COVER LEADERSHIP ON THE FRONT LINE Chiropractors get some action at this year’s biggest international sporting event T BY MARI-LEN DE GUZMAN here is no longer any doubt that in the sport-ing world, chiropractic has become part of the medical structure that supports athletes in competition. Athletes are increasingly seeking chiropractic care and see them as a vital com-ponent of their strength training, conditioning and even injury management. The 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games being hosted by Toronto this summer is another opportunity to demonstrate the value of chiropractic care to an athlete’s optimum perfor-mance. Not only is a chiropractor officially working once again for the health sciences team of Team Canada, more than 100 DCs across Canada are also heading to Toronto between July and August to participate in the host medical team for both Pan Am and Parapan Am Games, deployed at various sporting venues to provide on-site health care for participants. “The last time that we had a chiropractor on the core medical team (for Team Canada) was in Vancouver 2010 Olympics,” explained Dr. Scott Howitt, director at Sports Performance Centres, a multidisciplinary health and well-ness clinic with specialty in sports medicine and injury rehabilitation, based in Thornhill, Ont. Howitt is part of the 17-member core medical team handpicked by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) to provide health care to Team Canada athletes at this year’s Pan Am Games. He has a sports sciences fellowship from the Royal College of Chiropractic Sports Sciences (RCCSS), where he is also first vice-president. The Team Canada medical crew, who will be stationed at the Athlete’s Village, consists of a chief medical officer, clinic manager, chief doctor, chief therapist, physicians, athletic therapists, physiotherapists, a massage therapist and a chiropractor. Their task: look after the health care of MARI-LEN DE GUZMAN is editor of Canadian Chiropractor and Massage Therapy Canada magazines. Contact her at [email protected]. 28 Canadian Chiropractor July/August 2015 Dr. Jennifer Forbes (left) is travelling with her family to Toronto as she volunteers with host medical at the 2015 Pan Am Games. Dr. Tony Varsalona (top, right) is assigned at both Pan Am and Parapan Am Games. Dr. Scott Howitt (bottom, right) helps get Team Canada in top shape for the Games. Canadian athletes, attend to their injuries, if any, and get them back in the game, if possible. Howitt explains the presence of Team Canada core med-ical does not necessarily preclude individual sports teams from bringing their own therapists or medical practitioners, even chiropractors. Core medical will serve teams and ath-letes that don’t have their own therapists, as well as collab-orate with health practitioners who came with a team. Howitt and his fellow practitioners in the core medical team are required to be at the Athletes’ Village a few days before the Pan Am Games officially kicks off, and a few days after it officially concludes. This allows them to be available to athletes during training and preparations for game day, and help with teardown and post-event duties after the event. Once the event begins, Howitt expects very little down-time, as the entire medical team will be virtually on call 24 hours a day. Hence, they will all be living in the Athlete’s Village for the duration of their core medical duty. FOR THE LOVE OF SPORT Unless the health practitioner is travelling with and em-ployed by a sports team as a medical provider, participation www.canadianchiropractor.ca
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor July August 2015: Page 28
