Orthopaedic Associates And Duluth Harbor Monsters Partner To Create The Strongest Team
June 25, 2024
Our team is passionate about working with the athletes in our community to ensure healthy movement, reduce risk of injury, and promote top performance. We are so proud and excited to have the opportunity to be the official health partner of the Duluth Harbor Monsters!
For those who have not heard yet, the Harbor Monsters are Duluth’s premier arena football team. These athletes bring unmatched athleticism to the Northland through fast-paced, high-scoring football at the highest level possible. Our team is looking forward to supporting them on and off the field.
A member of our Sports Medicine team, Betty Pollock, is acting as the Harbor Monster’s Certified Athletic Trainer. She will be taking care of the athletes when it comes to injury prevention, assessment, and rehabilitation. She will be on site during practices and games to tape and wrap injuries, respond to any acute injuries that happen on the field, provide hydration, help stretch, answer questions, and provide any additional support the team may need.
She will also be in constant communication with the coaches, other staff at Orthopaedic Associates, and management when it comes to new injuries, status of an injury and how recovery is progressing, and any other updates or concerns that need to be addressed.
Being the inaugural year, our athletic trainer helped cover the tryouts last April and was able to begin introducing herself to the team to get to know them and gain trust for the upcoming season. After tryouts, athletes were able to reach out to her with any questions they had pre-season about injuries and how they could make sure they were at peak performance once games started. The team at Orthopaedic Associates also conducted physicals for all athletes to ensure everyone was healthy and there were no minor issues to kick off the season.
Want a look behind the scenes of game day? We got the inside scoop.
“Game day prep for me involves arriving before the team(s), getting water and Gatorade ready and set out by each bench, making sure my med kit is stocked, setting up an area for taping, and doing any pregame taping/wrapping,” described Pollock. “Once the team takes the field, I’m right by the door watching the game with our team doctor. If an injury occurs on the field, I go out and assess the situation, determine if it’s safe to move them back to the bench, and then continue further evaluation. I also might be doing a quick tape or bandaging between when a player goes back out on the field. After the game, I may re-assess any injury if needed, provide ice, and once everyone is gone, I can get all of my stuff put away. One of the best parts about game day is not only being there as a healthcare provider, but also as a supporter. I very much look forward to cheering them on.”
“On game days, it’s not only me, we have the Orthopaedic Associates team available. The team doctor and event staff have to be ready for emergency situations where an ambulance may need to be called or perform immediate lifesaving measures. For away games, I typically reach out to the athletic trainer of the opposing team and let them know what I’m sending down in terms of supplies, how many athletes typically are taped, and if there’s any tapes/wraps out of the ordinary they should be aware of.”
Orthopedic Associates’ goal throughout the entire season is to keep the athletes as healthy as possible! We look forward to offering the Harbor Monsters a high level of healthcare, limiting the amount of injuries and keeping all players on the field and in the game.
You can check out the Harbor Monsters and support them at an upcoming game by visiting www.duluthmonsters.com/.