sportphysio2010

source: Vancouver Sun

We’ve taken a short break between games here at the Sportsphysio2010 blog, but that doesn’t mean our physios are done. Many will be back to help out athletes in the Paralympic games and we’ll be here to tell you about them.

It isn’t difficult to be awestruck by athletes competing at the Paralympic games. Can you imagine skiing down a course reaching speeds of over 130km/hr with only 10% vision?  In a series of recent Vancouver Sun articles (Faster, higher, stronger and paralympians have top-secret edge), Randy Shore highlights the sophisticated technology behind paralympic sports and the national program in place to give Canadian paralympians the technological edge to put them at the top of the podium.

Funded through Own the Podium, the Top Secret program is developing high-tech gear and improving technology for paralympic athletes. From advanced-damper sit-skis for the para-alpine team to specialized picks and blades for the sledge hockey team, athletes are experiencing a phenomenal difference in performance levels according to Shore, who expects to see some fierce competition when the Paralympics games begin. Sales of wheelchair curling and sledge hockey tickets are going fast!

Physiotherapists play a huge role in working with these awesome athletes.  Physio Paige Larson has  vast experience working with paralympic athletes  and has seen a lot of action during the 2010 games.  She was  venue medical supervisor for figure skating and is now is now with the wheelchair curling team.  Paige, who  has  been with Team Canada for  the last three Paralympics, was recently featured in The North Shore News.  Read about Paige here.

Paige in action

We look forward to hearing more from Paige and other  physios volunteering for the Paralympic games!

Suzanne Geba
Member Services & Technology Lead for PABC