JAMES ANDERSON / Scroll
Marissa Walser, a junior from Warwick, R.I., and a head athletic trainer, tapes a sprained ankle, one of her many duties. She has worked as a trainer since summer 2005.

Marissa Walser, a junior from Warwick, R.I., has been involved with athletic training since the summer of 2005.

“I hurt my knee cheerleading when I was a senior in high school and had to have surgery. I always wanted to go into medicine, and as I was going through physical therapy I started to think about it as a career option,” Walser said.

Walser is now one of the six head trainers in the athletic training program.

“Our biggest goal is to get players back to practice, once we fix the players’ injuries to help prevent further injuries,” Walser said.

Treatments that are used in the treatment center include massage, electric stimulation, ultrasound and stretching. Trainers also tape athletes’ ankles and wrists to help prevent injuries.

“The most common things the athletes come in for is treatment on their knees and ankles,” Walser said.

Therapeutic massage is also available in the trainers’ room and helps just as much in the recovery process as receiving ultrasound or electric stimulation.

“We’re not doctors, we are college students. We can’t diagnose everything, but we do the best we can to help all of the athletes recover as fast as possible. With the athletics program a lot of the students don’t train year round, they just go out and play, so they get injured frequently,” Walser said.

Walser also advised students to do stretching and other strengthening exercises on their own to help them recover faster. Rubber band exercises are available in the weight room and are a great way to strengthen shoulders.

Walser plans on graduating with her bachelor’s degree and working in sports medicine, and then eventually wants to go back to school and earn her Ph.D. and be a physical therapist.

Any student can see the athletic trainers for treatment by going to the Wellness Center in the John W. Hart Building and setting up an appointment.

Students involved with the competitive athletics programs can walk in to Hart 169A and receive treatment anytime during business hours, 1-6 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and 2-6 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays.