Sports Medicine

The Sports Medicine Department functions to serve all intercollegiate student-athletes of Pacific Lutheran University. The mission of the Sports Medicine Department is to enable the student-athletes to reach their athletic potential by preventing, managing, treating and rehabilitating athletic injuries. The Sports Medicine Staff is dedicated to helping the Pacific Lutheran University student-athletes return to competition in a safe and expedient manner.

The Sports Medicine staff includes three full time certified athletic trainers, a team physician, and student workers. We work together with the school nurse practitioners, psychologists and other medical specialists as appropriate to provide the best care to the student-athletes of Pacific Lutheran University. All of these on-campus care providers can be directly accessed by student-athletes as necessary. Appointments for physician services can be scheduled on-site or off-site as dictated by the student athlete's needs.

The Pacific Lutheran University certified athletic trainers (ATC's), Student Health Center, and team physicians provide sports medicine services to all PLU intercollegiate student-athletes. When a student-athlete sustains an injury during practice or competition, the athlete should immediately notify their coach and one of the PLU ATC's. The ATC will then follow the proper steps to evaluate and treat the student-athletes injury; referral to a medical care provider will be made when necessary. Once an injury is evaluated, treated and rehabilitated, a staff ATC will communicate with the team physician, Health Center care provider or outside care provider and determine when it is safe for the student-athlete to return to participation. The student-athlete's coach will be informed of the return to play decision. Upon release for participation, the student-athlete will continue to schedule daily rehabilitation sessions with the athletic training staff.

Private practice office visits with physicians and other care providers will incur charges and be billed to the patient or their primary insurance carrier. This is also true for diagnostic tests (e.g. blood tests, x-rays, MRI's, etc.). The PLU sports medicine staff utilizes a group of community based health care professionals who understand the unique needs of our student-athletes and have proven to be accessible and cooperative with the patient management process. Should an outside medical provider be needed, the athletic training staff can assist you with the arrangements.

The Athletic Training Room is located in the SW corner of Olson Auditorium and is open Monday-Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and on the weekends as required by team practice and competition schedules.

Eligibility for Sports Medicine Services:

As a student-athlete at PLU, you are eligible to receive the sports medicine services offered by the certified athletic trainers and team physicians if you have met the following criteria:

You are a current member of a PLU intercollegiate athletic team.
You have completed the pre-participation medical clearance documentation that includes: a health history, physical exam, insurance questionnaire, the PLU/NCAA HIPPA form and medical examination/authorization form. NCAA and departmental guidelines stipulate that this process be accomplished upon entrance into the athletic program.
All updated and current forms are on file in the athletic training room. Medical exams are considered current if they have been performed within six months of the start of collegiate athletic participation. The exam is considered valid for 5 consecutive years.
- The medical exam is required prior to your first year of participation. The health history, insurance, HIPPA and examination/authorization forms require annual updating. These forms can be found online under the "NCAA Athletics Pre-Participation Packet" link. Certain medical situations may cause the student-athlete to undergo an additional physical examination which will be determined by the sports medicine staff.

NCAA Concussion Video

NCAA Sickle Cell Video