Price Appointed As National Lead Physio
Price Appointed As National Lead Physio
by Rebecca Lee - 15.01.09
After a busy year for the English Institute of Sport (EIS) Physiotherapy team, it has been announced that Chris Price has been appointed as EIS’s National Lead for Physiotherapy.
Price has worked with the EIS for over two years in the South West Region as a Regional Lead Physiotherapist, working predominantly with Winter Sports and UK Athletics. eis2win.co.uk talked to Price on his new role as National Lead...
Q: You have been with the EIS for a couple of years now as a Senior Physiotherapist in the South West. What attracted you to this new role?
A: Having worked within the organisation for two years I have been able to get to know a large number of the physiotherapists across the EIS network. It is obvious that there are exceptionally talented staff within the network; to work with these staff, help them continually develop as individual practitioners and develop the physiotherapy service as a whole with the ultimate aim of creating what I hope will be the best service in the world envied by everyone, is an incredibly exciting opportunity.
Q: How important is the role of Physiotherapy in modern elite sport?
A: I believe that in high performance sport the multi disciplinary team is the true cornerstone of success. Physiotherapy has a vital part to play working within this team alongside Sports Physicians, Strength & Conditioning Coaches and Soft Tissue Therapists in particular. I believe that all EIS Physiotherapists know and appreciate how each discipline adds value to the other in the best interest of the athlete.
Q: How much difference can the right effective treatment make to athletes competing at the highest level?
A: The critical term here is “the right effective treatment”. When EIS Physiotherapists have athletes coming to them as their first port of call, they have the knowledge and skill to recognise when to treat but also when not to treat a problem and immediately refer to the sports physicians for early accurate diagnosis which is of paramount importance. Through accurate diagnosis the athlete and coach gain confidence that the medical team know what is wrong. Subsequently a targeted, goal oriented treatment and rehabilitation process can be implemented by the physiotherapists, strength & conditioning coaches and soft tissue therapists to ensure that the athlete returns to training and competition as early as possible.
Q: What are the key challenges in the delivery of physiotherapy support to elite athletes?
A: It is vital that athletes and coaches feel that they are receiving a high quality service and that the physiotherapists have a good knowledge of their sports specific environment. By providing a service that is sports specific, high in quality, consistently available and responsive to athlete and coach needs the physiotherapist can undoubtedly have a positive performance impact.
Q: How do you see the development of physiotherapy services at the EIS going forward over the next few years leading up to London 2012?
A: There are a lot of things that we already do well and it is upon these that we must build on and continue to improve. In order to ensure skill and knowledge sharing is effective we must develop the structures and mechanisms to help us enhance service provision, drive models of best practice and create a group of EIS experts that can help drive new and innovative ideas. However, this must be done against a backdrop of sound operational management and consistent service delivery to sports.
There are a number of key events on the horizon in the run up to London 2012, such as the Commonwealth Games and the Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010. I hope that events such as these continue to reflect the performance impact of EIS services, such as physiotherapy, in elite sport.
Q: What are your personal aims for your new role?
A: The role is split; part service delivery, part service development so just like every other therapist within the EIS I need to ensure that I progress my own skills and knowledge so that any athlete who chooses to see me continues to get as good and effective treatment as possible.
The challenge for me going forward is to ensure the service continues to meet sports’ requirements, provide consistent development of physiotherapy staff and structures and create a sustained pool of physiotherapy talent who deliver ever improving services to elite athletes. Ultimately, I would like to get to a point where every other nation will observe what we do, how we do it, ask why we do it and then aspire to reach our benchmark.
Chris Price will begin his role on February 1st. For more information on the EIS Physiotherapy service please click here