Spring 1982 - Athletic Training History

A Tip From the FieldInnovation in Rehabilitation:Make Your Own Sand WeightsJanet Lozar, ATC, MSMany universities and high schools do not have thefinancial resources available to purchase expensiveweight apparatus for rehabilitation of athletic injuries.Therefore, many of these injuries are not properlyrehabilitated and the injured are left in a weakened state.By making your own sand bags to use as weight apparatusyou can help to minimize this problem.Materials (Figure 1)Sand (mixed with small rocks for added weight)Bread wrappers3" Orthopaedic StockinetteProcedureFill bread wrappers approximately half full with sandand tie each bread wrapper in a knot. In order to minimizeleaking, place the filled bag in another wrapper and tie italso. (Fig. 2).Have enough stockinette available to contain the sandMs. Lozar is the Women's Athletic Trainer at the University ofTennessee at Martin, Tennessee 38238.bags with some left over for tying the weights to the extremity.Work the sand bags through the stockinette sothat the bags become evenly distributed. Place thedesired amount of weight into the stockinette. It may benecessary to make more than one sand bag stockinette inorder to allow for additional weight. (Fig. 3).Tie a knot at each end of the stockinette in order to keepthe sand bags in place. Use a square knot and tie theweights onto the extremity that is to be rehabilitated.(Fig. 4).ConclusionsMaking sand bag weights out of orthopaedic stockinetteis a fairly inexpensive way to rehabilitate some athletic injuries.With careful instructions on their usage, theseweights can be sent home with athletes over vacations sothat their rehabilitation program is not interrupted. +Editor's Note: Anyone wishing to have an idea,technique, etc. considered for this section should send onecopy to Ken Wolfert, 111 Buckeye Street, Hamilton,Ohio 45011. Copy should be typewritten, brief, and concise,using high quality illustrations and/or black andwhite glossy prints.1 ROLLCURITYORTHOPEDICSTOCKINETTESFigure 360 Athletic Training • Spring 1982Figure 4