Treatment Policy

The athletic training department is available for the evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of Horace Mann athletes. Priority will be given to in-season athletes, especially when athletes are traveling with their team off campus and time is a priority to get the student-athlete to the bus. The athletic training staff is available throughout the day for rehabilitation and evaluation of injuries during free periods.

Modalities

The athletic training room is fully equipped with many modalities to assist an athlete in injury recovery. A modality is a method, device, or machine that can assist with injury recovery.

Heat Therapy

The athletic training room has a hot whirlpool, and a hydrocollator (heat pack machines) to enable student-athletes to have heat therapy.

Heat therapy will:

• Decrease muscle spasms
• Reduce pain
• Increase blood flow to the treated area

Cryotherapy

The athletic training room has a cold whirlpool and an ice machine, as well as a Game Ready Machine.

Cold Therapy can:

• Decrease inflammation
• Decrease pain
• Decrease muscle spasm

The Game Ready machine provides cryotherapy as well as compression to further assist in reducing swelling.

Electric Stimulation

The electric stimulation machine in the athletic training room typically is used in combination with heat or ice packs.

Electric Stimulation can:

• Decrease pain
• Stimulate the healing process
• Decrease muscle spasm
• Reeducate muscles after surgery or injury

UltraSound

The ultra sound machine is used to assist in injury recovery.

Ultrasound can:

• Produce deep tissue heating (1-2 inches in depth)
• Stimulate the healing process
• Improve elasticity and flexibility of muscles and tendons
• Increase macrophage activity, macrophages are the cells that clean up injured areas
• Reduce scar tissue
• Increase healing cell activity

There are some contraindications for the use of the ultrasound. The athletic training staff will not use the ultrasound modality over student-athletes growth plates, areas of reduced sensation or circulation, and for heating in the acute and post acute phases.