Bruce Paton, head physiotherapist at the Institute of Sport Exercise and Health (ISEH), is taking a short break from his role at the ISEH to attend the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, where he will take on the role of lead physiotherapist for the pool swimming events. Based at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre on the north bank of the River Clyde, his role involves coordinating care for all the swimming teams.
Reporting directly to the medical manager for the venue, Bruce will be working both directly with competitors’ and with national teams’ own medical personnel. He will be a senior member of a team comprising around 1,000 medical staff across the Games’ venues.
“Although swimming is not a contact or high-impact sport, competitors are still susceptible to injury”, said Bruce. “Many of the injuries we treat are due to repetitive strain, especially around the shoulder (rotator cuff) or they may result from muscle imbalance (when one group of muscles is overdeveloped compared to another)” Swimmers can also develop cardiovascular problems due to the strain involved in pushing their bodies to the limit, in pursuit of the fine margins that define success in a sport where races are often won, and records broken, in margins of one or two hundredths of a second.
Bruce sees good communication as vital to the role. “While respecting fully athletes’ need for patient confidentiality, we will be liaising with national medical teams as well as swimmers and their coaches, on issues surrounding both treatment and training. We also work closely with drug testing agencies and with athletes, to ensure that any treatments do not fall foul of WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) guidelines. For example, swimmers cannot use the adhesive strapping tape often used by track and field athletes, as it is considered to be performance-enhancing in the pool.”
Olympic track record
Bruce’s CV includes managing teams of physiotherapists at UCLH, where he works in the orthopaedics, fracture and sports clinics. He also has substnatial experience of working at major sporting events, including the London 2012 Olympic Games, where we was medical manager at the Horseguards Parade venue (host to the beach volleyball competition) and the 2012 Paralympic Games, where he worked at the Olympic Park.
This background has given him the ideal preparation for Glasgow. “As well as knowledge of the clinical side, you need to know the rules of the sport and how big sporting events operate. This includes familiarity with venue procedures and how to collaborate effectively, both with national teams and with external agencies like WADA.”
Bruce is looking forward to the Games. “Being part of the medical team at a big sporting event is incredible. You’re working with a team of highly motivated people, who have trained together in preparation – there’s a real ‘can-do’ attitude. That buzz is hard to reproduce anywhere else.”
The Helal and Harries prize was awarded to Sarah Morton of Imperial College London.