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COLLABORATION: Athletic Trainers and Registered Dietitians Joining Together in Athlete Care

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Posted April 15, 2016

Kurt Andrews, MS, ATC, PES, CES
kandrews@lagalaxy.com

By Kurt Andrews MS, ATC, PES, CES

As Athletic Trainers (ATs), we are constantly looking for ways to improve the health and performance of our athletes. One of biggest developing areas of athlete care is sports nutrition. Following changes in 2014 to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) bylaws governing the provision of meals and snacks to student athletes, there is a race to fuel student-athletes across the country like never before. The professionals behind well fueled student-athletes are registered dietitians, and they work in collaboration with ATs to maximize health, training, performance and recovery.

Providing nutritional guidance is not only a job important for NCAA student-athletes, professional athletes across the spectrum of sport are in need of assistance too. At the LA Galaxy, we work with a registered dietitian to oversee sports nutrition for our first team, United Soccer Leagues (USL) team, and youth academy teams. This includes providing healthy breakfast options; designing daily lunch menus; planning meals for the team while on the road; providing individualized recovery protein shakes after training sessions and games; one-on-one nutrition consultations; providing individualized supplement recommendations; regular body fat testing; blood testing and analysis; and hydration testing.

While there are still few registered dietitians working in collegiate and professional sports, it is important that ATs understand the importance of incorporating nutrition professionals into the care of our athletes. Is it efficient for us to spend time using manual therapy to help players recover after practice if they don’t consume the appropriate post training fuel to repair and replenish their muscles? Could we ameliorate an athlete’s constant struggle with colds after team travel with maximized nutrition to strengthen their immune system rather than scramble to make them feel better with medicine after the fact?

The future of sports medicine is one in which registered dietitians are present in larger and larger numbers in both university athletic departments and professional sports teams’ athletic training facilities. This makes it vital that ATs be ready to take full advantage of the skill-set they offer to further advance the health of the athletes. As of 2016, only 58 Division I universities employ full-time registered dietitians, which means the vast majority of student-athletes continue to go without access to nutrition professionals. As the practitioners with the highest level of contact with the athletes, it is our responsibility as ATs to advocate for the use of local sports dietitians. To find qualified sports dietitians in your area capable of having a positive impact on the health and performance of your athletes, visit the Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition practice group website at www.scanpg.org.

About the Author

Kurt Andrews, originally from the metro Detroit area, graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science in 2008 from Oakland University. He has been a BOC Certified Athletic Trainer since 2011 where he earned his master’s in Athletic Training from the entry level master’s program at the University of Arkansas. He currently is in his fifth year as an assistant Athletic Trainer for the Major League Soccer (MLS) club LA Galaxy. He currently holds memberships with NATA, CATA and PSATS where he serves on the sponsorship, continuing education and research committees and was presently serving as the Western Conference senator.

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