Cowboys and cowgirls accept injuries as part of their sport. When possible, they “cowboy up” and work through their aches and pains, but sometimes, it takes more specialized medical attention.
Fortunately for competitors at the 2015 Reno Rodeo, a team of medical professionals will be on-hand to see to their injuries if they get hurt during competition.
Trainers from Justin Sports Medicine provide the bulk of services for competitors while REMSA provides emergency transport for both competitors and fans. University of Nevada School of Medicine sports medicine physicians, along with medical volunteers from the Reno Rodeo Association, will provide medical assistance and expertise to both competitors and spectators as needed at the June 18-27 event.
Carol Scott, M.D., director of the sports medicine fellowship program at the University of Nevada School of Medicine and Quoc-Phong Tran, M.D., sports medicine fellow with the medical school, are volunteering their time to provide medical care at this annual event.
When it comes to cowboys and rodeo participants, Scott says they are some of the toughest competitors, mentally and physically, she has ever treated.
“Rodeo really is the original ‘extreme sport’ and as a result, the incidence of injury is very high,” she said. “It is also imperative to return rodeo athletes to their sport as quickly and safely as possible because if they don’t perform, they don’t get paid. By being onsite at the rodeo, we are able to evaluate and treat injuries immediately. It is also a great experience for our sports medicine fellows and they rank it as one of their favorite rotations of the year.”
The Reno Rodeo medical team embodies a wide variety of medical expertise and backgrounds—from physical therapists and sports trainers to physicians and emergency medical technicians. The team also treats a wide variety of injuries ranging from competitors’ sprained ankles and broken fingers to broken jaws and torn skin. Injuries in the grandstands and carnival range from heat exhaustion and cardiac arrest to broken bones.
The School of Medicine’s sports medicine physicians have volunteered at the Reno Rodeo since 2007.
