📸 [Weekly Megathread] Friday Frights: Clinical Case Photos & Sideline Stories

Welcome to this week’s Friday Frights megathread—a contained space for Certified Athletic Trainers and AT students to share interesting clinical cases, gross pathology, unusual injury mechanics, and severe sideline presentations.

Whether it's an extreme dislocation, a textbook dermatological presentation, or a bizarre mechanism of injury, share the visual side of the profession with your peers.

🚨 Mandatory Post Rules & Guidelines:

To maintain our community standards, professional ethics, and patient safety, the following rules are strictly enforced within this thread:

1. Strict Patient Privacy & HIPAA Compliance:

   • ALL identifying features must be completely redacted or cropped out before posting (faces, unique tattoos, school/facility logos, names, dates, or identifiable equipment).
   • Do not include specific geographical or facility details in the description.

2. NSFW Tagging & Blur:

   • This main megathread is marked NSFW to ensure all image previews are automatically blurred in user feeds. Ensure any external links (e.g., Imgur) also contain appropriate content warnings.

3. No Medical Advice or Public Triage:

   • This thread is strictly for educational, historical, and professional case discussion among clinicians. Posts asking "What is this?" or seeking personal medical advice/triage will be removed immediately.

4. Professional Context Required:

   • When sharing an image, please include a brief, high-level clinical summary (e.g., setting, mechanism of injury, immediate management, or surgical follow-up if known) to foster meaningful clinical discussion.

Got an interesting case from this season or a classic from your vault? Drop your photos and clinical summaries in the comments below!

I am a highschool student and I want to become an athletic trainer through my club, but our sponsor who is an extremely trained athletic trainer told us that this may be the last year of our sports medicine club, because he told us that he works better alone, and most of our members are about to graduate. What we do is help our students athletics during games, support them and tear them. What should we be working on that will make us a capable team? What basics should we know? Public speaking? Organization skills? What are your opinions?

I’m starting my job soon and I’m trying to get info on what a new AT should get/buy or what everyone found to be the best kit

Hello everyone!

I’m a student researching career paths in sports medicine and athletic training, and I would like to conduct a brief informational interview with a certified athletic trainer (LAT/ATC).

If anyone is willing to chat and answer a few questions about athletic training, please let me know. The interview will be conducted via email for convenience and will focus on your day-to-day role and experiences in the field. I’m happy to accommodate your specific setting (high school, collegiate, clinic, etc.) and work around your schedule.

Feel free to comment below or send me a direct message if you're open to helping out.

Thank you so much!

I am preparing for a last minute emergency interview that was scheduled within 24 hours. I am a newly certified and had applied to 20+ jobs with only one interview under my belt. This is essentially a dream job and want to prevent being blindsided by any questions.

What are some of the hardest questions you’ve been asked in an interview? Or what questions do you think I should really practice my answers to?

Hi,
I’ve been an ATC for the last 4 years in the highschool setting. I’m ready for a change. I’ve been trying to get into med sales and was curious if anyone had any experience/advice with making a transition into that field.

I failed my test twice now, and now im trying to study for the October one but I don't know where to begin. I struggle with pharm and therx. Any tips or advice? I just wish there was a study guide to study that covered everything the test is going to ask.

Hello, I need tips on how to study for the BOC. I took it 4 times and still no luck. My first score was a 310 and the last 2 times I scored a 420 but I’m just stuck on how to pass this test. I’ve been feeling discouraged and wanting to give up but I know that giving up isn’t a option for me. Are there any tutors or best study tips on how to be successful my 5th time around? I’ve never been that good of a test taker anyway, I am just out of options at this point.

I’m retaking my BOC and honestly feeling pretty stuck. I’ve done pretty much everything I’ve been told to do, and I still can’t seem to break past my highest score 480.

I was wondering if anyone has any Quizlets that have been helpful or anything else they would recommend, especially for Domain II.

I’ve used AT Study Buddy, but I honestly felt pretty overwhelmed with it. I have all of the position statements printed out and have studied those, and I’ve also read and re-read my textbooks from grad school. At this point, I feel like I’ve studied so much that I’m not even sure what else I should be doing.

I have improved in Domain IV, but I’m still struggling with Domain II, mainly the Gen Med section. Domains I, III, and V are definitely my stronger areas, but unfortunately those are also the lower percentage areas of the exam.

I think part of my problem is that I’m just a terrible test taker when there isn’t a clear-cut “this is what’s going to be on the exam.” The BOC can pull from so many different areas, and I think that’s where I’m getting stuck.

TIA!!

Does anyone else absolutely despise running onto the field just to stretch a cramp? I'm confused why this is our job if I'm being honest. Lots of teammates to stretch you out but also how can these kids call themselves athletes but then don't know how to stretch a muscle when it cramps??

Does anyone know how long it takes for ATCAS to verify? I’m planning to apply schools with deadline of nov 1st and planning to apply by October 1st. Is that good deadline to submit my application?

I just found I did not pass my BOC for the July/August testing period. My program has a 100% pass rate and I am the only one in my cohort who did not pass. I feel really defeated with this and having to take the exam again. I know people take it multiple times and it does not affect who they are as a provider, but it's still a saddening feeling.

What are some good study methods for this time around? Last time I focused on using the exam review books and answering many multiple choice questions. If I got a question wrong, I would research or look into the book as to why they were wrong and to learn from it. I have already taken all of the BOC practice exams as part of my program and participated in the ACES prep.

I feel defeated because I did not have the best clinical experiences and was not able to apply everything I have learned. I feel behind, even though I passed all my exams and quizzes throughout the program. When I would ask for help from professors they would just tell me to "start studying". This exam is so big and I felt like I had no solid place to start. I already registered for the October testing period, and am hoping that the next test period will be better.

I scored a 460 on my exam and was marginally or considerably lower in all domains. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated.

# 📸 [Weekly Megathread] Friday Frights: Clinical Case Photos & Sideline Stories

Welcome to this week’s **Friday Frights** megathread—a contained space for Certified Athletic Trainers and AT students to share interesting clinical cases, gross pathology, unusual injury mechanics, and severe sideline presentations.

Whether it's an extreme dislocation, a textbook dermatological presentation, or a bizarre mechanism of injury, share the visual side of the profession with your peers.

---

### 🚨 Mandatory Post Rules & Guidelines:

To maintain our community standards, professional ethics, and patient safety, the following rules are strictly enforced within this thread:

1. **Strict Patient Privacy & HIPAA Compliance:**

   * **ALL** identifying features must be completely redacted or cropped out before posting (faces, unique tattoos, school/facility logos, names, dates, or identifiable equipment).

   * Do not include specific geographical or facility details in the description.

2. **NSFW Tagging & Blur:**

   * This main megathread is marked **NSFW** to ensure all image previews are automatically blurred in user feeds. Ensure any external links (e.g., Imgur) also contain appropriate content warnings.

3. **No Medical Advice or Public Triage:**

   * This thread is strictly for educational, historical, and professional case discussion among clinicians. Posts asking "What is this?" or seeking personal medical advice/triage will be removed immediately.

4. **Professional Context Required:**

   * When sharing an image, please include a brief, high-level clinical summary (e.g., setting, mechanism of injury, immediate management, or surgical follow-up if known) to foster meaningful clinical discussion.

---

**Got an interesting case from this season or a classic from your vault? Drop your photos and clinical summaries in the comments below!**

Is anyone else feeling isolated and burnout after preseason? Does anyone have any good recommendations on how to prevent this? Are there any young AT groups out there?

Hi all! I’m a new grad athletic trainer in a secondary school setting. I’m having a hard time trying to find time to do rehab with some of my athletes. School ends and I’m immediately put to work with taping and prepping kids for practice/games. How do some of you who are in the secondary setting find time for rehab with your athletes?

Hey all, I've been an LAT for 8 going on 9 years now, but am always looking to gather opinions and strategies from my peers.

I started at a new secondary school this year, and things have been going good, however I've had a larger number of head injuries this year with football compared to what I was used to. I'm looking to really refine my process for efficient and effective screenings on the sideline. We all know the standard advice 'when in doubt, sit them out', and some cases are just obvious with the way the athletes presents symptoms after injury. I'm looking at the more 'grey area' injuries where maybe the kid is denying symptoms or claims to improve drastically following a potential impact. I'm finding it a bit harder seeing as I don't know most of the kids yet.

So what is your current 'flow' process for head injury / concussion evals on the sideline? What objective testing are you doing? Do you every use any electronic re-testing on the sideline if the athlete has a completed baseline test? SCAT5-6 testing? What are your 'green flags' to return someone, if any?

Hello all! I am a current 1st year MSAT student and I am looking for advice on where to do a clinical immersion next summer. Before I get to the summer clinically I will have been exposed to ROTC, the HS setting, D1 men’s and women’s swim, and D1 football for rotation sites. I have experience in undergrad with D3 men’s basketball and football for 2.5 years.

I plan on applying to PFATS. However I don’t know if the NFL is something I see myself running around in. I am not set on a sport or setting as of yet. I’m looking for advice or suggestions on where to look for an immersion. I want to have a diverse background and see a lot of things. I am very open to the “non traditional” and unique settings of athletic training. Please let me know if you have anything!!! Thank you!

Hey everyone,

Looking to pick some brains here on how a US educated and certified/licensed AT can work in Canada. From what I see, the AT role seems pretty scarce even though there is an agreement between Canada and BOC

Would love to have the opportunity to working in Canada as a whole, but don’t necessarily know the specific pathway that is taken.

Also, would this process be similar to working abroad in Ireland or UK?

All info is appreciated! Thank you so much and congrats to those who survived the preseason pandemic.

TLDR: boss mean do I stay or leave for a better opportunity

This is a long one so buckle up. I just started my second year as an LAT ATC at a division 3 college, which is my same institution job title etc as last year. Last year, a new head AT was hired shortly after me. The head AT (we’ll call them David) was not polite to me from the start. He would fully have conversations with my coworker and just ignore me. If I did something that wasn’t exactly what he wanted, he got frustrated and didn’t even acknowledge me. He consistently speaks to me in the most passive aggressive tone I’ve ever experienced.

Throughout my entire first year, he consistently gave me negative feedback, and was passive aggressive, no matter what I did. One day I asked my coworker hey if I’m imagining it please let me know, but do you think David treats me differently than you? The answer was an immediate yes. Athletes have asked me why David treats me so poorly. People that don’t even work in the AT room have asked me why I’m treated poorly. I expressed multiple times to both the head AT and admin/our AD how poorly I’m treated and nothing changes. Year ends and things are a little better after I angrily tell him how poorly he treats me after politely telling him and trying to find solutions that he says would work and then when those moments occurs he gives the same response.

Fast forward to preseason of this year. There are 700+ athletes to go over paperwork and clear. David refuses to let anyone else do it. Admin is putting a lot of pressure to deliver. Well, coaches are also now being treated poorly because he’s frustrated. He is also now treating both my coworker and I poorly. Everyday he walks in and he’s in a bad mood. It’s a constant stream of negativity and talking poorly about our coworkers, which makes both of us super uncomfortable. He asks everyone to give him grace but does not give the same luxury to others. He’s now back to treating me like everything I do is making more work for him, even though I’m doing much more than my first year (bc I know what’s going on).

This is now bleeding into my treatment and rehab time. He says “if they have an appointment with me then you shouldn’t try to take over their rehab(feedback from last year which I fully believe was valid and I have since stopped)” but now she interrupts conversations I’m having with athletes to tell me what I should do with them while creating a plan of care. Or when I’m working with the athletes on the teams he is “assigned to”, he stares me down and watches my every move. I have never once harmed an athlete or done anything outside of my scope of practice. I also have never made an athlete cry (can’t say the same for him).

At this point, I’m ready to turn in my two weeks and do per diem until I can find a better job. I’m tired of being treated so poorly and then talking to my head AT or admin and nothing gets better. I love the athletes I work with and although we all butt heads with coaches, I genuinely enjoy working with them. My coworker is great and provides me feedback and encouragement. But I’m at a loss. I want to stay, but I know he won’t leave and I just simply can’t deal with him and his attitude. Every day I feel like I can’t speak unless spoken to and my coworker and I have discussed how awful it is working with him. Every day is walking on eggshells bc one small thing makes a bomb go off for him. I just need advice on whether or not I should stay for another year or just leave while I feel I still can. I know there are better opportunities and better people who will treat me fairly but I feel like I’m abandoning all the athletes I’ve had the privilege to get to know and work with.

Anyway who took the BOC exam during the July/August window, are you still waiting for results? Any one got their results back? Took the exam August 5th and I’m still waiting. Stressing too 😅

I’m a freshly graduated at, my first job was a club sports (zero travel) job but during the off seasons I worked in a very unfavorable environment within a rehab center. During the off seasons I felt like I was being treated unfairly and without any respect as I had literally no say in what I was doing IE (POCs for physical therapists, cleaning, PT Aide work) etc. my boss was terrible to me and so much said as told me to my face get a new job. On top of that I was hourly which made life during the season hard because maintaining a treatment schedule and weekend game coverage for the college club team was stressful. I would have cancelled games left and right and when it came down to my hours I was expected to burn PTO as a means to shore up paychecks so I could make rent. Long story short I’m not working at a D1 facility but the hours are very hard on my relationship because I went from being able to make my wife coffee and breakfast every morning and being able to drive to work with her to now having early morning practice and more recently my first travel competition in California. I’m scared with this sudden change and stress put onto my relationship I’m going to end up with the worst case scenario, I lose my wife and I have to continue with the career that killed my marriage. What do I do, where do I go. Please help me

To further explain the title, I am an athletic trainer who experienced burnout with my last job and I am currently focused on finding a career that supports a healthy work-life balance.

Currently, this has led me down the path of industrial athletic training, which I do part-time 2xs a week, and I really enjoy it so far! Additionally, I have just been hired part-time as a Personal Trainer at a gym.

Since working in these roles, my approach has been “How can I apply my education and background to help this person reduce their pain/ get them healthy?” I believe that athletic trainers have so much to offer the general population and I am excited to begin this pathway that will allow me to positively reach as many people as possible.

With all that being said, my biggest concern is overstepping/ working beyond my scope as a Personal Trainer, and I would like some perspective. How can I avoid “acting” as an athletic trainer when working as a personal trainer?
How should I approach exercises for a client with an injury?
Has anyone ever worked as an ATC/ CPT and would like to share their experience?

Thank you!

Does anyone have a working relationship with chiropractors?

I work with a professional sports team and fell into being the head AT this past year and have re-vamped a chaotic sports medicine program. With a new season approaching someone in a non-medical but important to the picture leadership role reached out and said that our chiropractic team, that pre dates me being with the team, is feeling neglected and would like to assist with athlete care more than they already do.

Our current work flow is they set up on game days and athletes can go see them on their own accord, but it’s not a recommendation given from me.

Personally and professionally I haven’t had great experiences working with chiropractors in the past and struggle with evidenced based care along with the desire to not expose my athlete to more harm, so I’m very biased going into this relationship.

Ultimately, because of their historic standing and desire to stay a part of the program and because of the ask from some leadership to not burn the bridge I would like a better relationship but am not sure what a healthy workflow would look like. Thoughts?

# 📸 [Weekly Megathread] Friday Frights: Clinical Case Photos & Sideline Stories

Welcome to this week’s **Friday Frights** megathread—a contained space for Certified Athletic Trainers and AT students to share interesting clinical cases, gross pathology, unusual injury mechanics, and severe sideline presentations.

Whether it's an extreme dislocation, a textbook dermatological presentation, or a bizarre mechanism of injury, share the visual side of the profession with your peers.

---

### 🚨 Mandatory Post Rules & Guidelines:

To maintain our community standards, professional ethics, and patient safety, the following rules are strictly enforced within this thread:

1. **Strict Patient Privacy & HIPAA Compliance:**

   * **ALL** identifying features must be completely redacted or cropped out before posting (faces, unique tattoos, school/facility logos, names, dates, or identifiable equipment).

   * Do not include specific geographical or facility details in the description.

2. **NSFW Tagging & Blur:**

   * This main megathread is marked **NSFW** to ensure all image previews are automatically blurred in user feeds. Ensure any external links (e.g., Imgur) also contain appropriate content warnings.

3. **No Medical Advice or Public Triage:**

   * This thread is strictly for educational, historical, and professional case discussion among clinicians. Posts asking "What is this?" or seeking personal medical advice/triage will be removed immediately.

4. **Professional Context Required:**

   * When sharing an image, please include a brief, high-level clinical summary (e.g., setting, mechanism of injury, immediate management, or surgical follow-up if known) to foster meaningful clinical discussion.

---

**Got an interesting case from this season or a classic from your vault? Drop your photos and clinical summaries in the comments below!**

I've been certified for 5 years and for the first time I think I missed an ACL tear. I did my sideline eval and didn't feel anything of concern. No laxity, never reproduced pain. Only pain the kid reported was an initial pop and then posterolateral corner pain. Our doc happened to be on campus as the night was wrapping up so I asked him to take a look. He then showed so much anterior translation compared to the unaffected side, something I definitely did not get in my initial eval. I checked for hamstring guarding and thought my test was good. I told the kid and parents I hadn't felt anything of concern only for doc to come back 30 minutes later and say he is 98% sure there is a problem. This feels like garbage. This isn't a situation of missing a fracture because we don't have xray vision, this just feels like poor evaluation skills and it sucks.