The 2011 Canada Winter Games New frontiers for DCs in sports feature

Aerial view of the Oval and the Citadel, Halifax, 2011.

he month of February saw 3,000 of the best young athletes in Canada descend upon Halifax for the 2011 Canada Winter Games (CWG). This event represents Ta number of firsts: • the first time the Canada interW Games were held in ; • the first time a multi-sport event of this size has been held in Nova Scotia; • the first time a chiropractor has served in the lead position for Host Medical Dr. Brian Seaman is a Chiroprac- Services at the Canada Games. tic Sports Specialist practising in Halifax Nova Scotia and has been an official service provider for the CHAIR OF MEDICAL SERVICES Canadian Sports Centre Atlantic In August 2008, I had the honour of being named the Chair of Medical Services (CMS) since its inception in 1999. Dr. for the 2011 Canada Winter Games. The role included the selection of a chief medical Seaman is a longstanding mem- officer (CMO), assistant chief medical officers (ACMOs), chief therapist (CT), assistant ber of the Board of Directors of chief therapist (ACT) and manager of the poly clinic (MPC). the Royal College of Chiropractic In addition, CMS responsibilities involved overseeing a variety of aspects in prepara- Sports Sciences(Canada), and has tion for the Games, and included: volunteered at numerous national • meetings of the medical committee, Athletes Services Division and Venue Teams, and international sporting events, Medical Venue Team (MVT) reps, and between staff from the host society and including four Winter Olympics and Canada Games Council; a Pan American Games.

CC • assessment of athlete medical areas and field-of-play positions at each of the 13 I sport venues; • meetings with external agencies such as Capital District Health Authority, IWK Children’s Hospital, EHS (ambulance/paramedics), Nova Scotia Public Health and Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness; • development of an Emergency Response Plan for Medical Services; • preparation and review of documentation to provide a legacy of information for the (Sherbrooke, ) and the (Prince George, ). Preparation also included overseeing the setup of a poly clinic (this was set up at the

Brian Seaman, DC, FRCCSS(C), F FRCCSS(C), DC, Brian Seaman, World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax) and a satellite clinic (this was set up

18 • Canadian Chiropractor | JUNE 2011 www.canadianchiropractor.ca in Tatamagouche/Truro) as well as pro- advising the high-risk teams of the diag- The lead chiropractor for the event viding coverage for over 20 sports at 13 nosis of, and the protocol of “return-to- was Dr. Lisa Richard. Other chiroprac- sport venues. play” after, concussions. tors volunteering included Dr. Mary- While every event of this magnitude The Therapy Group included chiro- Irene Parker, Dr. Mike Majaess, Dr. Mike is unique, I was very fortunate to have practors as well physiotherapists, ath- Cochrane and Dr. Monique Aucoin. been able to draw from the experiences letic therapists and massage therapists. The feedback I received was excep- of having participated as a sports chiro- Interestingly, massage therapy is not tional, especially with respect to Dr. practor in four Winter Olympics and a required by the Canada Games Coun- Janice Drover, who volunteered for the Pan American Games. cil in the poly clinic or satellite clinic. entire Games at the satellite clinic, and None the less, it was a significant time However, the Med Comm decided that four residents of the RCCSS(C) Sports commitment over a two and a half year this was needed, and a valuable asset of Sciences Residency Program namely, Drs. time frame with over 2200 hours volun- the Therapy Group. The Therapy Group Matt Cochran, Charles Dauphinee, Ben teered and 275 meetings. Was it worth worked very well under the guidance Murray and Warren Hefford. it? Absolutely! The Medical Commit- of Chad Newhook (CT), Shannon Esta- tee and volunteers were an outstanding brooks (ACT) and Karen Decker (MPC), SUMMARY AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS group of individuals. sometimes working within multiple situ- Overall, the Games were a tremendous ations of interdisciplinary care without success. At the last Chef de Mission meet- CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES any difficulties whatsoever. ing, Mike Bell, the vice-chair of the Ex- First and foremost, it is important to ecutive Committee of the Host Society know what the athletes competing at this THE CHIROPRACTIC ROLE indicated that there were absolutely “no level need in order to maximize perfor- For the 2011 CWG, chiropractic services complaints” about medical services. This, mance. Not only are the services at the were included within the poly clinic in he indicated, was “unheard off” with poly clinics planned with this in mind, the main athletes’ village as well as in the Games (having been a Chef himself but also the sport venue medical teams. the satellite clinic within the satellite vil- in 1999 and 2001). His quote was that During the Games, the Medical Com- lage, but unfortunately, there were no Medical Services had “hit a home run.” mittee (Med Comm) dealt with the infa- sponsored chiropractors for the Games. Mr. Bell’s comments were echoed mous “bedbug issue” at the Tim Hortons “Sponsored” personnel for the 2011 by Chris Morrissey, CEO of the 2011 Camp in Tatamagouche. This created a CWG included physicians, athletic ther- Canada Winter Games Host Society and situation in which the Satellite Medical apists and physiotherapists. With spon- Bill Moore, Chair of Athlete Services. At Team, under the direction and leader- sored individuals, flights are covered by the final operational meeting after the ship of Dr. Linda Ferguson (ACMO) and Canada Games Council while Host Med- Games, both commented specifically on Shannon Estabrooks (ACT), had to “rally ical Services provides accommodations the quality of Medical Services. the troops” and relocate 100 kilometres and a per diem allowance for food. Overall, it was a memorable experi- away in Truro, Nova Scotia, within just Despite not having any sponsored ence, one that provided great oppor- 24 hours. chiropractors, the scheduling of the tunities for networking, collaboration and co-operation within the health-care fields in Nova Scotia. It is important to know what the athletes The 2011 Canada Winter Games pro- competing at this level need in order to vided an excellent opportunity to show- maximize performance. case the health-care professions in Nova Scotia as well as to demonstrate the level of care a multidisciplinary clinic can pro- Dr. Janice Drover (a Fellow of the chiropractors was helped dramatically vide to athletes. RCCSS) stepped in and volunteered her by Dr. Matt Cochran (Fredericton) who My role as Chair of Medical Services time, serving as chiropractor at the satel- volunteered over the entire two weeks of also allowed me to point out that the Fel- lite clinic for the duration of the Games. the Games to help out at the poly clinic. lows and SSRP residents are well trained, There was also an unfortunate sce- Local chiropractors who applied were se- as, among other roles, Medical First Re- nario of a para-athlete being admitted lected for poly clinic shifts based on ex- sponders (MFRs) or Sport First Respond- to ICU for a non-sport-related condi- perience in sports injuries and event cov- ers (SFRs). Hopefully opportunities will tion. Dealing directly with this was Dr. erage. These individuals included four be presented for chiropractors with the Sonya McVeigh (CMO), a physiatrist, residents of the RCCSS(C) Sports Scienc- appropriate training to be assigned to the and a specialist in spinal cord injuries es Residency Program (SSRP): Dr. Matt sport venue medical teams at the Canada and concussions. Cochran, Dr. Ben Murray, Dr. Charles Games in the future. This would pro- Throughout the Games, Dr. McVeigh, Dauphinee and Dr. Warren Hefford. vide an excellent opportunity to work Dr. Tina Atkinson (ACMO) and Dr. Fer- Dr. Dauphinee took on an addition- together, at the sport venues, with other guson dealt with the issue of concussions al role behind the scenes related to the members of the health-care team such as and return-to-play protocols (using the scheduling of the medical venue teams. physicians, physiotherapists and athletic Zurich 2008 Consensus guidelines). An This was a significant contribution to the therapists. • attempt was made to be proactive by Games. www.canadianchiropractor.ca Canadian Chiropractor | JUNE 2011 • 19