Athletic activities vary from athletic team activities at school to professional sports and from daily practices to weekend games. In the U.S., “athletic trainers” who are the experts in sports injuries are almost always at the site of athletic activities.

In recent years, athletic training has drawn more attention in Japan. Still, the profession is underrecognized by the public for its importance and qualification. "In Japan, the word, ’a trainer,’ is often perceived as an expert to merely improve athlete’s physical performance or to assist individual’s body weight control at a fitness gym. Athletic trainers are, in fact, specialized in managing risks for a broad range of athletic injuries and illnesses (including prevention of athletic injuries and illnesses, assessment of and immediate care for athletic injuries, and rehabilitation of athletes to safely return to play following an injury) at athletic settings. Hence, athletic trainers play a significant role in minimizing the risks of injuries or illnesses that could be catastrophic and fatal. Due to their important roles, athletic trainers in the U.S. ("Certified Athletic Trainers" [ATCs]) are recognized as an allied health professional by American Medical Association," says Hidefusa Okamatsu, who received ATC credential and worked as an athletic trainer in the U.S.

"In case a student athlete collapses during athletic activity, we need to quickly and appropriately evaluate his or her condition, provide emergency care, and decide whether emergency medical service system should be activated. In medical emergencies, the athletic trainers should be able to handle a broad spectrum of conditions, including contusion (bruise), ligamentous injuries, dislocations, fractures (broken bones), brain damage (concussion and hematoma), vertebral and spinal cord injuries, heat-related illnesses, and even sudden death syndrome," Okamatsu says.

During athletic activities, anything can happen at any time. As athletic trainers have to make quick and appropriate decisions and flexibly respond to any situation, they need to have an extended knowledge in an variety of fields. The knowledge covers multidisciplinary fields, including not only medical fields, especially orthopedic and emergency medicines, but also kinesiology, physical training, physiology, biochemistry, nutrition, psychology, and so on. For this reason, to become a certified athletic trainer in the U.S., you must graduate from a four-year college or graduate school that has an accredited athletic training curriculum and pass a Board of Certification exam (*The accredited athletic training program will be offered only at graduate schools by 2022). Okamatsu completed his bachelor’s degree in athletic training with 1,500 hours of clinical experience over three years under supervision of certified athletic trainers at North Dakota State University in the U.S. This clinical experience helped athletic training students improve their practical athletic training skills.