Program Director and Sports Medicine Athletic Training (SMAT) Department Head, Dr. Tona Hetzler along with Graduate Student, Amy Smith were published in the March 2014 edition of the International Journal of Athletic Therapy and Training (IJATT), Volume 19, Issue 2. The publication includes a two-part article on amputee athletes.
Part 1, entitled ‘Foundational Knowledge’, presents an introduction to the amputee athlete including terminology, classification, and a look a the similarities and differences when working with able-bodied athletes and amputee athletes. The full text of this article may be found at http://journals.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/Documents/DocumentItem/08Hetzler.pdf
Part 2: ‘Biomechanics and Common Running Injuries’ provides information on the biomechanics of the amputee runner and relates those mechanics to prevention techniques and common injuries suffered by amputee runners. Part 2 in it entirety may be found at http://journals.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/Documents/DocumentItem/09Hetzler,%20part%202.pdf
Tona Hetzler has extensive experience working with amputee athletes through her years of service with the United States Paralympic Teams. She feels strongly that it is important for Athletic Trainers (ATs) to become more comfortable and involved working with this population and it is this that partially prompted her recent publications.
SMAT Graduate Student, Amy Smith has a passion for this athletic population and in her desire to become more involved, she assisted Tona in these publications.
These publications are coming out at time that Worldwide attention focuses on athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities. The 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia begins March 7, 2014. The games will feature a wide range of sports such as alpine skiing, ice sledge hockey, wheelchair curling, and the biathlon. The 2014 Paralympic Winter Games will run from March 7-16. More information including a schedule of events may be found at http://www.sochi2014.com/en/paralympic