Meeting and treating top athletes: local chiropractor at the Commonwealth Games

LOCAL chiropractor, Kay Pearce, has been busy offering her skills and services to some of the top athletes in the world at the recent Commonwealth Games. 

Kay, who owns the Maristow Chiropractic Clinic in town, has spent a week treating athletes at all hours at the two athletes’ villages in Birmingham. 

Speaking to the White Horse News, Kay said, “I can’t name names due to confidentiality, but I scanned and treated one athlete whom I was able to reassure that he had a mild condition affecting his knee; one that some light treatment and corrective exercises could help. He was worried as a family member had been found to have a much more significant injury which stopped them competing.  

“Just this information alone boosted his confidence so much he told me “Tomorrow I will come back and show you my medal”. Unfortunately, I had finished my last shift that night … but I was thrilled to tune in the next day to watch him win a gold medal from the comfort of my sofa! 

“I was at both the Birmingham and National Exhibition Centre (NEC) villages, but mostly the NEC. The sports there were badminton, netball, table tennis, boxing and weightlifting. I had the most encounters with weightlifters, whom it would seem, tend to insist on continuing with competition, even through painful injuries!  

“Their injuries mostly involved hands, elbows and knees. I saw several badminton players with non-serious back pain for routine treatments rather than help with injuries as such, and the table tennis players often came in with tightness and stiffness of the calf muscles.  

“I was also at the Games as a sonographer, using ultrasound to diagnose tendon ligament and muscle injuries. This meant I spent a lot of time with the radiologist discussing if we needed other scans (there was an MRI unit in the car park!). Once when the radiologist was on his dinner break, and we couldn’t have an instant X-ray taken, I did an ultrasound on an athlete’s hand instead and diagnosed a fractured bone.” 

Kay was one of 20 chiropractors who were part of the medical services team at the Games, there to access, diagnose, refer and/or treat athletes for a wide range of muscle, joint and nerve problems. Problems included anything from back pain to sprained ankles to fractured wrists. 

Kay added, “The availability of the services is the most eye-opening experience. An athlete could come in, be assessed within minutes, referred for an x-ray with results back in an instant. Then if appropriate, have an MRI scan in the car park, with radiologists reading the images by the time the athlete gets back to the clinic! Advice and/or treatment then starts immediately. If only that could happen in the real world! 

“The most rewarding aspect of my work there was representing chiropractic, as well as raising awareness amongst physiotherapists, osteopaths and sports doctors of our skill set, ability and level of training. Also, showing the athletes why we have a valued place in the medical services team. Many athletes come in and ask for a chiropractor, but for many others, it is their first experience.” 

Kay says that she is looking forward to next year’s British Masters Athletics where she hopes to meet up with the medical services team again.