Im sure you guys know me by now and that i never whinge about anything:D however....
I am currently massaging at one of the Olympic venues; The GB women's football team have just arrived ready for their QF game. Their physio comes down to our med room and asks to borrow our couch so they can massage the players, (why haven't they got there own:032:)
Our physio gladly offered the couch, im not happy about this to be honest.:mad:
I introduced myself and volunteered my services as a sports massage. 😀
Well the look on her face:eek: it was if she had just stepped in some :042:
"To be honest" she said " we keep it all in house as we know the players and their history; they will just take the piss and have full body massages if they can have what they want" she continued" we provide the treatment that they need as we know best"
I thought :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: "well f*#k you" in my head of course:p i almost said "can i have my couch back":) lets hope the physio's little friction massage works:o
On a positive note to end on; I have also worked with the NZ w footy team, the physio sent nearly the whole team to have massages, kept myself busy all day, every player thanked me and said how great they felt afterwards, that night they went on to win their game 3-1 to reach the QF stage, the first time in their history, I saw them this morning and each one thanked me again for the massage and how much it prepared them for the game. The physio also came up to me and thanked me for my hard work and how much she appreciated my efforts in helping her with the team so she could deal with important injuries :D:D:D:D:D:D:D
now why cant GB be more like that?????:eek::eek::eek::eek: oh yes GB team do not have any SMP with them just physio and sports med doc (who can do a little bit of massage;))
Accentuate the positive my friend--the feedback from the Games on the Sports massage effort so far has been fantastic. Keep it up---the opportunity to promote the profession during the Games and post games is massive. Believe it or not we do actually enjoy great support from most physios.
i have been working very hard in promoting SM with the medical team, players, teams staff, volunteers and the police:D
the other medical team members have been impressed with my knowledge and hard work, the look on peoples faces when they come out of the treatment room is very positive and we have had great feedback from the teams we have done so far. Had a guy from UAE and he was amazed at my ability, how i managed to find the spots straight away, he said his team SM were no where near as good as me:D, he came back for a second treatment the next day as i was so good.
I told him the hard work the SMA have been doing in promoting SM within the Olympics.
Hopefully i have made a good contact with him, as he asked many question, afterwards i felt like i had just had a job interview, the only thing i failed on is that i dont speak German:o he is based in Switzerland and he said the pay for SM is double than here, he asked whether i would work abroad and with international teams:D
why oh why are we not like this guy in this country. GB take note.
Keep it up boys - your'e doing a great job! Perhaps one day the penny will drop 😀
i have been working very hard in promoting SM with the medical team, players, teams staff, volunteers and the police:D
the other medical team members have been impressed with my knowledge and hard work, the look on peoples faces when they come out of the treatment room is very positive and we have had great feedback from the teams we have done so far. Had a guy from UAE and he was amazed at my ability, how i managed to find the spots straight away, he said his team SM were no where near as good as me:D, he came back for a second treatment the next day as i was so good.
I told him the hard work the SMA have been doing in promoting SM within the Olympics.
Hopefully i have made a good contact with him, as he asked many question, afterwards i felt like i had just had a job interview, the only thing i failed on is that i dont speak German:o he is based in Switzerland and he said the pay for SM is double than here, he asked whether i would work abroad and with international teams:D
why oh why are we not like this guy in this country. GB take note.
Well done The Beagle!
Paul. Vice Chair. SMA
Hi Beagle
just to say that all the smilies in first post are not only helping you express your anger they have quite a hilarious.well readers like myself anyway...
Its good that you rant with such grace...that it puts a smile on the listener's face
Good luck with whatever it is that you are doing.
x
now why cant GB be more like that?????:eek::eek::eek::eek: oh yes GB team do not have any SMP with them just physio and sports med doc (who can do a little bit of massage;))
Small consolation but your experience is by no means unique had exactly the same reaction at every international tournament I have worked at in the past (tennis is the worst)
Why is it that gb physios are so far up themselves, every other country is fine
I thought they had grown out of it but seems like nothing changes
believe it or not we do actually enjoy great support from most physios.
Sorry Paul it if you are referring to GB physios but I believe it not
Most (IMHO) feel 'threatened' so you have to play your cards very close to your chest until you get the chance to work directly with the player / athlete
some of the remarks from other physio's and a few sports med doc's have surprised me. I was talking to a member of our own med team, who is a physio at a Premier football team; i asked him how many massage if any he does a week. His reply was "about four":eek: he went on to say they discourage the players from having sports massage as it creates a lifestyle of not stretching after training, the players would rather have a massage than stretch.:rolleyes::eek:
surely the coach should make stretching part of the training and to discourage player from sports massage show the lack of knowledge that physio has about the job.
he also said that sports massage is to hard a job thats why he tends not to do much.
After watching him massage a few players his techniques was a bit:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
I have to agree with DFNU, it does seem to be the GB who shy away from SM, a lack of knowledge about the benefits i guess. so much of the rest of the world embrace SM as part of there training. A comment from the women GB footy team after there defeat in the QF was "we were a bit leggy and tired", maybe a sports massage before hand might of helped:rolleyes::D but then again the other team kept us busy so might not of had time:p;):o
some of the remarks from other physio's and a few sports med doc's have surprised me. I was talking to a member of our own med team, who is a physio at a Premier football team; i asked him how many massage if any he does a week. His reply was "about four":eek: he went on to say they discourage the players from having sports massage as it creates a lifestyle of not stretching after training, the players would rather have a massage than stretch.:rolleyes::eek:
surely the coach should make stretching part of the training and to discourage player from sports massage show the lack of knowledge that physio has about the job.
he also said that sports massage is to hard a job thats why he tends not to do much.
After watching him massage a few players his techniques was a bit:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
I have to agree with DFNU, it does seem to be the GB who shy away from SM, a lack of knowledge about the benefits i guess. so much of the rest of the world embrace SM as part of there training. A comment from the women GB footy team after there defeat in the QF was "we were a bit leggy and tired", maybe a sports massage before hand might of helped:rolleyes::D but then again the other team kept us busy so might not of had time:p;):o
I am in the great position of teaching physios and sports physicians (yes they do additional training too), and they are always surprised at how little they actually know about soft tissue techniques and sports massage.
More worrying for me is how little they understand about fascia and how it works, and the problems dysfunctional fascia causes. Fascia has a huge impact on everyone, but moreso athletes, and I cannot understand why they still dont teach this in sports physiotherapy or sports med courses (though I am not complaining as they are keeping me in a job :D:D)
Sports massage being tiring is one of the main reasons it isnt used that much, which is a great shame, as it is much better than giving someone a couple of exercises, or worse still, shoving an ultrasound machine on them (Yes, they play their part but only when we have done the main bulk of the soft tissue work manually).
Unfortunately sports massage is still seen as the 'poor relation' when it comes to sports 'medicine' skills, yet, it should be at the forefront.
I have to agree with DFNU, it does seem to be the GB who shy away from SM, a lack of knowledge about the benefits i guess. so much of the rest of the world embrace SM as part of there training. A comment from the women GB footy team after there defeat in the QF was "we were a bit leggy and tired", maybe a sports massage before hand might of helped:rolleyes::D but then again the other team kept us busy so might not of had time:p;):o
One of my clients, remaining nameless who is in Team GB ladies footy team has regular sports massage, and did so until she left for the training camp, and when she came home. I also work with league football clubs who dont have "masseurs", but encourage their players to seek and pay for their own. it is about many clubs keeping the back room staff to a minimum, keeping costs low, and as the players are well paid, they pay for their own.
the worst athletes are cyclists, they spend thousands on a bike but wont spend £30-40 on a massage.
Many lower league clubs are reliant on students from local colleges or unis getting work experience and volunteering. My contact from one club has now developed into about 8-10 clubs as players are transferred and speak of my services, many of the players who live local, and travel to their new clubs will use my services when they are home
regards
BGFL
Unfortunately sports massage is still seen as the 'poor relation' when it comes to sports 'medicine' skills, yet, it should be at the forefront.
:Dyes agreed. i can never understand why we are the last resort when it comes to treatment, many of my private clients now come to me first, the slightest twinge and they are booking in:D, its far easier to get rid of a little niggle than a full brown injury:p
i deal with many amateur cyclists and yes they can be very frustrating, spend thousands and thousand on equipment yet nothing on themselves. always come to me during the off season with different problems, when i ask them when it started "oh near the start of the season":eek: makes me:mad:
ive recently treated a swiss chap and he told me he has a massage nearly every week back home, and they charge double to what i charge:eek: £50 for 30 minutes. And can be even more in the ski season:p
he couldnt understand why we dont use SM more in this country, i said it is getting better, the voice is getting stronger and louder with people like the SMA pushing it into the olympic games.
the attitude from other medical professions need to change and realize there is a real benefit in SM and not just for recovery, it helps to maintain good sporting performance, prepares the body for bigger demands, i believe it can help prevent injury but also speed up the recovery from injury/surgery.
Its funny speaking to all the physio during the games how they have all said they have take courses for SM yet dont wish to use those skills to help athletes. If physiotherapy is so great why train in a so called lesser skill:rolleyes:
physio's have there place and they do provide real benefit, but so do SM practitioners.
If only we could have used all of our SM skills during the games just to show what we can do.
Ive still got four days of olympic games to do, so there is still time to push the benefits/skills/talent and progress that SM has to offer:D
Thanks SMA for giving me the platform to shout about sports massage to a wider audience. Shame GB is still doing the three wise monkey routine;):banghead:
Keep plugging away. This is a long term game--Physios took decades to get recognition and will not give up their hard won gains easily. I'll qualify my earlier remarks a little--I'm aware of the attitudes of some at elite level, but even there we have some grudging respect. Look, make no mistake the Sports Masseurs and indeed the Sports Therapists are the masters of hands on work--this is our niche--and we are miles ahead of everybody else, however the attitude of our colleagues in other professions lags some way behind that of the athletes at amateur and professional level who vote with their feet. The sports massage encounters at the Polyclinic (driven by athlete demand) are so far ahead of everything else that it tells its own story. We will build on our success at the Olympics and no doubt at the Paralympics--and at the Commonwealth Games until we simply cannot be ignored. What we do need however is people to join the relevant ruddy PAs and get involved in helping us take the profession (s) forward.
What we do need however is people to join the relevant ruddy PAs and get involved in helping us take the profession (s) forward.
Totally agree Paul, its a shame there are PA's out there that take the fees and do little for it, maybe a glossy magazine, or plenty of internships.
What we need is support for those out there selling their professions to a wider audience.
Without support, the gains we have made can be just as easily lost. We are certainly the masters of our trade, but as you say, others arent going to give up their traditional roles easily, even though their skills have now clearly been surpassed.
i have been working very hard in promoting SM with the medical team, players, teams staff, volunteers and the police:D
the other medical team members have been impressed with my knowledge and hard work, the look on peoples faces when they come out of the treatment room is very positive and we have had great feedback from the teams we have done so far. Had a guy from UAE and he was amazed at my ability, how i managed to find the spots straight away, he said his team SM were no where near as good as me:D, he came back for a second treatment the next day as i was so good.
I told him the hard work the SMA have been doing in promoting SM within the Olympics.
Hopefully i have made a good contact with him, as he asked many question, afterwards i felt like i had just had a job interview, the only thing i failed on is that i dont speak German:o he is based in Switzerland and he said the pay for SM is double than here, he asked whether i would work abroad and with international teams:D
why oh why are we not like this guy in this country. GB take note.
I'm based in the top end of the Black Forest, about two hours from the Swiss border, send your new friend my way will you? After the Paralympics and the STO conference I've got nothing special planned until a tournament in Moscow next summer, I quite fancy a bit of 'international team abroad work'. 😀
Its commforting to read that the profession is making ground. I have just completed my SM training and a large part of what i am doing now is trying to explain and communicate the benefits of massage to alot of the members of the gym where I work.
Glad I'm not alone in this.