditioning coach or a personal trainer.
what is athletic training
Athletic Trainers are medically trained and board-certified clinicians. They specialize in treating and managing injuries usually related to (but not limited to) athletics (orthopedics). This profession requires at least a bachelor’s degree, but is slowly moving to a master’s degree for licensure. During school, they learn how to handle a wide variety of conditions and are trained to respond to a range of situations, including medical emergencies. For instance, a football player gets hurt during a game, the person who rushes over to them are usually athletic trainers. They perform an examination and then treat the issue accordingly. Basically an athletic trainer is an intermediary between an EMT and a physical therapist.
what is personal training
Personal trainers on the other hand vary in education level and certifications. The personal training profession is not a board licensed profession. However, there are several national and international institutions that provide certifications for personal trainers. Therefore, there is some level of required education for personal trainers to have. But, it is not required to for personal trainers to have higher education in order to practice, unlike the strict requirements required by athletic trainers.
Nonetheless, there are many personal trainers who hold high-level education credentials like bachelor’s degrees in exercise physiology. Some even hold masters’ degrees specializing in a particular area of the profession. And lastly, some even hold PhDs! The main duty of a personal trainer is to help rather healthy and/or medically cleared individuals to safely and effectively undertake exercise. The goal is to not treat the illnesses/injury with exercise, but rather to help people exercise to achieve health related goals.
Although personal trainers can work with basically anyone, they are limited. Sessions are paid out of pocket since most insurances do not cover personal training. Nor do many trainers accept insurance. On the other hand, athletic trainers are compensated in a variety of ways. For instance, some athletic trainers are paid hourly for their services during football games. While others are paid for by insurance when in the rehab clinic.
An athletic trainer is a valuable team member in the collective care team that takes care of patients and athletes alike through the therapeutic use of exercise and modalities. Here at Hohman Rehab we employ an athletic trainer on our staff which brings a different approach to get patients better faster!
