Let’s Talk About: Sports Physiotherapy (with Dr. Chinmay Bhide)

Sports Physiotherapy and the life of a sports physiotherapist is very dynamic & demanding. Sports physiotherapy has great significance in an athlete’s life and plays a vital role in the training, injury prevention & injury management of sportsmen.

 

Today we have with us Dr. Chinmay Bhide (PT) who will answer a few questions related to sports physiotherapy. Dr. Chinmay is a qualified sports physiotherapist currently working for the Olympic Gold Quest, mainly with Indian archers & shooters. He completed his Bachelor’s in Physiotherapy from D.E.S Brijlal Jindal College Of Physiotherapy, Pune, India and went on to pursue a Masters in Sports & Orthopaedics From Manipal University in Mangalore, India. His work involves frequent travel & on-site work with various athletes.

So here are a few of our questions he answered!

Q. What motivated you to become a Sports Physiotherapist?
Ans: I have been always into sports since my childhood and also wanted to be a serious cricketer like Rahul Dravid which eventually didn’t happen so considering my interest in medical profession as well, I decided to become a sports physiotherapist so that I can help athletes recover from injuries or prevent them thereby gaining top sport performance from them.

Q. Among all the tournaments that you have attended, which have been your favourite ones & why?
Ans: All of them to be honest. Because every time an athlete I have worked with achieves something in any particular competition, it gives me immense satisfaction and pleasure seeing our Indian flag flying high.

Q. Do mention names of some of the athletes you have treated.
Ans: Few of the athletes I have worked with –
• Gagan Narang – London 2012 Bronze medalist Rifle Shooter
• Kynan Chenai – Olympian, Rio 2016, Trap Shooting
• Angad vir Bajwa – Asian Skeet Shooting Champion2019, Quota winner,Tokyo2020
• Deepika Kumari – Olympian, Rio 2016 and London 2012, Archery
• Atanu Das – Olympian, Rio 2016, Archery
• Deepak Kumar – Quota Winner, Tokyo 2020, Archery
• Anish Bhanwala – CWG 2018 Gold medalist, Shooting

Q. Do you feel that the world & India have realized the significance of Sports Physiotherapy over the years?
Ans: Yes, absolutely. Few years back, sports physiotherapy was important as well but the importance given to it was limited. In current scenario, considering level of competition worldwide across all sports and no. of competitions, frequent travelling, as well as other challenges, sports physiotherapy stands is of utmost significance, because that’s how an athlete is going to be injury free for the longest period of time; by achieving highest level of fitness or by injury management.

Q. What are some of the challenges you have faced as a Sports Physiotherapist?
Ans: Uncertainty is almost everyday. Every day is not the same. Every athlete is different, their tolerance to different protocol is different, every injury is in some way different from the other; and considering the typical busy life of an athlete these days, sometimes management of all this becomes very challenging. Considering certain lack of team work or holistic approach in Indian scenario, work as a sports physiotherapist becomes very difficult at times.

Q. What are your most preferred physiotherapy interventions when a sports player has an acute injury? (E.g. manual therapy/stretches/icepacks, etc.)

Ans: Differs based on injury presentation, area involved, body type of an athlete and sport etc. But generally involves cold therapy, stretching(if injury permits),specific muscle activation , taping and bracing, manual therapy.

Q. In your own words, can you shed light on the importance of sports physiotherapy in an athlete’s normal training routine and not just in cases of injury? (We often see sports coaches, nutritionists, etc. being a part of an athlete’s training but sports physiotherapists are not considered as often, especially in smaller teams.)

Ans: Yes it is absolutely important, the contribution of a sports physiotherapist in athletes’ normal routine because at present, the trend is being shifted towards injury prevention as compared to managing injuries after they occur. Specific targeted exercises, warm up, cool down & certain preventive strategies are very important in an athlete’s normal routine to keep them injury free.

Q. What advice would you like to give to anyone who is interested in becoming a sports physiotherapist?
Ans: Passion towards sport should be there I feel. Also anyone wanting to be a sports physiotherapist should know and understand what it takes like to be an athlete; so if someone has played some sport at any level and then becomes a sports physiotherapist, it becomes a bit easier to understand the situation in this profession. Most importantly, one must understand that this is not just a monotonous 9am to 5pm job but is much more beyond that.

Interview by Dr. Manasi Anand (PT)

We hope you enjoyed this interview & gained some insight about sports physiotherapy.

If you are a physiotherapist or dance movement therapist and would like to be featured or if you know someone who can be featured, do write to us at rejoiceinmotion@gmail.com