If you think athletic trainers are mainly the people on the sideline who tape ankles, hand out water, and run onto the field when someone gets hurt, you’re only seeing a small part of the job.
So, what does an athletic trainer actually do?
Athletic trainers are highly trained healthcare professionals who specialize in the prevention, examination, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and management of injuries and medical conditions. They also provide emergency care, wellness education, and return-to-sport guidance as part of a larger healthcare team.
In other words, athletic trainers wear a lot of hats.
They’re injury-prevention specialists. Clinicians. Rehabilitation professionals. Emergency responders. Educators. Care coordinators.
And sometimes, yes, they’re also the person making sure you have water and your ankle is taped.
But there’s much more to athletic training than what you see on the sideline.
The Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer (BOC) organizes the profession around five core practice domains: risk reduction, wellness and health literacy; assessment, evaluation and diagnosis; critical incident management; therapeutic intervention; and health care administration and professional responsibility.
Let’s take a closer look at what athletic trainers actually do.
1. Athletic Trainers Help Prevent Injuries
One of the most important things an athletic trainer does is help prevent injuries before they happen.
Athletic training isn’t just about treating an athlete after an injury. Athletic trainers take a proactive approach to athlete health by identifying potential risks, promoting healthy behaviors, educating athletes, and helping create safer training and competition environments.
This can include:
- Injury prevention programs
- Warm-up and conditioning recommendations
- Protective equipment fitting
- Hydration and general wellness education
- Identifying injury risk factors
- Education about safe participation
- Monitoring athletes for signs of illness or injury
- Developing strategies to reduce injury and illness risk
Athletic trainers are also educators. A major part of their role is helping athletes understand their own health so they can make informed decisions about training, recovery, and participation.
The BOC identifies Risk Reduction, Wellness and Health Literacy as the first domain of athletic training practice, emphasizing injury and illness prevention alongside wellness education.
2. Athletic Trainers Evaluate and Diagnose Injuries
When an athlete gets hurt, one of the first questions is:
What happened and how serious is it?
Athletic trainers are trained to conduct clinical examinations, assess injuries and illnesses, formulate diagnoses, and determine the appropriate next step in care.
That might mean beginning treatment and rehabilitation with the athletic trainer, monitoring the athlete, or determining that the athlete needs to be referred to a physician or another healthcare provider.
Athletic trainers use several pieces of information during an evaluation, including:
- How the injury happened
- The athlete’s symptoms
- Medical history
- Physical examination findings
- Functional testing
- Signs and symptoms
- The demands of the athlete’s sport or activity
Importantly, athletic trainers don’t always need an MRI or CT scan to begin making informed clinical decisions.
In one study of 286 injury incidents involving high-school athletes, athletic trainer assessments agreed with physicians’ diagnoses in 92% of cases. The researchers noted that athletic trainers are highly skilled in evaluating athletic injuries, while also identifying areas where additional training could improve assessment of certain injuries.
This is an important distinction: athletic trainers are trained healthcare professionals who can perform clinical evaluations and make informed decisions about an athlete’s care, while also recognizing when referral or additional medical evaluation is appropriate.
3. Athletic Trainers Provide Emergency and Critical Care
This is one of the most important parts of an athletic trainer’s job—and hopefully one they don’t have to use often.
Athletic trainers are trained to respond to acute and emergency medical situations and are often among the first healthcare professionals available when an athlete experiences a serious injury or medical emergency.
Depending on the situation, that can include:
- Head and neck injuries
- Suspected spinal injuries
- Heat illness
- Cardiac emergencies
- Severe bleeding
- Fractures and dislocations
- Loss of consciousness
- Other serious injuries or illnesses
When an emergency happens, the athletic trainer assesses the situation, provides immediate care, activates emergency medical services when necessary, and helps coordinate the athlete’s transition to a higher level of medical care.
Emergency preparedness is also part of the job before an emergency ever happens. Athletic trainers can be involved in developing and implementing emergency action plans that establish how catastrophic injuries and medical emergencies will be handled at sporting events and facilities.
The BOC identifies Critical Incident Management as one of the five core domains of athletic training practice.
4. Athletic Trainers Help Athletes Recover From Injuries
Getting an athlete out of pain is only one part of rehabilitation.
The bigger goal is helping that athlete safely return to the activities and demands they need to perform.
Athletic trainers develop and oversee rehabilitation and reconditioning programs designed to restore things such as:
- Strength
- Mobility
- Range of motion
- Balance
- Coordination
- Stability
- Functional movement
- Sport-specific performance
For example, an athlete recovering from an ankle sprain may need much more than a few pain-free walking sessions before they’re ready to return to competition.
They may need to rebuild strength, balance, power, confidence, and the ability to tolerate the specific movements and demands of their sport.
That’s where athletic trainers play an especially important role.
Because they understand both injury rehabilitation and the physical demands of sport, they can help bridge the gap between recovering from an injury and being ready to perform again.
Depending on the athlete and injury, rehabilitation may involve therapeutic exercise, manual techniques, therapeutic modalities, functional testing, and progressive return-to-sport activities.
The BOC identifies Therapeutic Intervention as a core domain focused on rehabilitating and reconditioning injuries, illnesses, and medical conditions with the goal of returning the individual to an optimal activity level.
5. Athletic Trainers Help Determine When an Athlete Is Ready to Return to Sport
One of the most important parts of rehabilitation is knowing when an athlete is ready to return.
Being able to walk without pain doesn’t necessarily mean an athlete is ready to sprint, cut, jump, change direction, absorb contact, or perform at full speed.
Athletic trainers can use functional assessments, strength testing, movement assessments, sport-specific activities, and other clinical information to monitor an athlete’s progress.
The goal isn’t simply:
“Does it feel better?”
The goal is:
“Is this athlete prepared to safely handle the demands of their sport?”
Return-to-sport decisions should be individualized and made within the athlete’s healthcare team, taking into account the injury, clinical findings, rehabilitation progress, sport demands, and applicable laws and medical protocols.
6. Athletic Trainers Educate Athletes About Their Health
Athletic trainers aren’t just treating injuries. They’re also teaching athletes how to take better care of themselves.
That education can include topics such as:
- Injury prevention
- Hydration
- Nutrition and wellness
- Recovery
- Safe participation
- Recognizing signs and symptoms
- Understanding an injury
- Following a rehabilitation program
- Knowing when to report symptoms
- Understanding when medical care is necessary
This educational component is one reason athletic trainers can have such a significant impact on athletes over time.
Instead of simply treating the injury in front of them, they can help athletes understand why the injury happened, how to recover from it, and how to reduce the risk of similar problems in the future.
7. Athletic Trainers Coordinate With Other Healthcare Professionals
Athletic trainers don’t work in isolation.
They are part of the broader healthcare team and may collaborate with physicians, physical therapists, strength and conditioning professionals, coaches, parents, and other healthcare providers depending on the athlete’s needs and setting.
When an injury requires additional evaluation or treatment, an athletic trainer can help determine when referral is appropriate and facilitate communication between members of the healthcare team.
NATA describes athletic trainers as multi-skilled healthcare professionals who provide services under the direction of or in collaboration with a physician, consistent with their education, training, and applicable state laws and regulations.
That last part matters.
The exact scope of practice for an athletic trainer varies by state, so specific responsibilities and permitted services depend on applicable state laws, regulations, and practice settings.
8. Athletic Trainers Handle the Behind-the-Scenes Work, Too
Not everything athletic trainers do happens on the field.
There is also a significant administrative and professional responsibility component to athletic training.
Athletic trainers may be responsible for:
- Patient documentation
- Injury records
- Treatment records
- Emergency action plans
- Policies and procedures
- Risk management
- Communication with healthcare providers
- Maintaining professional credentials
- Continuing education
- Staying current with research and clinical practices
The BOC identifies Health Care Administration and Professional Responsibility as the fifth core domain of athletic training practice.
Athletic trainers are also required to maintain their professional knowledge and skills through continuing education as part of maintaining certification.
In other words, the job doesn’t stop when the game ends.
Athletic Trainers Do Much More Than Tape Ankles
So, are athletic trainers water people, tape experts, personal trainers, first responders, rehabilitation specialists, educators, and emotional support?
Sometimes.
But none of those labels fully capture what an athletic trainer does.
Athletic trainers are healthcare professionals trained to help prevent injuries, evaluate and manage injuries and illnesses, respond to emergencies, provide rehabilitation, educate athletes, coordinate care, and help athletes safely return to activity.
They can be found in high schools, colleges, professional sports, healthcare settings, workplaces, and other environments where people are physically active.
So the next time you see an athletic trainer on the sideline, remember:
They’re not just there to hand out water and tape ankles. They’re there to help athletes stay healthy, recover from injuries, and get back to doing what they love.
Frequently Asked Questions About Athletic Trainers
What does an athletic trainer do?
Athletic trainers are healthcare professionals who specialize in preventing, evaluating, diagnosing, treating, and rehabilitating injuries and medical conditions. They also provide emergency care, wellness education, and return-to-sport support.
Are athletic trainers healthcare professionals?
Yes. Athletic trainers are recognized as allied healthcare professionals and provide services as part of a healthcare team. Their specific scope of practice is governed by their education, training, credentials, practice setting, and applicable state laws and regulations.
Can athletic trainers diagnose injuries?
Athletic trainers are trained in clinical examination, assessment, and diagnosis. They evaluate injuries and medical conditions and determine appropriate care or referral based on their findings and applicable scope-of-practice requirements.
Do athletic trainers treat injuries?
Yes. Athletic trainers provide therapeutic intervention and rehabilitation for injuries and medical conditions. Their treatment may include therapeutic exercise, modalities, manual techniques, and progressive reconditioning depending on the individual’s needs and applicable scope of practice.
Can athletic trainers provide emergency care?
Yes. Immediate and emergency care is a core component of athletic training. Athletic trainers are trained to respond to acute injuries and medical emergencies and coordinate emergency care when needed.
What is the difference between an athletic trainer and a personal trainer?
An athletic trainer is a healthcare professional whose education and training focus on injury prevention, clinical evaluation, emergency care, rehabilitation, and the management of injuries and medical conditions. A personal trainer primarily focuses on exercise, fitness, and physical conditioning. The two professions have different education, training, and scopes of practice.
Where do athletic trainers work?
Athletic trainers work in a variety of settings, including high schools, colleges and universities, professional sports, clinics, healthcare facilities, workplaces, and other environments where physical activity and injury management are important.
Do athletic trainers only work with athletes?
No. Although the profession has strong roots in sports, athletic trainers can work with physically active individuals in a variety of settings, including occupational and clinical environments.