Expand your scope of operations by assembling an expert group to tackle the demands of professional sporting events.

By Jeff Baskett

Concern regarding banned substances in professional sports has had a positive effect on the promotion of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for athletes.

Some chiropractors are taking advantage of this trend by expanding their practices and heightening their exposure. For others, success has come in the form of assembling all-volunteer holistic wellness teams that can provide the kind of large-scale response to healthcare that is often needed at sporting events.

The construction and management of a holistic wellness team that provides CAM at sporting events is an enormous undertaking.

Just ask Jeffrey Poplarski, DC, LLC, who was the wellness team chairman for the 2011 U.S. Open Championship at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. His team of more than 100 healthcare practitioners was a prominent presence at the event.

With the complement of various CAM health professionals on the wellness team, those requiring assistance were able to have treatment tailored to their specific health needs.

This repertoire of distinctive patient care is what makes a wellness team with an integrative approach such an attraction for sporting events, especially major events that have a large number of participants and volunteers.

You can imagine how appreciative a caddy lugging a large golf bag around the course must be after an adjustment or full-body massage at the end of a long day.

Because the majority of sports injuries are often soft tissue in nature, chiropractic and other complementary and alternative medicines have garnered quite a bit of attention in recent years.

Offering a multidisciplinary approach to healthcare at sporting events is not only a great way to help with these injuries, but you can promote yourself and your practice, especially if the event in question is held annually.

Most health practitioners you contact to recruit will realize the promotional benefit of volunteering their time and effort at a major sporting event. It is a great opportunity for you to showcase your talents to athletes in need of treatment or who are looking to enhance their performance.

Recruitment

Although recruiting a wellness team can be time consuming, it is well worth the expense and energy for everyone involved.

Remember, the team members will become the face of not only your wellness

team but your practice as well. Photographs, newsletters, and other events are where your team will be represented (and hopefully in a good light).

Lori-Ann Gallant-Heilborn, LMT, spent six years developing her sports massage team that works with all levels of competitive athletes at sporting events. She stated that her wellness team works hand-in-hand with the emergency medical response teams at all the larger sporting events.

“When your athletes bring home the hardware, they always seem to include you in the celebration,” says Heilborn.

Earlier in the year, Heilborn and her wellness team traveled to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., where they worked in the recovery department of the sports medicine department for the 2^nd annual Wounded Warrior Games.

“What an incredible experience working with these amazing para-military athletes,” Heilborn says.

For his part, Poplarski recruited 108 volunteer healthcare professionals who came to the U.S. Open to staff the three wellness tents located on the grounds. Massage therapists, physical therapists, and chiropractors came from 13 different states to help with treatment for the players, caddies, and the thousands of volunteers at the event.

The acceptance of the wellness team’s complementary and alternative approach to medicine remains a testament to the popularity of integrated and holistic care. Poplarski and his recruited teams continue to get invited back to the U.S. Open since their debut in 2002.

Permission

Securing permission from event organizers is another challenge and one that can sometimes include explaining the attributes of your wellness team to a board-governed committee that oversees the event.

As the popularity of CAM continues to grow, this challenge will become easier to surmount.

If your practice is interested in getting involved with sporting events, sign up with a sports marketing company that specializes in these types of events.

Most organized sporting events require having a wellness team on site so the demand is already in place. The marketing company works for you and will tailor their event needs around your schedule.

Jeff Baskett has been the global marketing manager at Sombra Professional Therapy Products for more than seven years. He is an avid multi-sport athlete and understands the value of complementary and alternative medicine for all his therapeutic needs. He can be reached at jeff@sombrausa.com or through www.sombrausa.com.