Tulsa Bone & Joint is thrilled to welcome Kate Gready, AT-C, to the amazing staff of athletic trainers at Owasso High School.
Kate is originally from College Station, Texas. She graduated from the University of Tulsa in December of 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise & Sports Science, and she graduated from the University of Tulsa Graduate School in May 2022 with a Master of Athletic Training. She spent the last year doing an immersive clinical with the Oral Roberts University baseball team.
Kate is a Certified Athletic Trainer through the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Board of Certification, and she is also certified in dry needling.
For fun, Kate loves getting outdoors for a good hike or to going camping with friends. She also considers herself to be a foodie and likes getting together with friends to try out local restaurants and coffee shops.
Kate joins Athletic Trainers Zach McGinty and Destri Millsap caring for the student athletes of Owasso High School in the Tulsa Bone & Joint Training Room at the school. Go Rams!
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Stanley on a remarkable career. He was the first sports medicine fellowship-trained physician in Oklahoma and has mentored many physicians in this growing field over the years.
Dr. Stanley is originally from Sperry, Oklahoma and attended Oral Roberts University for his undergraduate degree. He earned his MD at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. He earned his fellowship in sports medicine from The Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.
Over the years, Dr. Stanley has served the community in a number of roles, including team physician for The University of Tulsa, Oral Roberts University, the Tulsa Drillers, Union High School, Tulsa Ballet, and the Tulsa Shock. Additionally, he has appeared as a regular on the local “Ask the Doc” radio program for 18 years. He previously served as co-director of the sports medicine fellowship program at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. He was also the team physician for football teams that played in the Soviet Union, Estonia, New Zealand and Australia.
“To everything, there is a time and a season. This is the time and season for me to transition into my next phase of life. My calling and mission are the same – to continue to help people in need, but in a different way,” Dr. Stanley says.
Tulsa Bone & Joint will greatly miss Dr. Stanley and is immensely grateful for his numerous contributions.
Whether it’s running, walking, soccer, or another outdoor winter activity, it’s important that you prepare your body for the cold temps you will experience when you exercise outside.
Here are a few tips from Tulsa Bone & Joint Physical Therapist Amanda Lynch, who is also an accomplished ultra marathon runner:
- Wear layers, especially on the top. The outermost layer should be wind and water-resistant.
- Wear a hat to help retain body heat and prevent exposed skin. Keep as much of your body covered as possible.
- Keep drinking to stay hydrated, even if you don’t feel thirsty like you would when it’s hot outside. You can still get dehydrated and cramp in the cold weather.
- Know the signs of hypothermia, particularly uncontrollable shivering, slurred speech, and confusion.
- Have warm, dry clothes immediately after your outdoor exercise to change into.
Stay safe during your winter exercising! If you should need a physical therapy consultation, please contact us at 918-392-1482.
By Bailey Clark, PTA
Millions of young girls play softball across the U.S. and thousands suffer from overuse injuries. Shoulder injuries are the most common due to overhead throwing, but these types of injuries also include pitchers who use a “windmill” motion to deliver a pitch. In fact, pitchers throw hundreds of pitches per week between practices and games during the season. Despite what some call a more “natural motion” of an underhand pitch, repetitive use and improper mechanics can result in damage over time.
Overuse shoulder injuries can result in bursitis, tendinitis, rotator cuff injury, or impingement, just to give some examples. Typically these
injuries occur at the adolescent level, but can happen in adults as well if play continues. Awareness of how these injuries occur is an important step in prevention, because these types of injuries are preventable.
Here are a some tips to help prevent these types injuries and how to stay healthy in order to continue playing:
- Allow an adequate amount of time to warm-up prior to the game. Going into a game without proper preparation further increases the chance of injury. Make sure to stretch, perform light running/agility activities, and throw to prepare the body for actual play.
- Implement a good strengthening program specific for throwing. Make sure that this is an age-specific program as well. Age specific is important because younger athletes’ bodies are still developing, so if the intensity is too much, they are at an increased risk for injury. Make modifications as needed based on age, ability to perform exercise with proper mechanics, and the appropriate amount of resistance or weight.
- For athletes 14 years and older, look into a program such as Thrower’s Ten. This specific program is directed toward overhead athletes.
- Ensure proper mechanics with both overhead throwing and pitching motions. Poor mechanics leads to poor movement patterns that become habits which contribute to injury.
- For pitchers, stick with age-appropriate pitches for the current level of play. Allow bones and muscles to mature prior to throwing advanced pitches. Progress slowly when learning new pitches to ensure proper mechanics and not develop “bad habits.”
- If play becomes serious and an athlete begins playing at a competitive level, find a private lesson instructor. These instructors will help to break down proper mechanics for both overhead throwing and pitching. Not only can instructors help ensure proper mechanics, most will be able to help with establishing a proper strengthening program based on age and capability as mentioned above.
- Athletes and coaches need to be in communication with how the athlete’s shoulder is feeling. Do not continue to play if in pain and if pain persists, schedule an appointment to see a doctor.
Johnathon Millwee, ATC for FC Tulsa
March is National Athletic Training Month, and we’re using this opportunity to highlight the amazing Athletic Trainers employed by Tulsa Bone & Joint. These trainers work in high schools, in our clinic, and elsewhere to help athletes perform at their peak ability and to recover quickly if an injury occurs.
Johnathon Millwee is the Athletic Trainer for FC Tulsa, Tulsa’s professional soccer team. Tulsa Bone & Joint is proud to be the orthopedic provider for FC Tulsa and to sponsor Johnathon as the team ATC.
Here’s what FC Tulsa player Eric Bird has to say about Johnathon:
“Johnathon is our go-to guy. He’s a jack of all trades. He has so many different roles within our team, and he’s a guy that is a glue for us here. He doesn’t just do the athletic training, he does so much more. He’s a blessing for us all, can’t say enough good things about how he treats the guys and what he means to this group as a whole.”
Q&A with Johnathon Millwee
Q: Why did you decide to become an athletic trainer?
A: Becoming an athletic trainer for me was a shot in the dark chance before I dropped out of school. I received a call from a close colleague telling me to go to Mike Catterson (head athletic trainer at Jenks High School) and ask about athletic training as a career. I was given a fanny pack with some gauze and Band-Aids and was told to observe practice. Playing football/baseball was all I ever wanted to do in college, so it was extremely difficult for me to watch something I had spent my whole life playing.
In a split second, a major injury happened, and I was able to watch how everyone worked from the athletic training side all the way up to the surgeons. I went back the next day and asked, “Where do I sign up?” I was fascinated at how a player could recover to go back on the field after such a major injury.
Q: What do you enjoy the most about your job?
A: My favorite part of my job is the ability to be a forever learner. I love learning why the things we did in the past might not have been the best way to do things, and how we could adjust them for the better in the future. This boils down to how we rehab, how we look at movements of the different body parts, how we make adjustments before an injury happens and how we treat acute/chronic injuries.
Q: What has been a career highlight for you so far?
A: Getting the opportunity to work the College Softball World Series and meeting and spending time with Lisa Fernandez between games and also playing as lead body guard for OU after their National Championship as they walked to their buses.
Johnathon, thank you for all you do to make FC Tulsa and Tulsa Bone & Joint a winning team!
