In previous posts, I have blogged about the constant struggles retired athletes face when ending their professional careers. Doing some research on the internet, I was able to come across a program that I believe is ground breaking and should be available for all athletes when finishing their professional careers. P.A.S.T, is an organization for Retired Football Players specializing in Pain Management and Medical Resources which also provides medical services directly to individual retired players to address their various needs in the primary areas of Pain Management. These include evaluations, procedures and treatments.
PAST is a Pro Bono service, offered to retired players who are in crisis with their lives and who are simply struggling post-careers. I feel every professional sports organization should have a system like PAST to help transition these players to the next phase of their lives. So many people do not understand the hardships athletes face with their bodies and mind behaviors after they are done playing. PAST currently provides medical evaluations and a variety of medical services to retired players. This program is the first of its kind because P.A.S.T and their affiliated Pain Management, Medical, Drug Dependency facilities and physicians are opening up their doors strictly retired football athletes without having the ex-players go through a third party. It is programs such as these that really help people internally with their lives. I see this program as the new “nursing home” for athletes. It will be interesting to see how this works out because this is definitely a good start.
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