Sport Injuries

The quicker you can treat an injury, as long as there is no fracture, or the ligaments are not completely ruptured, the more quickly the healing process can be initiated.

I have been lucky enough to be in a situation where access to acute trauma was present, and that the people who were injured needed to be treated and restored to health as soon as possible. I was one of a number of doctors on call with the game show called “Gladiators”. Most of the injuries were minor in that they were strains and sprains. However, when you are recording two shows a day it is imperative that the gladiators are kept as fit and injury free as possible. I was in my apprentice years then, but I still had the nickname of “Witchdoctor” given to me by the gladiators, because they came in injured and in pain, and went out feeling better and in no pain.

This with only one session of Strain Counterstrain! I was truly amazed because I had been taught that RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) was the most appropriate therapy for minor injuries, but as I mentioned, with two shows a day this was not a place for doing nothing. Since then I have seen injuries that when treated early and effectively, do not adhere to the inflammatory pattern that you would expect, and that the recovery of normal function is much quicker. I think this premise is true for all injuries, but only time and research by people who are experienced in this type of trauma, will show what I believe to be true. The more quickly you can treat your patient after they have injured themselves, the quicker they will recover their health and the less pain they will suffer.

As well as working with the ‘Gladiators’, I have also been Doctor to England Rugby Union Football Under 16’s & 18’s, and I have been Team Doctor at Worthing Rugby Football Club since1998 up to this day,