While unfortunate, student-athletes do suffer injuries—sometimes serious ones—while competing under the Queen’s Gaels crest. Luckily, for both varsity athletes and members of the Kingston community, Q Sports Medicine is Queen’s reliable athletic therapy program run out of the Athletics & Recreation Centre.
Q Sports Medicine is comprised of both student and certified athletic therapists, massage therapists, and other specialists. They provide care for Queen’s athletes and students, as well as staff, faculty, ARC members, and other members of the Kingston community.
Head Athletic Therapist and Manager of Q Sports Medicine, Ryan Bennett, sat down with The Journal to discuss the different and extensive ways in which his team diagnoses and rehabilitates injuries sustained by students and athletes at Queen’s or in Kingston.
Their approach varies on a case-by-case basis, and while injuries suffered mid-game are primarily assessed by either student trainers or supervising athletic therapists, it’s up to the athlete or student to seek further treatment at the Q Sports Medicine office after the game.
While Bennett and his team can’t force athletes to seek treatment, those who do visit the clinic with a lingering ailment is given what Bennett calls a “Home Program.”
“Depending on the injury and the severity of what they can or can’t do—there’s obviously limits we would impose based on safety—we’d say, at home, could you do this set of exercises? It could be once a day, maybe it’s twice a day. We’d give them a list and we’d walk them through the clinic, sending them home with a series of exercises to perform on their own time,” Bennett said in an interview with The Journal.
Throughout the recovery process, Bennett and his staff members communicate with coaching staff and professors through written reports. These reports outline the athlete’s mobility and physical limitations, offering recommendations for how coaching staff and academic advisors can accommodate the injured student-athlete. While these recommendations aren’t binding, they provide valuable guidance on how to support the athlete’s recovery, Bennett said.
It’s important to note that for certain injuries, such as ligament tear, Q Sports Medicine can be used as a means to an end, not an end itself. As Bennett pointed out, the clinic cannot perform surgeries, so cases requiring surgical intervention are referred to physicians.
“Depending on the severity, sometimes a physician is required, or they’re introduced into the case. If it’s severe enough, especially one that’s surgical, then they would need this physician’s clearance to go back to play,” he said.
For most injuries, like sprains, bumps, and bruises—frequent in both contact and non-contact sports—athletes can often be cleared by one of the athletic therapists, either in the clinic or immediately following assessment.
“It really is a team approach, if they want other opinions, they can. We would support them if they wanted to go see a family doctor that they’re familiar with, or even a therapist at home or in town that they’re familiar with,” Bennett added.
While traditionally Q Sports Medicine really only gets athletes visiting them, Bennett and the rest of his team are willing, and eager, to help anyone who might be suffering from a musculoskeletal ailment.
Ryan Bennett and his team of trained and passionate athletic therapists at Q Sports Medicine can be found on Lower Level 1 at the ARC. For more information, visit their website through rec.gogaelsgo.com.
Tags
ARC, Injuries, Physiotherapy, Q Sports Medicine, rehabilitation, Ryan Bennett
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