Thursday, Dec. 5, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
SPECIAL TO THE SUN
It's not so much that cowboys like pain. They just know how to deal with it better than the rest of us. They have to.
There are no guaranteed checks in professional rodeo. Athletes must compete to get paid, and many often compete even when in pain.
"If I ever felt good when I woke up, I'd go to the hospital," said Rick Young, who's been a rodeo bullfighter and clown for 35 years. "I hurt every dang morning with something. But it's just pain. You just put it out of your mind. I don't pay attention to it. If you can't do that here, you're in the wrong business."
But sometimes, injuries demand attention. And that's when the Justin Sportsmedicine program comes into play.
The program, founded in 1980 by Dr. J. Pat Evans and Don Andrews, has been taking care of professional rodeo athletes for 16 years. And, while the bumps, bruises and broken bones of the sports are, in many cases, unavoidable, Justin is doing its best to get cowboys back in the saddle as soon - and as safe - as possible.
"(Rodeo cowboys) are the best patients to work with," said Andrews, who coordinates Justin's Sportsmedicine program. "We know they want to get back into competition. We understand them, they understand us. We share similar goals, and that's why it's so easy to work with them."
The program includes two fully-equipped mobile sports medicine units that, together, serve more than 125 rodeos per year. The staff in those units work closely with local medical centers and emergency medical services at the rodeo to provide top-of-the-line care.
In addition to those units, the program also boasts two permanent facilities: at the Mesquite Arena in Mesquite, Texas, while the other is at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Okla.
But the program reaches far beyond its permanent locations and mobile units. Thanks to the North American sports medicine referral system, which links doctors and specialist from around the country, cowboys can receive quality medical care at any one of the nearly 800 professional rodeos they might attend.
Andrews said that network is an integral, but often overlooked, part of the program.
"Once a patient leaves the arena, that's when our job really begins," Andrews said. "We have already pre-established in that town local sports medicine specialists and hospitals. We've got a system on hand that will help the cowboy as long as he needs it for whatever he needs. ... They know they can walk in the door and, if it doesn't happen there, we'll find someone who can help them.
"It's kind of one-stop shopping for the cowboy's medical needs. Whatever happens, they'll have the best medical attention possible."
But Justin doesn't concentrate on just healing cowboys once they've been hurt. The program has also been instrumental in preventing a number of common ailments, thanks to its extensive education program. Over the past 16 years, Justin has instructed literally thousands of professional cowboys on how to stretch before competing, how to treat minor rodeo injuries, and how to apply protective tape and protective gear.
The program also offers a place where contestants can have chronic injuries treated. Ty Murray, who has won six world all-around championships in the last seven years, competed with a torn knee ligament for three years, and says it was the Justin staff which made it possible for him to continue to rodeo. And, when Murray had the knee operated on in the fall of 1995, the staff helped Murray through his rehabilitation.
But helping cowboys like Murray is all in a day's work for the Justin Heelers.
"Our staff wants to work with the rodeo cowboys," Andrews said. "That is our reward."
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