U.Va. Sports Medicine Staff Keeps Athletes Healthy and Ready to Play
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With 25 varsity sports and 700 student athletes, the University of Virginia has pulled out all the stops to ensure varsity athletes have access to top-notch health care.
“We try to provide as much care as possible,” says Ethan Saliba, the university’s associate athletics director for sports medicine.
Varsity athletes receive annual, comprehensive, pre-season physical exams. It is comforting, Saliba says, to know the University of Virginia Health System is a mere mile away if a referral or consultation is needed.
In addition to primary and orthopedic medical care, the department of sports medicine has a staff of trainers and physical therapists. In addition to 11 full-time trainers, Saliba employs nine graduate assistants. These assistants are certified athletic trainers who are pursuing advanced degrees.
“We’re there to prepare athletes for practice, to cover them during practice and to help them recover and rehabilitate afterward,” Saliba says.
The department recently hired a full-time nutritionist. Athletes also have access to psychological and pharmaceutical services on site.
“Our aspiration is always to try to evolve to the gold standard,” Saliba says. “We try to anticipate what they need and continue to expand our physical coverage.”
While the department’s focus is keeping student athletes healthy during their collegiate athletic careers, their long-term health is always kept in mind.
“You try to instill (lifetime fitness habits) in them,” Saliba says. “They are very astute about their own physiology.”
When time permits, department representatives are in the community, speaking at career days or holding in-service courses for high school and other community athletic trainers. During youth summer camps at the university, the athletic department provides coverage for thousands of campers.
Saliba said having students on staff is particularly gratifying.
“You try to nurture young professionals, and be available to them as mentors,” Saliba says. “They may be pre-med or pre-nursing but they get great experience here they can take with them.”
Happily, all this nurturing takes place in a setting that invites lifetime health and wellness.
“This seems to be a very health-conscious, physically active community,” Saliba says. “There are a lot of excellent resources here, from state-of-the-art fitness facilities to excellent health care providers here at the university and in the community.”
And for those who are weary after pursuing their fitness hobbies, watching U.Va. sports is just the ticket.
“It’s an exciting opportunity to appreciate high-caliber athletics in your own community,” Saliba says. “Our teams are extremely competitive and successful and their competition is, as well. It’s nice to have this in our own backyard. We try to make it a good experience for our student athletes, take good care of our student athletes and help them be a good source of entertainment in the community.”
Story by Leanne Libby
Photo by Staff
