Leamington Rugby Football Club

In any form of contact with the players, whether it is pitch side or during training I have developed my skills to recognise, manage and treat injuries, aiding in the rehabilitation process back to their original fitness level.

My treatment techniques have excelled through working at this club, the physiotherapist I work for is an excellent teacher, testing my knowledge wherever possible, allowing me to demonstrate my skills. He is conscious of my career goals and has therefore tried to incorporate his guidance into teaching me the necessary transferable skills required to work within the NHS.

With this club I have also offered to cover other games and training sessions where the physiotherapist is unable to cover. I am flexible and always willing to help others, but I am scrupulous enough to ensure I don’t work myself. My efforts at the club have led me to be recognised as the 16th player on the team. This is heart-warming praise of my skills I wish to bring into my professional career.

Overall my role at LRFC is to provide advice and treatment to those who require it during one of their two training sessions and to also provide pitch side cover during one of the three team games. Each game is uniquely exciting as injuries and severity cannot be predicted and no two games are alike. I thrive in the challenge of being able to test my knowledge in a time restricted basis and see instantaneous results which makes working for this team thrilling and stimulating. The unpredictability of this environment along with the excellent tuition I have received from the main physiotherapist at the club has enabled me to feel effectively prepared for moving into a band 5 position in a hospital after passing my degree.

Through LRFC I have developed many skills: Time management skills: Especially pre match preparation. In a short period of time you are expected to tape everyone who needs taping and massage anyone who asks for it. It means that I have learnt to delegate my time well, ensuring everyone gets seen for a reasonable amount of time while answering any questions anyone has and preparing myself for the afternoon. Initially I was slow, and everyone understood which was reassuring but with practice I have become a lot more efficient and effective with my techniques. Making do with little information: When someone goes down during play, or someone comes in during training sessions injured you conduct a very quick subjective and objective assessment as time is limited. You learn to problem solve with little information provided before having begun treatment. Authoritative: During matches if someone takes a knock to the head initial prognosis is always to suspect concussion therefore you have to remove that individual from play no matter how much they wish to continue. It is better to be safe than sorry with head injuries due to the increased risk of further injuries happening. Players will think nothing off it, even if they have a small moment of dizziness they will want to carry on. This is when I have become more assertive as a physiotherapist and explain to them the risks and tell them they are not carrying on play that day. Knowledge of Injuries: my knowledge of the pathophysiology of sporting injuries has increased through clinical reasoning and explaining the injuries and healing process to the players. Learn to make do: with what you have got. During away matches you are not always lucky enough to have been provided with a physio plinth, and as I currently do not have one of my own you learn to make do with the benches in the changing rooms for massage and taping. You learn to become resourceful with

what is in your bag to help your team out as much of possible; for example one of my players was recovering from Achilles tendinosis and during his gradual return to play he asked me to make some heel cushions in case he needed to offload his Achilles. So using gauze pads and sock tape/prewrap to hold them together I provided him with 2 heel cushions.

For the end of the 2014-2015 season and beginning of the 2015-2016 season I have been managing the 3’s team, which is a mixture of older players and the young ones who have just turned the minimum age to play. From this I have had my fair share of injuries to be dealing with from sprained ankles to bleeding and concussions. The referee is very respecting of your opinion which enhances confidence and solidifies my independence. From February 2016 onwards I have begun assisting at training sessions again, now that placement has finished. Due to a previous sports therapist who also helps out left to go travelling, I have been ‘promoted’ to covering pitch side cover for the 2’s team. I have been glad for this opportunity because the games are slightly faster paced than the 3’s which has allowed me to test my skills constantly and push myself.

I have been trusted on a few occasions since beginning here at LRFC to manage the first team games when the physiotherapist has been off. Even though these games are a lot more serious than the 3’s games the team and coach are helpful and not rude or forceful when it comes to pre match preparation. Having completed pitch side cover for all 3 teams at LRFC I have experienced a mixture of injuries which have varying severity; due to the difference in professionalism which dictates the speed of the game injuries become more complex and time to treat them effectively decreases which I have welcomed as a test of my skills.

All of this has enhanced my skills and experience regarding the MSK branch of physiotherapy. Having worked at the club for 6 months before commencing my MSK outpatient placement, I can confidently say that working for the club helped prepare me for the placement. They both involve fast paced assessment and treatment-time is limited per client – and you have to be able to think quickly if treatment needs changing for x, y or z reasons.

This opportunity has also provided me with many contacts and additional experiences such as:Completing a ROCKTAPE taping courseCompleting the RFU concussion courseA new position at WRFU U20’s county team and in the summer of 2015 I provided cover for a semi-professional hurling match which was extremely exciting to watch.

The hurling match seriously tested my communication skills, as I was providing cover for the opposition team, who had travelled over from Ireland to play Warwickshire. The players all had extremely strong Irish accents and spoke quite fast, so understanding them proved to be a challenge. However they were completely aware of this so we found ways to work around it.

I thoroughly enjoy working for Leamington, it is very fun and I enjoy the acute side of this branch of physiotherapy. The autonomy and independence physiotherapists have in rugby is very appealing over sports such as football and the gratitude and appreciation all the players and coaches express towards you is heart-warming. It is always noted that I have played a vital part in the team helping those who are injured and rehabilitating them.