As efforts to build advocacy and awareness around athletic therapy continue, an increasing number of individuals are realizing that the treatments provided by Certified Athletic Therapists are not just for athletes but can benefit anyone living a physical and active lifestyle.
We spoke to Certified AT and Kinesiologist Kathlyn Hossack from Manitoba, who is known for her writing on the physical and mental wellness of farmers and the work she does to provide farmers, ranchers and riding athletes the athletic therapy treatment they need to thrive.
Even though Kathlyn grew up riding horses in her rural Manitoban community and was raised by a parent in agricultural journalism, she started her first year at the University of Winnipeg thinking she wanted to go into physical education.
When she started seeing an athletic therapist on campus for injuries she had sustained, she was intrigued by the versatility of the treatment. Inspired by the focus on people, coaching, health and wellness, which closely aligned with her passions and interests, Kathlyn switched into an athletic therapy degree.
Using this versatility, Kathlyn began incorporating her own life experiences into the projects and work she was undertaking as part of her degree. “I began shaping all of the projects I could in university around riding athletes,” she shared. This integration and focus on conditioning not only improved Kathlyn’s abilities as a rider but also opened her up to a world and specialization that became the foundation of her career.
Today, Kathlyn owns and operates her own athletic therapy practice in Manitoba, where she treats a large demographic of equestrian riders. “As soon as you are working with equestrian athletes, you are also working with ranchers and people who are on the farm,” Kathlyn shared. Seeing that a large majority of her patients are from the rural farming community in Kathlyn realized the critical need of athletic therapy treatment for individuals whose heavily depend on their physical performance.
While treating farmers and ranchers, she identified both the common and diverse injuries among the rural demographic. “Low back pain is often what brings people to my door,” Kathlyn shared, recognizing the prevalence of chronic injuries that arise from years of hard work. “While farming is a labour intensive job, farmers are often doing more sedentary work,” Kathlyn said. For grain farmers this is particularly true, as they spend a good portion of their days sitting in tractors and working the fields.
Kathlyn also treats a significant amount of shoulder and back injuries, both acute and chronic, which can originate from the amount of carrying, throwing and twisting farmers and ranchers do. While it may start as something acute and short-lived, years of repetitive physical work can make a short-term injury a life-long physical issue.
While chronic injuries are often physical, Kathlyn emphasizes that they can be mental too. “Mental health feeds into the physical,” she shared, “and focusing on chronic pain and the mind-body perspective feeds more into the work I do with the rural community.” The mind–body connection has remained a central focus of Kathlyn’s continuing education over the past ten years. By integrating the nervous system and mental health into her practice, her approach to treatment has become increasingly comprehensive.
In addition to expanding her scope of practice, Kathlyn takes pride in trusting her training in making course of treatment plans as personalized as they can be. “What is actually going to be functional for that person to do in their everyday life and not going to feel like another thing to add to their to-do list” is the core of her approach to providing care. Her focus on offering practical and functional strategies in her treatment plans has allowed her to provide effective treatment for farmers, ranchers, riders and members of the general population.
Whether it is physical or breathing exercises that can help patients manage pain and tension or practicing different lifestyle-based approaches that can be easily integrated into the individuals day-to-day routine, “our strength as Certified ATs seems to be that adaptability in our treatment planning,” Kathlyn stated. Making things easy, realistic and adaptable allows treatment to be accessible and achievable for everyone, particularly among the rural
demographic.
Kathlyn has also noticed a common trend within rural communities, where individuals often wait longer than usual before seeking care. By the time they do, the need for treatment tends to be more urgent. As her practice has evolved, Kathlyn has begun to recognize that even though prevention is the goal, it is more common to treat post-incident injuries.
“We can’t prevent injuries, we can’t prevent trauma, we can’t prevent stress. But if we have awareness that it is not all doom and gloom if something happens to us, [that] there are lots of different supports that you can access– that in my mind is the best prevention.”
For the future, Kathlyn aims to continue growing her profession within the farming community, hoping to see more Certified ATs serving this demographic within these rural communities. “Our value is diversity and depth, the breadth of the scope of practice and the different applications that can be taken,” Kathlyn shared, observing that access to variety serves both Certified ATs and the clients they serve.
From the fields to the barn, individuals like Kathlyn are bringing athletic therapy to the people and places that need it most.
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