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Text Ruth Riggan

ATs KeepBroadway StarOn His FeetTo help maintain Hamilton’s level of per-

formance, Bethell Pantuso found athletictrainers in every city the show visited throughreferrals and eventually through NATA’s net-work. In addition to taping, icing, stretchingand monitoring Hamilton’s ankle to protect itand restore functionality, the ATs also kepttabs on other performers, and arranged forreferrals to doctors, PTs and massage thera-pists. With their help, Hamilton has gottenthrough more than 300 performances on hisinjured tendon—all the more impressive whenone considers that he is 73 years old.“I knew that an injury like this usually only

heals if you have time to stay off it,” saidBethell Pantuso. “It didn’t get any better, butthey kept it from getting worse.”Performing arts is one of the emerging set-

tings in the athletic training profession. So far itremains a small market, but many athletic train-ers are discovering it is an ideal setting for theirunique skills. The Clinical and EmergingPractices Athletic Trainers’ Committee is work-ing to create more job opportunities and spread

When George Hamilton, the star of theBroadway show La Cage aux Folles, tore

his Achilles tendon during a rehearsal, his dress-er and assistant, Jo-Ann Bethell Pantuso, wasdetermined that the show would go on. Sheknew she needed to find health care profession-als who were trained to deal with this kind ofinjury. Internet research led her to athletictrainers, and now she is a huge fan.“It was really amazing to unearth this other

world that I knew nothing about,” saidBethell Pantuso. “They became an integralpart of the pre-show. We used them in everyperformance and depended on them to keepus going.”

awareness of this important area of medicine.Treating and preventing the injuries of perform-ers like dancers and acrobats requires the sametype of care athletic trainers have been provid-ing to professional, collegiate and high schoolsports teams for decades. All of the athletic training domains are used

to care for performing artists. “On-site acutecare is a must,” said Jacqui Haas, ATC, a mem-ber of CEPAT. “Athletic trainers are there whenthe injury occurs, develop trusting relationshipswith the performing artists, take them throughthe rehabilitation process, get them back onstage and educate them on injury prevention.”“Performing athletes require the same

demands on their bodies as professional ath-letes, and it’s important that as a profession wedo not overlook any athlete that is competingand putting extreme demands on their bodies,”said Meg Schneider, MS, ATC, another CEPATmember. “Athletes come in all shapes and sizes,and athletic trainers, as an allied health care pro-fessionals, have the unique ability to reach allthese athletes on a personal level.”

Ken Locker, MA, ATC, who worked withLa Cage in Dallas, agreed. “It’s the same asworking with the industrial athlete or the highschool athlete,” he said. “They want to get welland perform well – the motivation is the same.”Locker’s day job is Marketing Director for TexasHealth Ben Hogan Sports Medicine in Dallas. With eight shows a week for La Cage, the

performer’s schedule can be just as grueling asthat of any professional sports team, but per-forming arts has its advantages. “Generallyyou’re inside, not in the rain or the heat,” saidLocker. He added that performing artists aregenerally very appreciative because they don’thave the day-to-day access to ATs that profes-sional athletes do.Sally Alway, ATC, a graduate student at

CSU Fullerton who worked with La Cage,especially appreciated experiencing the uniquedemands of the performing arts setting.“Because of my short interactions with castmembers, it pushed me to be completely thor-ough in my evaluation and communication,”she said. “My time with La Cage also pushedme to be creative in the resources I had to

work with. A good experience, as athletictrainers will not always have a fully-stockedathletic training facility to work out of.”For Kevin Bastin, ATC, LAT, CES, La Cage

was his first exposure to the performing artssetting. “You’re working with people who real-ly want to get back to doing what they want todo. They’re competitive and passionate aboutwhat they do; you always want to work withthat kind of person. When someone’s excitedabout it, it makes the occupation more enjoy-able,” said Bastin, who is Director of AthleticTraining Services for Memorial HermannHospital in Sugerland, TX. “George Hamilton was a complete pleasure to

work with,” said Jordan DeGracia, ATC, anoth-er graduate student at CSU Fullerton whoenjoyed his introduction to the performing artssector. “I experienced working with high-caliberperformers in a very structured environment.The performers showed up early to their timeslots and took their therapy seriously.”Of course, the performers reap huge benefits

from the presence and support of an athletictrainer. Because ATs are present during the

shows, they are able to observe problems thatthe performers might not notice or think aresignificant. Elizabeth Swann, PhD, ATC,ATEP director at Nova Southwestern Univer-sity, described a performer who stumbled dur-ing a dance number. Although the performerrecovered, Swann noted the mechanism ofinjury. “The next day when I came into studio,I was able to complete an ankle evaluation andprovide much needed treatment so they couldreturn to the performance,” she said.ATs are also able to teach the performers

how to handle injuries in the future. “The castmembers were comfortable enough to askquestions about the injury process, so I felt itwas my responsibility to help educate them,”said DeGracia.“We were really, really lucky to come across

these athletic trainers who helped us to maintaina level of performance,” said Bethell Pantuso.Would she work with athletic trainers again? “IfI was in a position with this kind of injury again,absolutely. It was the only thing to do – just likewith athletes, we had to find someone who couldsupport us and keep us in the game.”

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