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Principles of Pharmacology for Athletic Trainers

	Introduction

This pharmacology text was developed as a resource for the student athletic trainer. The content is based on the National Athletic Training Association’s competencies in athletic training and discusses the most common drugs used by people who are physically active at any age. The depth of coverage of the book is sufficient for basic principles of pharmacology.

The book is divided into 14 chapters. The first chapter, "Introduction to Pharmacology," includes foundational concepts such as administering and dispensing drugs, the differences among drug names, and the classification of drugs. The second and third chapters describe the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles of drugs. These chapters are easy to follow and do not require the reader to have an extensive biochemistry background. Included at the end of both chapters is a passage on the effect that exercise has on drug metabolism. The fourth chapter, "Medication Management in Athletic Training Facilities," covers federal regulations regarding use of prescription medications in the athletic training facility. The chapter includes an informative table on state pharmacy practice acts and drug laws.

The next 8 chapters discuss specific drug categories for particular problems pertinent to the treatment of athletic injuries. These chapters include drugs for treatment of infections, inflammation, pain, skeletal muscle spasms, asthma, colds and allergies, gastrointestinal disorders, hypertension, and heart disease. Each chapter profiles the biological effects of the drug, indications, adverse effects, and exercise consequences. Each chapter concludes with a section on the role of the athletic trainer. I found chapter 9, "Drugs for Treating Asthma," to be exceptionally informative, with its inclusion of a step-wise approach for managing asthma. The chapter on treatment of pain mentions recent findings on the adverse effects of the COX-2 inhibitors, Bextra and Vioxx.

Chapter 13 contains an overview of performance-enhancing drugs, including stimulants (amphetamines, caffeine, ephedrine), anabolic agents (anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, ß-agonists), and oxygen delivery enhancers (erythropoietin). This chapter is especially useful to health care professionals who deal with competitive athletes. The final chapter, chapter 14, addresses a timely topic: drug testing in sports. These 42 pages detail the components of a drug testing program such as policy, participants, and methodology.

The book is well organized and is illustrated with black-and-white figures and numerous tables that enhance learning. With the exception of the last 2 chapters, however, most chapters only include a few current references. A couple of features that I found helpful in reading this text were the chapter organization templates found at the beginning of each chapter and the "key concept" text boxes that were inserted into several chapters. One feature that detracted from reading was the summaries found after each major topic, which seemed redundant and unnecessary.

Although the book is written for athletic trainers, students and clinicians from other sports medicine disciplines would benefit from the information.

Janice K Loudon

University of Kansas Medical Center
Kansas City, Kan

	Footnotes

 
Dr Loudon is Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She has more than 20 years of clinical experience in orthopedics. Her research interest is in biomechanics and prevention of injuries in sports.

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Rapid Responses are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Loudon, J. K Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Loudon, J. K