By Morgan Armitage
Sports Editor

For an audio version of this story, click here.

It’s no secret that athletes and injuries are drawn to each other like moths to flame — and it’s certainly no secret to Clackamas Community College’s athletic trainer, Kevin Arizo. 

Kevin Arizo in the training room. Photos by Morgan Armitage

Arizo has been at CCC since 2007, putting him in his 18th year at the school. During that time, he’s seen no shortage of athletes and all their individual issues. 

It was in high school that Arizo realized he wanted to go into the field, while dealing with injuries of his own. 

“I hurt my knee in high school as a sophomore, and then my junior/senior year I worked with my athletic trainer. Like, I did my rehab with him, and then I kind of, not shadowed him, but kind of learned what he was doing, and I would help him. And then he gave me a job, and he paid me my senior year,” Arizo said. 

Arizo places an emphasis on being understanding and considerate of not just the physical well-being of those he works with, but the mental well-being, too.

“It’s their world, so being able to understand where they’re coming from and what is bugging them, how it’s bugging them, I think that it is the most important,” said Arizo.

In order to do that, Arizo believes that asking open-ended questions is an important place to start.

“Asking them the questions—the right questions—the open ended questions so that they can explain what’s going on, and then trying to see what tests I need to do to kind of rule things in and out, and to see if it’s something that they need to go see further, you know, advice, medical care, different doctors or getting X-rays and whatnot,” said Arizo. 

Arizo in his office in the training room.

 He noted that some of the most common injuries he sees involve either ankles or muscle strains. 

“Overall, it’s usually just some kind of muscle strain, some kind of like, soreness from usually getting back in shape, or getting used to the new practice regime,” said Arizo. “People that get held out, it’s usually ankles and joints.”

But the treatment for even the most common injuries vary from person to person.

The entryway to the training room on the bottom floor of Randall Hall.

“I’m a fan of exercise, right? So, if it’s at the point where they can move to do exercises, then I want to do exercises. But, you know, I have different modalities so we can see what works for them, because every person responds differently, and depending on what is injured could respond differently to different modalities,” Arizo said. 

So his recommendations often differ. Sometimes it’s stim (electrical muscle stimulation), or ultrasound treatment or massages. Other times, people are ready for exercise, like band or balance work. 

Arizo said that he might even try all modalities to see what works best for an individual and go from there. 

He also acknowledges the emotional strain that injuries can have on athletes, especially those big enough to keep them from their sport. 

“Obviously the mental health portion of it is important, but I don’t think I talk to them a ton about that. But trying to make sure that if they have a big injury, make sure they’re still involved, they don’t just check out,” Arizo said. “If it’s smaller injuries, just kind of making sure that we keep them in check of where they’re at, what their expectation is, and what my realistic opinion would be of when they would be able to get back and how much they can do.”

Having been at the school for some time, Arizo has developed connections with the coaching staff, and noted that he works in tandem with the coaches to provide the best support and solutions for the athletes. 

Arizo expressed that overall, he likes getting to know all the athletes and coaches and getting to watch them work through and potentially succeed in the face of challenges. 

“I think that’s a big portion of being an athletic trainer, is getting people to trust you and earn your respects. And so that makes my job better, when I have that surrounded by good kids, kids that actually listen to me. So I enjoy my job,” Arizo said.