Sports Physical Therapist and Other Professional Opportunities

Sports physical therapists work with athletes who have been disabled through accident, birth defect, or illness. Some therapists work with athletes sent to them by a physician to aid in the rehabilitation of an injury. Treatments include:

1. Exercises for increasing strength, endurance, coordination, and range of motion
   
2. Activities to facilitate motor capacity or learning
   
3. Instruction in activities of daily living and use of assistance devices
   
   
   
4. Application of physical agents such as heat and cold, sound, water, and acupuncture to relieve pain and/or alter physiological status

Physical therapists attend college to receive certification in their profession; some attend graduate programs and enter leadership positions in the field. Certification requires pursuing certain course work and, in 49 of 50 states, passing an examination to receive a license to treat patients.

A typical college program includes courses in the basics of physical therapy, physical agents, patient evaluation and treatment, therapeutic exercise and medical areas such as pharmacology and pathology.

Students also would pursue a regular complement of courses required by the college. In addition to their professional area courses and electives, they may wish to take work in sports studies and sciences, such as athletic training.

Many physical therapists who work with athletes do so at sports medicine clinics where they assist other professionals in rehabilitating athletes. This team approach undoubtedly will continue to characterize the profession for the future.

Salaries, typically in the $50,000 to $70,000 range, will continue to increase as the sports profession and the public come to realize the value of physical therapy.

Other Sports Medicine Professional Opportunities

The fabulous growth of sports medicine has touched every area of the medical and allied medical professions. Specialists applying their unique skills and knowledge to improve athletic performance include dentists; vision specialists such as optometrists and ophthalmologists; exercise physiologists; psychologists; massage therapists; nutritionists; podiatrists; orthotists and prosthetics; and others.

Sports Dentists

One of the areas of sports medicine that has created excitement in recent decades has been the use of special mouth pieces. Interest in these devices skyrocketed following a 1980s Sports Illustrated report. Technically called a mandibular orthopedic repositioning application (MORA), this dental apparatus fits over the lower teeth and readjusts the misalignment from which some athletes suffer. The players reported increased overall performance and particularly improved strength. Dr. Richard Kaufman, a Long Island, New York, orthodontist and a pioneer in this field, noted, "It is essential to place the jaw in a proper position to enable the athlete to function at his maximum potential capacity. I have been conducting tests to show that injuries can be reduced and overall physical functioning can be increased by using a custom fitted mouthpiece which places the jaw in optimum position."

While not all research agrees with Kaufman, there is general agreement that the position of the jaw has much to do with total body energy and muscle strength. Additional research is presently being conducted to validate the effectiveness of the MORA. Undoubtedly, for some individuals, this device will have a beneficial effect. For a dentist with an interest in sports, the ongoing development of special mouth devices makes this a very exciting career.

Most sports dentists serve athletes in many traditional ways. They work with players to help them avoid injury to the mouth area through the use of dental devices, if necessary, and other protection such as face guards in football and mouth guards in field hockey. The utilization of the mouthpiece and face guard has cut injuries by 60 percent. In addition, the dentists provide regular oral examinations; nothing will "bench" an athlete faster than an abscessed tooth. In the case of injury to the mouth, the dentist provides appropriate treatment.

Few, if any, dentists involve themselves with sports on a full time basis. In addition to their regular practice, some dentists serve athletic teams as consultants. They are paid a yearly fee for their duties relating to the team. Others volunteer their services to school and community teams.

The American Dental Association (ADA) has outlined the general primary functions of the team dentist:

1. The dentist is responsible for making sure that players have good oral health at the start of the season.
   
2. The team dentist helps set up and implement the school mouth protector program. Each year, the dentist and school officials should discuss when the program should take place, how and by whom it will he run, what kind of protectors should be used, and what the cost will be.
   
3. The team dentist can treat emergency dental problems if the player's own dentist is not available, or can administer first aid if the team physician is not present.

The ADA provides additional suggestions, guidelines, and information to dentists to assist them in this highly specialized area.

The Committee on Dental Health in the United States Olympic Committees Sports Medicine Council serves athletes and athletics in four ways. First, they serve in an educational fashion by helping athletes realize that total health includes "dental fitness." For example, a requirement was implemented that women participating in field hockey must wear a mouthpiece when playing under the auspices of the U.S. Olympic Committee. Committee members hope that this requirement will have an educational effect by trickling down to the college and high school level.

Second, the Committee on Dental Health screens athletes prior to international competition. In some cases, the treatment of an infected tooth has resulted in dramatic improvement in the athlete's performance. The committee not only works with athletes, but has also serviced fans at the Olympic Games.

Third, the committee provides remedial care and aids the athlete in securing dental care in or near the athlete s hometown. Consequently, the committee prepared a national list of dentists with an interest in and appropriate skills for working with athletes.

Fourth, the dental health committee fosters research, such as the experiments conducted on the value of the MORA.

Dental care should be part of the total training program of every athlete and every athletic team. Fortunately, coaches and players have realized this; in the future, many opportunities will exist for the dentist interested in sports medicine.

The education of a dentist is a long, arduous process. It requires excellent academic performance in high school, college, and professional dental school. However, the rewards are great. Sports dentistry can provide the opportunity to work with athletes on an ongoing basis and, for those interested, the chance to invent and develop dental devices contributing to increased athletic performance.