uSports 2019 Women's Rugby Championship
I had the privilege of helping out with the Women’s uSport Rugby Championship this year hosted at uOttawa. It was a great event with many exciting games and a ton of tough rugby players. As I’m sitting here making chilli and watching football I decided to reflect on what I experienced as part of the health team on Friday and Saturday.
People are tough. Pain is an interesting thing. I see people in pain all the time, and for many different reasons, but what always surprises me is how different people experience their pain. When the rugby teams came in, covered in bruises and beat up from 2 games in 3 days (with one still to go!), I barely heard any complaining. Clearly they were sore and achy, but the goal was recovery and progress, so the pain was just a side-effect of pursuing their goal!
People need teams. Whether it’s a sport team, a work team, or a family “team”, I can’t emphasize enough just how important it is to have a support structure and a team. It was great seeing the players support one another, hanging out, chatting, and taking the steps they needed to take to optimize their recovery and get back in the game together. I do my best to find out what everyone of my patient’s support team looks like, because it can have such an impact on our goals, attitudes, and behaviours. Having a solid team can help us overcome any obstacle, and it’s been my honour since starting practice to join so many fantastic individual’s teams and help them accomplish their goals! It’s helped me evaluate my support team, and even though it’s an ongoing process, I’m grateful for the support I receive and can give every day.
I’m excited for more opportunities to give back to our community and work with our athlete’s, no matter what capacity we move in. This weekend just reaffirmed that I made the best choice I could have made for a career, and I couldn’t be more excited to continue on my journey as a chiropractor who gets to help people perform their best in sports, work and with family.
