By Kelsi McGonigal, MPT
Assistant Coach Winnipeg Avros Women's Hockey, Assistant Coach U18 Women's Hockey for Team Manitoba.
Being a both high performance female hockey coach and a
physiotherapist has provided me with interesting view of sport and an equally
unique perspective as a therapist. Wearing both hats, I look to enhance the
performance of my athletes and patients. I have found in my experience the
approach to ‘enhancing performance’ can be very different between roles. Not
many coaches have the perspective of a therapist; likewise, not many therapists
have the perspective of a coach.
As a coach, there’s nothing worse than watching any player
get injured or have to take time away from sport due to an injury. I was once in
that position as an athlete and it’s a very challenging thing to go through at
any age or any level of competition. As a therapist, my job is to help rehabilitate
an injury and get that person ‘back to play’ – whatever that might look like
for each individual. As a coach, I always inform my athletes to take care of
their bodies but there’s also a role I play to instill competitiveness, drive
and hard work in them that might push them to their limits and beyond. The
discourse of sport has taught athletes that that means to “suck it up” or that
it’s “normal” to feel pain and “push through” an injury. It’s just part of being
an athlete, right? As a therapist, I know this couldn’t be more wrong.
So now what? The first step is to bring awareness into
sporting arenas, especially with kids. It’s just a game and they are just kids.
As coaches, parents, family and friends, it’s important we are watching for
signs an injury may have occurred. Did
you see them get hurt? Are they playing tentatively or favoring something? Are
they complaining something hurts? Are they skipping shifts? Does it look like there’s
an injury (i.e. bruising, swelling etc.)?
As an athlete, you need to pay attention when your body is telling you
something is wrong.
If an injury has occurred, the next step is figuring out
where to go. There are many options and professionals that can help including doctors,
physiotherapists, massage therapists, etc.
If you have a small injury, it may be okay to give it a day or two to
heal. However, if you are unsure, the safest bet is to get it checked out. Always
seek medical help if there is a significant injury or impact to the head or
neck, suspected broken bones, change in consciousness, and significant or
persistent pain. If you’re not sure, it’s worth getting it checked out. When it
comes to athletes and kids in sport, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Looking back on my career as an athlete and now thinking as
a coach and educated as a physiotherapist, I wish I had spoken up about more
injuries or dealt with them sooner to avoid missing as much time as I did or
playing below my potential. Most coaches don’t even know their players are
injured and if they don’t know, or parents don’t know, they can’t help. It’s
always good to take each injury seriously and to rehabilitate it properly so
you get back to where you are performing your best. It doesn’t mean every
injury is a trip to the emergency room but it does mean you respect your body
and respect what it’s telling you – any pain is not normal pain. Communicate with
your coach, trainer, therapist, or parents. Seek advice from the appropriate
medical professionals as necessary. If you’re not sure who can help, call and
ask! There are many great resources out there and many people that are eager to
help. As physiotherapists, there are not many injuries we cannot help to treat
– and it doesn’t always mean you have to stop training or playing! We are
always eager to help everyone from the non-athlete to the recreational or high
performance athlete perform his or her best and stay in the game!