Many professionals are looking to upgrade their practices to those that are eco friendly. Athletic training is not excluded. Look inside your med kit how many things are disposable? Ice bags? Perhaps Powerflex and athletic tape? Or are you wondering what all of those aerosol products in your training bag are doing to the Ozone? Many products can help you reuse and recycle to start your movement
1) Instead of using individual plastic bags for ice, try using cold therapy wraps or hot/cold therapy wraps. There are many different sizes in several different options. For those of you using individual plastic bags for ice to give to the “other team” so they can head out, try the recycled ice bags by Protec, made from recycled materials.
2) Athletes have a tendency to injure their ankles repeatedly. In addition to using tape and prewrap for ankle injuries there are also several reusable ankle wraps. Try using the Cramer Ank-L-Wrap, a reusable cloth wrap specifically designed for wrapping ankles in place of athletic tape. When an ankle injury occurs, the Protec ankle wrap can also be used in place of traditional taping methods. Wonder wrap by Mueller is a great solution for wrapping injuries on small areas of the body such as the ankle, wrist, and knees.
3) Utilize braces for the athletes that you seem to wrap over and over. These might include: Cramer Groin Strain Brace – an adjustable wrap used for groin injuries; Protec Knee braces – Protec has a line of various knee braces ranging from IT bands to hinged knee braces that are good for just about any type of knee injury; Protec Achilles Tendon Support Brace – used for strained achilles.
4) Are blisters abounding in new athletic shoes? With traditional blister dressings, they are used once and thrown away. The Engo Team Blister Variety Pack is a blister dressing alternative. The blister patches are placed in the area blisters form on and in sports equipment and are used multiple times.
5) To decrease the possibility of blisters forming under athletic injury wraps, use Tuf Skin. This is a great product to use with the reusable braces and ankle wraps mentioned above. However, it typically comes in an aerosol container. Tuf Skin is also available in a non-aerosol container as an alternative.
You can find a listing of Eco-Friendly products at www.ithacasports.com
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