Trainer helps keep high school student athletes healthy
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Julia Voyles is not a classroom teacher, but when the bell rings at 2:50 p.m., students rush into her room at Andrean High School in Merrillville.
On any day of the week, you will find students crowding the room, sitting on benches, working out or consulting Voyles. She is the athletic trainer assigned to the school by Franciscan St. Anthony Health Sports Medicine Institute. The institute also provides athletic trainers to Lowell and Crown Point high schools.
Voyles, who has been at Andrean seven years, has become part of the Catholic high school's family.
"She goes above and beyond. She is very good at what she does, and she works with all of the sports teams we have," Athletic Director Bill Mueller told The Times (http://bit.ly/1B6fXIM ).
Andrean head football coach Phil Mason said Voyles has done a great job building rapport with students, teachers and parents. "She does an initial diagnosis and provides first aid. She will make a recommendation to our team doctor, Ryan Plank at Lake Shore Bone and Joint, if necessary. I have a lot of trust in her. She does a fabulous job," he said.
Voyles, who has a master's degree in athletic training, said her role is to prevent injuries, and she spends hours working on individualized programs for each student athlete in case of an injury.
"I can diagnose an injury. I can evaluate an athlete and figure out what's wrong with them and send them for referral if necessary," she said. "I don't have the capabilities to X-ray or do an MRI here, but there are special tests that I can do figure out what's wrong," Voyles said.
"If there's a bone injury, skeletal injury, ligament or tendon injury, I can treat it. If a student has a concussion or fracture or they break a bone or tear a ligament, they need to see a doctor because it could require surgery. My job is to prevent injuries, and I do a lot of taping and rehab to get these kids back to their sports."
Voyles also does some therapy with students using different modalities such as electric stimulation to speed up healing. Electric muscle stimulation has received a lot of attention in recent years because it can be used as: a strength training tool for healthy people and athletes, a rehabilitation and preventive tool for partially or totally immobilized patients, a testing tool for evaluating neural and/or muscular function and a post-exercise recovery tool for athletes.
By Indiana law, a student athlete must see a doctor if he or she has a concussion. Voyles, like other athletic trainers at local high schools, works hard to keep students healthy.
"I have exercise protocols as far as stretching to make sure students are using the correct form," she said. "I do warm-ups, stretching and taping as part of the prevention process. If I do a good job on the preventive side, there will be less injuries."
Andrean soccer coach Anthony Pagorek said there are fewer injuries among athletes because Voyles focuses on prevention.
Senior Alexis Jimenez is one of three students who works with Voyles as an assistant. Jimenez has been working in that office since her freshman year, and said she is interested in sports medicine. "I wasn't until I saw her working with students at a basketball game. I thought it was awesome, really cool what she was doing," the teen said.
For Voyles, that means it's come full circle. A native of Michigan, Voyles was inspired by her school's athletic trainer. She and her husband moved to Northwest Indiana about eight years ago, and she was the athletic trainer for the Gary Southshore Railcats.
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Information from: The Times, http://www.thetimesonline.com