PAN AM TORCH Burlington, Ont., chiropractor Dr. Ashley Worobec was chosen as a Toronto 2015 Pan Am community torchbearer. Worobec, who works at the Burlington Sports and Spine Clinic, received the most votes from residents to bear the Pan Am torch when it passed through Burlington on June 19. “Pan Am is such a celebration of athletes and sports and athletics, and that’s a huge part of my life and my practice as well,” Worobec says. The Pan Am Games Torch relay is a 41-day journey through 130 communities involving 3,000 torchbearers. The torch makes its final stop on July 10, 2015 at the opening ceremony of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games. with during their time in Toronto. For out-of-town medical volunteers who are not as fortu-nate, other options and assistance are being offered by the various chiropractic professional associations. The Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA), for instance, has teamed up with the Ontario Physiotherapy Association and the Registered Massage Therapists’ Association of Ontario, to offer a billeting program for medical team volunteers from these three professions coming from across the country who need a place to stay. Some members of these associations are offering up their places for out-of-town volunteers to stay for the duration of their shift during the Games, free of charge. The OCA estimates about 130 DCs will be volun-teering at the Pan Am Games this year. In partnership with the Canadian Chiropractic Associa-tion and RCCSS, the OCA also hosted a “Getting Ready for the Games” panel in early June to offer some tips and best practice information for medical volunteers. “It can be an expensive endeavor for anybody who is volunteering, but it is a great experience so I am looking forward to it,” Forbes says. As a 14-year-veteran in chiropractic, Forbes recognizes the benefits she will gain from participating in such a huge event. She recently completed her masters in sports medi-cine at University of Western States in Portland, Oregon, which is also where she finished her degree in chiropractic. She believes the education she got from her masters pro-gram and the experience of working with elite athletes at Pan Am will arm her with considerable tools to help her patients in her practice. Forbes hopes to take back whatever she learns from the Pan Am experience to her practice. She happily notes her patients are all excited for her upon learning of her Pan Am participa-tion. And it’s not only because they are genuinely happy for their doc; it’s also because they realize their chiropractor is investing in their care. does not see a lot of elite, high-level athletes or big sports teams in his clinic – or in his town, for that matter. But he enjoys providing care for kids of all ages and all levels of sports, providing chiropractic care at the grassroots level. “They have somebody who can give them attention through chiropractic. It’s not just for elite athletes. I see a big need for it in all levels of sports and all levels of skills,” says Varsalona, who is also a certified chiropractic sports physician. Volunteering for the Parapan Am Games also brings unique opportunities for learning, says Varsalona. “The Parapan Am is going to be a great experience because the type of sports they are playing are not sports that we usually are familiar with.” He is doing some extra preparations for the Parapan Am, researching the types of injuries that typically occur at Para-pan Am competitions. “It’s going to be totally different types of injuries and totally different types of sports. For example, with wheelchair rugby, you’re dealing with wheelchairs as a variable and there are injuries that can occur related to that.” For Forbes, working alongside other health-care practi-tioners at the Games is also something she looks forward to. “I just think that it’s fantastic that you have a health-care team and you can work within each other’s skillsets and you can augment that,” she says. Forbes sports specialty came later on in her career, but it is something she finds she enjoys doing and plan to do so for the duration of her practice. The experience she gained from the sports medicine program at UWS further honed her collabo-rative skills. “It’s such a neat symbiotic relationship when you get to know people that you can work with and trust.” PROFESSIONAL PRIDE PATIENT FIRST Varsalona believes participating in the Games is a huge advantage to his patients. Coming from a small town, he 30 Canadian Chiropractor July/August 2015 Part of the reason Howitt decided to pursue a chiropractic sports specialty is to some day have the opportunity to be part of a major sporting event. “To be selected to Team Canada is a substantial honour,” Howitt says. “I do feel a responsibility to do an absolute bang-up job. Don’t get me wrong, there’s been others before me – Greg Uchacz and Brian Seaman – but I do feel like I have an obligation to make sure that I do a great job so other people can be invited to future games for the chiropractic profession.” The multidisciplinary nature of the medical services at the Games offers an opportunity for chiropractors to demonstrate their value to the health-care team. Pan Am is just one event. There are plenty of opportunities, sports or otherwise, big and small, that chiropractors can get involved in to increase positive public perception of the profession. Every opportunity where a chiropractor can be part of a group and show the community “how smart we are and how hardworking we are and how diligent we are at trying to bring something productive to the table” is a big boost to the profession, Howitt says. As an avid sports enthusiast, being part of Team Canada is a dream come true for Howitt. “I would have done any-thing to go to the Olympics or the Pan Am Games as an athlete. But I’m simply not good enough to go to a major game as an athlete… The only way that I could really find myself on a Pan Am Games team and representing my country is to do so as a medical professional.” www.canadianchiropractor.ca
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor July August 2015: Page 30
