sportphysio2010

gotta love Sumi

With the games now over this is likely the last post for the sportphysio2010 blog.

All of us here at PABC would like to thank  the physios from across B.C (and Canada) who participated in both the Olympic and Paralympic  games,  and to everyone who took part in our 52 day blogging experiment as both contributors and readers.

The idea for the blog came to us less than two weeks before the Games started on March 12th, 2010. With a lot of enthusiasm but without much of a plan we set out to feature our many physios working behinds the scenes at the 2010 Games  and to offer our members an online place to share their Olympic experiences.  Fingers crossed,  we set-up the Sportphysio2010 blog hoping not to violate VANOC’s stringent blogging policy.

Stories came from members working  in a variety of roles. There were the sport physiotherapists with specialized sports training working directly with athletes  as team physiotherapists  and at the venues and Polyclinics. There were also stories from members providing expertise in anti-doping and presenting a sports injury symposiums,  as well as from physios not doing physio duty at all but who participated as torch bearers, drivers, or entertainers at the opening and closing ceremonies.  Some were behind high profile medal winning athletes- both Olympic and Paralympic,  some witnessed some pretty awesome Olympic moments (I know of at least one physio who was at the historic Gold Medal hockey game),  and others were there when disappointment and tragedy struck.

All good stories – when, and if we got them.

Ok, this is the part where I have to come clean and admit that our blog wasn’t exactly a rip roaring success  by the usual measurement standards.   Sure the focus was very niche in another wise over-saturated media market,  but we were hoping that it would have created more of a “conversation’ among our membership.  Sadly, comments were few and far between and many of the best stories were told offline. That said the blog was an awesome learning experience for PABC  making it successful on so many other  levels.  Not only did we go through the motions of creating a blog and finding content,  we had an actual test case for trying out social media. We tweeted @sportphysio2010 , created a Facebook Fan Page, and posted stuff to YouTube,  kick starting our journey into finding new ways of interacting and engaging our members.  Sure we have more to learn, but I think we’re off to a pretty good start!

PABC also plans to continue blogging on topics of interest to our membership  in the near future.

Here are  some blog stats (from Jan 29-March 22, 2010)

• 2500+ page visits
• 975 unique visitors (that’s more than half our membership)
• 50 blog posts
• 37 members were featured

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Besides our awesome volunteering physios, we also send thanks to the communications group who worked so hard to find the stories in an over-saturated media field: Alison Osborne worked with PABC to showcase BC physios, and Virginia Bawlf at CPA (Canadian Physiotherapy Association) who lead the national initiative to highlight physiotherapy and physios from across Canada during the games .

I’d personally like to thank our CEO Rebecca Tunnacliffe who is never afraid to take on new and interesting projects. She’s a pretty good blogger too!

It was a fun project during an awesome event & for the last time Go Canada Go!

Suzanne Geba,
Member Services & Technology Lead
Physiotherapy Association of BC

Hard to believe the games are over! What a spectacular show of athleticism, determination, and national pride. Canada rocks!

With the games now over and the city/province/nation slowly (and possibly reluctantly) returning to normal, it’s time to turn our appreciation to the thousands of volunteers of the 2010 games.

Thank you all for your commitment and high spirits – you have made the games a success!

This blog was set up to honour the many members volunteers working these games. Thanks for sharing your stories, and please continue to post your thoughts and memories.

It’s time to reset the countdown, as this blog will continue to follow our physio volunteers through the Paralmpic games!

Carol with Rick Celebrini & Diane Lee (flanked by polyclinic staff)

PABC asked Carol Kennedy, renowned Canadian expert on the cervical spine (also one of the 7 stars of the new CPA TV ad), about her Olympic experience so far.

“Over a year ago I had a call from Rick Celebrini asking if I could be talked into being involved with the Olympics. Probably! But as my years of formal involvement with teams (I was a team physio for junior football, junior hockey and senior men’s basketball in another life) were early in my 31 year career as a physio, I wasn’t sure what I had to offer.

Along with each Olympics there is a medical symposium that is attended by the various personnel that are here supporting their teams medically. The topic for the Vancouver Olympics just happened to be head and neck injury and so I guess Rick thought I might have something to say about that. So one week from today I will present ‘Could the Cervical Spine Contribute to Post-concussion Symptoms?‘ to an international audience of physios, docs, chiros, massage therapists… Realizing that English will be a second language for many of the participants, I am still trying to condense the available evidence for that first talk into the allotted 15 minutes! The following day I will use a case history format to present ‘Assessment & Management of the Cervical Spine Contribution to Post-Concussion Symptoms’. This second workshop is a group effort and I have enjoyed collaborating with a physio from Norway as well as local medical specialists on that project.

Rick then came back with an idea of having ‘on-call specialists’ available if needed and so I am waiting to see if the need for cervical spine expertise arises. Randy Goodman, who is the site director for the Polyclinic in the Vancouver Athlete’s Village, extended an invitation to come down to the clinic at any time, and so rather than wait to be called, I headed over there to spend the day with Diane Lee, another ‘on-call specialist’, along with Allison Ezzat and Chris May who were manning the fort that day. It was an amazing experience to walk into the Village and see the flags of the various countries hanging from the balconies of the athlete accommodations, and athletes from all around the world wandering around and relaxing between events. The Polyclinic is a hive of activity. We should be proud of what our Canadian organizers have put together as a state of the art facility. The collaboration among professions is done with mutual respect as we spent time comparing the similarities and differences in treatment approaches.

Then I headed to the Coliseum to sit in the stands as a spectator for Men’s Figure Skating, cheering on Patrick Chan. I feel privileged to be able to experience this Olympics from several different perspectives.”

Carol Kennedy, Physiotherapist, BScPT, FCAMT

My Olympic experience leading up to the Opening Ceremonies tomorrow night has been awesome – even more exciting and eventful than I anticipated! Here are some highlights from the last few days!

• Getting a little Modalities refresher course and meeting the other Host Therapists from our Vancouver venues.

• Watching the Official Opening of the Athlete’s Village, especially the ribbon cutting where the volunteer was so cute you’d have thought he’d won his own gold medal!

• Greeting the Athletes as they arrive, and seeing their positive impressions of our treatment area, gym, and recovery/regeneration area.

• Working side-by-side and learning from a group of world class Physios, Massage Therapists, Chiropractors, and Sports Medicine Doctors.

• Being inspired and amazed by all the athletes we have met and treated in our Therapy area! Everywhere from Denmark to China to Ukraine, they are all so energized, motivated, and ready to compete.

• Seeing the Welcome Ceremony for our Canadian Athletes which featured Sandra Oh from Grey’s Anatomy as MC; the Village Mayors, Rick Hansen and Trisha Smith; some rad international drumming, and of course our National Anthem plus lots of cheering and dancing!

• Learning an Aussie manip technique from a therapist with the Australian Snowboard Team.

• Meeting a translator in the lunch line who has been to 11 Olympics and speaks 15 different languages!

• Traveling up the top floor of the Athlete Residences’ and enjoying the rooftop gardens and 3 million dollar view from the penthouse.

• Experiencing the excitement and energy of the torch relay running through throngs of crowds at Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver at 8:25am on Wednesday morning complete with a rock band!

by Allison Ezzat (Mackay)

Three PABC members are among the elite torch bearers in  BC.  Last week Jane Treweeke carried the torch in Kitimat.

On Jan. 27th tw0-time Olympian Kate Richardson ran the torch in Kamloops.  Says Kate, ” It was an incredible experience!

Kate Richardson bears the torch in Kamloops

In both of the Olympic Games that I took part in, I remember that seeing the cauldron being lit, at the Opening Ceremonies, was what finally made it sink in for me…. that I was there, and that this was the moment I had been training my whole life for.  So, I was thrilled to get the chance to be a part of the Torch Relay for the 2010 Olympic Games, to get to experience the phenomenon from the other side of the ropes, so to speak, and to get to play a small part in bringing the Flame to Vancouver, so that all of the athletes gathering there will get to have their Olympic moment.

Come the day, I have to say that it was an altogether amazing experience, far surpassing my already positive expectations.  From our rendezvous point, all of the torchbearers for that particular segment of the relay were ushered onto one of the travelling Torch Relay buses.  Here we shared our stories that had brought us together that afternoon and watched a video of clips from past torch relays, and I was just so moved by how the Olympics can unite and inspire so many people, from so many different backgrounds.  It was an honour to get to bring the excitement of the Olympic Games to the hundred-odd people lining that one street in Kamloops!

The best part was to see so many young kids waving their Canadian flags, many of whom got s-o-o-o excited when they got to hold the torch. I must say that it was a wonderful feeling, getting to play a small part in inspiring the next generation with everything that the Olympic flame represents.”

We’ll follow Tyler Dumont carry the torch this Wednesday in North Vancouver.

Go Physios Go. PABC is so proud of you.

The fun has begun……but alas no sign of athletes….yet!  Today my short track speed skating coverage was canceled; no one had booked ice time.  So instead I picked up an open shift of figure skating coverage hoping to see a different sport.  Two buses and 45 minutes and I am there.  At least it wasn’t raining.

The venue, Trout Lake Community Center, is new and spiffy. Glass, concrete and laminated wood beams that I marvel at so high in the air.

Trout Lake Rink

I require a special day pass to get into a venue that I haven’t been cleared for.  It is great to see some colleagues (and friends) from my Vancouver days. We practice our on-ice first aid techniques, and watch others practice their on and off ice techniques.  The sound techs and announcers practice their pronunciations, the ice girls repair imaginary holes before the ‘ Olympia’ (aka Zamboni) circles this pond one more time ….then rumors of maybe some skaters……

Some reporters show up so maybe the athletes really are coming.  I think to go and ask if the reporters know who might be arriving, take the opportunity to talk to someone new, meet someone from a foreign place, welcome them here to Canada, and then I remember we have been instructed to stay away from the press. In the end we finish our day early as word comes that the few figure skaters who wanted practice ice got it at the Pacific Coliseum.

D’Arcy Boulton, Sports Physio, Gabriola Island

I’ve been waiting for this day for the last two years, the day I’d finally be on venue full time.  And it was fantastic!  Dressed in my finest of blues from head to toe, I skipped from the train station to the venue humming “O Canada” along the way, and chatting with other volunteers who’s smiles and level of excitement were nearly equal to mine (my cheeks are sore from smiling so much, I’m not sure you can beat that!).

I had spent the day prior doing some final preparations at the Richmond Oval. It started bright and early at 7am with a trip to the Polyclinic at the Athlete’s Village where I took part in an engaging electrotherapy training session with our PABC resident electro-expert, Alison Hoens.  It was great to see all the other therapists there who will be working at various other venues and the Polyclinic throughout the games.  I left the Polyclinic feeling even more prepared than I ever imagined possible.

Teri-lynn Fraser (the cathode), Ron Mattison (the muscle) and Trish Hopkins (the anode), act out electrotherapy with Alison Hoens

First day on venue flew by at lightening speed.  My biggest fear is that the whole month of February will go that fast and I will miss all the excitement!  Stay tuned…

Timberly attempts to hold up the rings

Timberly George

Oh behalf of the 2000 members of the Physiotherapy Association of BC, I am proud to announce as the CEO of this august group that today we officially launch our focus on BC physiotherapists involved in the 2010 games.

Here on SportPhysio2010 we’ll keep the light shining on sports physios working with Olympians, physiotherapists working with athletes, PABC members in the opening ceremonies, on the finish gates, and many other places behind the scenes at the most talked about event in BC since Expo.

Along with our new Blog comes our Twitter and Facebook presence, as well as a new TV ad premiering tonight.  PABC is one of three sponsors of a new Global TV show, The O Show, nightly capturing the day’s Olympic events with Squire Barnes. The ad is also on CBC. Watch for a sneak peak later today here on the blog.

Not happy to stop there, PABC is also supporting the the Canadian Physiotherapy Association‘s first-ever  TV ad, which features all PABC members some of whom are SportPhysios involved in the Olympics. The national ad will air on CTV during the Olympics, as well as TSN and Sportsnet.

We’ll keep you informed here of our members’ activities in The 2010 Games. You can also follow us on Twitter @rebeccabt and @sportphysio2010 and join our Fan Page on Facebook

Suzanne Geba, PABC’s Tech Lead, is responsible for PABC’s foray into our new social media endeavours and will be leading our activities.

Go Canada Go        Go Physios Go

Excitement and energy were in the air today in the Vancouver Olympic Village, where we officially opened our doors to welcome the Olympic Athletes from around the world! This morning the sun glistened over downtown Vancouver and accross the water, adding a magic glow to the ribbon cutting ceremony. The Polyclinic is fully operational and staffed  24 hours a day with health care professionals. Services available to the Athletes and Olympic family include Sports and Emergency medicine, Imaging, Dentistry, Pharmacy services, and of course Therapy services. Our Therapy team includes 9 Physiotherapists, 5 Chiropractors, and 11 Massage therapist all working various shifts over the next month. We have been fantastically equipped with world class modalities, exercise equipment, and a bracing clinic. Also located in the fitness centre is a supervised Recovery and Regeneration area – which includes both hot and cold tubs, massage tables and stretching areas for the athletes to use individually or as a team. We’ve seen our first couple of patients this morning, and we’re all getting ready for a very busy couple of weeks ahead!

posted by Allison Ezzat (Mackay), BC Sport Physio at the Athletes Village Polyclinic

PABC’s Chris Napier is mentioned in a CBC article. Skicross racer Julia Murray’s Olympic dream is back on track thanks to her sport med team. Read the CBC article Skicross racer Julia Murray to compete in Olympics

Read more about Julia at CBC News.