• July 1, 2026 | 10:25 AM - 11:20 AM
• PCC,108B

Healing from Both Sides: A New Approach to Stress for Clinician and Patient

Treating the nervous system is not well understood and commonly left out of athletic training education. The science of stress is tied to the autonomic nervous system (ANS) through the vagus nerve. Stress not only plays a role in injury from risk reduction to return to participation, but also in how a clinician responds to and treats a patient during care. By recognizing how stress impacts both clinician and patient, athletic trainers can be better equipped to treat stress. Therefore, this presentation prepares Athletic Trainers to recognize and treat the stress response to rapidly improve diagnostic confidence, optimize recovery, and contribute to a decreased risk for injury.

Learning Objectives - Recognize and explain the relationship between pain, stress and the autonomic nervous system.
- Distinguish the signs and symptoms of stress in their patient care.
- Choose a treatment plan based on an assessment of clinical presentation of stress.
- Recognize and evaluate the stress response.
- Describe how to treat the stress response using breathing resets and vagus nerve resets.

Keywords: Nervous System; Novel Treatment; Vagus Nerve