Aching to win - the people who keep national athletes free from injuries
Imagine the expertise needed to work with athletes across all sports!
Blog post by Emily Ho & David Lintonbon DO
David Lintonbon & Emily Ho are practitioners of manual medicine who have done just that. By researching into the art and science of manual medicine they use and integrate techniques from a range of hands-on techniques and tailor them to the needs of the sports related injury. By adopting this approach to treatment, it takes athletes to the next level, as they prepare for their next sporting event.
A misunderstood career
Contrary to public perception, the therapeutic aspect of manual medicine isn’t just about giving massages.
Rather, manual medicine centres on “movement analysis and the correction of movement patterns”, says David. The aim is to keep the athlete injury-free and to assist them with rehabilitation so they can be at the top of their game.
Today, David is a lecturer and clinical tutor/examiner at the British College of Osteopathic Medicine.
As manual medicine practitioners involved in treating sports injuries, David & Emily have to familiarise themselves with a wide range of sports, such as boxing, basketball, ice hockey, football, rugby, and even lesser-known sports like lawn bowls.
Supporting athletes via manual medicine
Be it a boxing jab or a basketball bank shot every sport comes with varying intensities.
For many athletes, working with David & Emily is essential to ensure that they can perform optimally, while reducing risk of injury.
Athletes may also visit David & Emily when they encounter issues such as tightness in their shoulder and limited movement range. For situations like this, they check on their strength and mobility, before prescribing specific therapeutic exercises. For the more severe cases, they will employ the use of acupuncture, electrotherapy, mobilisation and manipulation modalities.
As sport manual medicine practitioners, it is critical to understand the sport and how every athlete moves. “We need to ensure that the issues don’t disrupt the athletes’ preparation for competitions,” explains Emily. Hence our recent visit to the Ratgeber Basketball
Academy in Pecs Hungary. Players in this field are highly driven and work at an extremely fast pace which give rise to a number of high impact injuries, notably ankle ligament sprain. This is where an integration of modalities came into their own. Using electrotherapy to treat the soft tissue injury and specific manipulation to the subtalar joint to improve shock absorption whilst playing thereby preventing further injury.
The more we understand the sport and what it entails, the better we are able to direct our treatment and care for the athletes.
Beyond the scientific aspects, manual medicine practitioners also need to build rapport and trust with the athletes.
Emily has also taken on the role of reminding the athletes to keep up with the rehabilitation and their mobility exercises, as these tend to fall by the wayside when the athlete gets busy with school or work.
Seeing athletes back on track after an injury give David & Emily a great sense of satisfaction.
Gearing up for the competition
As an athlete gears up for an event, training intensifies in the lead-up to these competitions. Hence athletes have a greater chance of a new injury which needs to be addressed urgently.
David recalls that a footballer once sprained his ankle on his dominant foot 20 minutes before his next match. It was a race against time for David carryout an assessment perform a manipulation, do an ice compress and tape up his ankle to keep it stabilised for his competition.
Seeing athletes give it their all is “always quite the experience,” says Emily It keeps us going, as we both finds great satisfaction in seeing the athletes back on track after an injury.
“We feel driven by the fact that we get our athletes back on the field as soon as possible. To me, winning is just a bonus. Rather, seeing them overcome their adversity to go out there and perform and play to the best of their ability, fulfils us.”
Upping your game?
If you’re looking to learn new skills contact David & Emily at Integrated Manual Medicine and look at a course that suits your CPD needs
Comments