Canadian Athletic Therapists Association
Encyclopedia
History
The Canadian Athletic Therapists Association (CATA) is a professional bodyProfessional body
A professional association is usually a nonprofit organization seeking to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession, and the public interest.The roles of these professional associations have been variously defined: "A group of people in a...
based in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
which was established on April 24 1965 at a meeting at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
June 1965 in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
at the site of the National Athletic Trainers' Association
National Athletic Trainers' Association
The National Athletic Trainers' Association is a professional membership association serving certified athletic trainers and others who support the athletic training profession in the United States...
(NATA) meeting, the first meeting of the CATA was held.
In 1966 the CATA held it first annual meeting in Toronto. The CATA has continued to hold annual meetings at their National Conference. CATA originally stood for Canadian Athletic Trainers' Association, and the word Trainers' was dropped in favor of Therapists to represent the changing landscape of Sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was at this meeting that the first executive was selected. The first President of the CATA was Mert Propeht. The current (2009/2010) president of the CATA is Ms. Kerri Downer. A new President-Elect is chosen annually; at the CATA Annual General Meeting at the yearly Conference; along with other executives in the Association.
There are currently 7 CATA Accredited Athletic Therapy programs in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The Athletic Therapy program at Sheridan College
Sheridan College
Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a diploma and degree granting Canadian polytechnic institute with approximately 15,000 full time students and 35,000 continuing education students...
was the first program of its kind in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and was founded in 1973. Camosun Collage was the most recently added program, receiving full accreditation in 2009.
Canadian Athletic Therapy Association
Certified Athletic Therapist
A Certified Athletic Therapist or CAT(C) is a health care professional that provides care to the active individual through assessment, prevention, emergency care, and rehabilitation of sports related injuries. Along with other members of the health care system the Athletic Therapist can help provide an optimal environment for healing to occur and return an individual to an active and healthy lifestyle. The Certified Athletic Therapist uses a variety of rehabilitative techniques, supportive taping and bracing, Therapeutic modalities and rehabilitative and strengthening programs to ensure their athletes and clients have a safe return to sport participation.Certified Athletic Therapists have an extensive educational background in the following areas:
Human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
Anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
and Physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
,
Injury
Injury
-By cause:*Traumatic injury, a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident*Other injuries from external physical causes, such as radiation injury, burn injury or frostbite*Injury from infection...
Prevention, Care, Assessment/Evaluation,
Pre-hospital Emergency assessment and management,
Risk Management
Risk management
Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities...
/Health Care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
Administration,
General Medical Conditions,
Pharmacology
Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
,
Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
,
Therapeutic modalities,
Nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
,
Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
,
Kinesiology
Kinesiology
Kinesiology, also known as human kinetics is the scientific study of human movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, mechanical, and psychological mechanisms. Applications of kinesiology to human health include: biomechanics and orthopedics, rehabilitation, such as physical and occupational...
,
and Biomechanics
Biomechanics
Biomechanics is the application of mechanical principles to biological systems, such as humans, animals, plants, organs, and cells. Perhaps one of the best definitions was provided by Herbert Hatze in 1974: "Biomechanics is the study of the structure and function of biological systems by means of...
.
Certified Athletic Therapists also have extensive education and training in:
- The thorough assessment and appropriate management of concussions, heat-related emergencies, MRSA, and sudden cardiac death
- Equipment fitting, maintenance, and emergency removal
- Supportive taping and bracing application
- Making appropriate and unbiased sideline return to play decisions
- Comprehensive injury management from onset of injury, through injury rehabilitation, to appropriate return to play
Certified Athletic Therapists should not be confused with Certified Athletic Trainer
Athletic trainer
An athletic trainer is a certified, health care professional who practices in the field of sports medicine. Athletic training has been recognized by the American Medical Association as an allied health care profession since 1990....
, "Trainer", Personal Trainer
Personal trainer
A personal trainer is a fitness professional involved in exercise prescription and instruction. They motivate clients by setting goals and providing feedback and accountability to clients. Trainers also measure their client's strengths and weaknesses with fitness assessments...
, or Physiotherapists
Physical therapy
Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
.
Certification Candidates
A Certification Candidate is a member of the CATA. They are non-voting members and are usually students. These members are working towards their certification. CertificationCertification
Certification refers to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review, education, assessment, or audit...
Candidates need to collect 1200 field and clinical hours before they can attempt the certification exams. A Certification Candidate may already have collect their internship hours and are in the process of completing their certification exams.
Certification
In order to become a Certified Athletic Therapist, an individual must complete an academic program at one of the accredited post secondary institutes. These schools include: Mount Royal University (Calgary), Concordia University (Montreal), Camosun CollegeCamosun College
Camosun College is located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. As of 2009 it had over 12,500 full-time and part-time students between its Lansdowne and Interurban campuses. The Lansdowne campus provides university transfer and access programs, as well as career, technical and vocational...
, York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
, Sheridan College
Sheridan College
Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a diploma and degree granting Canadian polytechnic institute with approximately 15,000 full time students and 35,000 continuing education students...
, University of Winnipeg
University of Winnipeg
The University of Winnipeg is a public university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and theology as well as graduate programs. The U of W's founding colleges were Manitoba College and Wesley College, which merged...
and the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
. They must then pass a certification exam the has both comprehensive written and practical components. The minimum grade required to pass the written portion of the exam is 70%. The practical exam tests the Certification Candidate in all aspects of the field of Athletic Therapy including; on field
emergency care, supportive taping/bracing, the use of modalities, injury assessment and rehabilitation. All Certification Candidates must have a valid First Responder Certificate at the time they apply for their written and practical exams.
Athletic Therapists are required to maintain their certification every three years. They must get 21 continuing education units over the three year period in order to maintain certification. This can be done in a variety of manners like taking courses, working full time in a clinical or field setting, sitting on committees and attending conferences. As part of their certification maintenance, Ceritified Athletic Therapists are required to have current CPR certification at the level of Health Care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
Practitioner.
Provincial chapters
The CATA has several provincial chapters: Athletic Therapists' Association of British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
Athletic Therapists Association, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
Athletic Therapists Association, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
Athletic Therapists Association, Atlantic Provinces Athletic Therapists Association, Corporation des Thérapeutes du Sport du Québec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
/Quebec Corporation of Athletic Therapists, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
Athletic Therapists Association
Athletic Therapy Association of BC
Employment opportunities
Private ClinicsAthletic Therapists work on a fee for service basis in private Athletic Therapy Clinics, Sports Medicine Clinics and Multi-disciplinary Clinics across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
University/Colleges
Athletic Therapists work as part of the medical staff providing their services to varsity athletes in Universities and Colleges across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Professional Sports Teams
Athletic Therapists can be found as members of the medical team for a variety of different sporting organizations in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
, National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, and Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...
.
National Athletes and Teams
Athletic Therapists work as members of the medical team for National teams in sports like hockey, basketball, softball and others; and at events like Canada Games
Canada Games
The Canada Games is a high-level multi-sport event with a National Artists Program held every two years in Canada, alternating between the Canada Winter Games and the Canada Summer Games. Athletes are strictly amateur only, and represent their province or territory.The Games were first held in 1967...
, or Provincial Games. They can be found working on the medical staff for International events like the Olympics, Pan Am Games, and Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
Mutual recognition agreement
In 2005, the National Athletic Trainers' AssociationNational Athletic Trainers' Association
The National Athletic Trainers' Association is a professional membership association serving certified athletic trainers and others who support the athletic training profession in the United States...
Board of Certification and the CATA signed a mutual recognition agreement. This allows certified members of both associations to take each others exams, and creates opportunities for those who pass the certification exams to work in both countries.
See also
- Athletic training
- Sports medicineSports medicineSports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness, treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise...
- Exercise physiologyExercise physiologyExercise physiology is the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to a wide-range of physical exercise conditions. In addition, many exercise physiologists study the effect of exercise on pathology, and the mechanisms by which exercise can reduce or reverse disease progression...
- KinesiologyKinesiologyKinesiology, also known as human kinetics is the scientific study of human movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, mechanical, and psychological mechanisms. Applications of kinesiology to human health include: biomechanics and orthopedics, rehabilitation, such as physical and occupational...
- Sport psychologySport psychologySport psychology is an interdisciplinary science that draws on knowledge from the fields of kinesiology and psychology. It involves the study of how psychological factors affect performance and how participation in sport and exercise affect psychological and physical factors...
- OrthopedicsOrthopedicsOrthopedics is the study of the musculoskeletal system. The Greek word 'ortho' means straight or correct and 'pedics' comes from the Greek 'pais' meaning children. For many centuries, orthopedists have been involved in the treatment of crippled children...
- Sports injuriesSports injuriesSports injuries are injuries that occur in athletic activities. In many cases, these types of injuries are often due to overuse or acute trauma of a part of the body when participating in a certain activity. For example, runner's knee is a painful condition generally associated with running, while...
- MassageMassageMassage is the manipulation of superficial and deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue to enhance function, aid in the healing process, and promote relaxation and well-being. The word comes from the French massage "friction of kneading", or from Arabic massa meaning "to touch, feel or handle"...
- OsteopathyOsteopathyOsteopathy and osteopathic medicine are often used interchangeably for the philosophy and system of alternative medical practice first proposed by A. T. Still MD, DO in 1874....
- Physical therapyPhysical therapyPhysical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
- Motor learningMotor learningMotor learning is a “relatively permanent” change, resulting from practice or a novel experience, in the capability for responding...
- PathologyPathologyPathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
- HealthHealthHealth is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
- Exercise equipmentExercise equipmentAn apparatus or device used in any given physical activity for shaping and forming muscle groups for specific areas of the body. A mechanism or machine that is intended to promote health and fitness by using motion with varying degrees of resistance either fixed or adjustable.-Exercise...
- Board of Certification, Inc.Board of Certification, Inc.The Board of Certification Inc. was originally established in 1970 to set up a program for certifying Athletic Training Students and created qualifications for recertifying current Certified Athletic Trainers...