An on-site athletic trainer brings unique expertise into the workplace to play a valuable role: injury prevention specialist.
Many of the common injuries in sports are also common in the workplace setting. An athletic trainer specializes in the treatment and prevention of those injuries, and that is why an athletic trainer is so valuable in the workplace.
In last week’s post, we talked about what an athletic trainer is and what their domain expertise is. This week, we’ll explain exactly what the roles and responsibilities of workplace athletic trainers are so you can see how an athletic trainer could fit into your organization.
Workplace Athletic Trainer Responsibilities
Establishment:
- Work with management to determine goals, objectives, and structure of the MSD prevention process.
- Assist with review and identification of priority departments and jobs.
- Review MSD prevention process with safety and/or ergonomics teams.
- Work with management to develop and implement a best practice pre-shift warm-up and stretching program.
- Work with management to develop and implement a best practice RTW program including work conditioning and alternate duty assignments if possible.
Education:
- Conduct training programs as needed for supervisors & team leads.
- Conduct training programs as needed for safety/ergonomics team & engineers.
- Conduct general MSD prevention & wellness training for employees by area on priority basis.
- Conduct work methods and body mechanics training with employees.
Early Intervention:
- Address team member early reports of fatigue/discomfort as they appear.
- Provide self-care counseling for team members regarding any fatigue/discomfort.
- Provide at least weekly follow-up with team members reporting fatigue and document compliance with self-care program elements.
Ergonomics:
- Perform job demands and ergonomic analysis by area on a priority basis.
- Document ergonomic improvement opportunities and work with management and safety/ergonomics team to cost justify and implement solutions.
- When engineering controls are not practical, work with management to determine whether administrative controls such as job rotation would be effective in reducing MSD risk while maintaining quality and productivity objectives.
- Measure and document effectiveness of implemented controls.
Evaluation:
- Evaluate MSD process components to ensure they are effective.
- Identify improvement opportunities and update goals accordingly.
Do you have an injury prevention specialist on your team?
The perfect delivery mechanism to bring sports medicine into your workplace is an on-site athletic trainer. Adding an athletic trainer, an injury prevention specialist, to your health and safety team brings you one step closer to a best-in-class MSD prevention program.
Do you have one on your team?
