Treating the troops - Partially taken from an article written by Karen Young editor of the International Therapist magazine for the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT)January 2009.
Herman Fenton talks about his sports therapy work in the army and beyond
In 1991, I enrolled on some therapy courses to formalise what I had previously learnt in Germany during the 70's and 80's whilst serving in HM Forces. The army supported this in a quiet way because it would benefit the regiment, but I had to take leave in order to complete my training. The quid pro quo was that I could accompany the teams at competitions as their sports therapist rather than go on guard duty. As a result, I got to treat soldiers taking part in a wide range of sport, including tug of war, rugby, boxing, judo, squash, polo, orienteering, skiing, athletics etc. As a lot of military teams were top of their game in British competitions, it was all fantastic experience.
It was in 1994 – one year before I left the army - that things really took a positive turn for me. I was taking part in a fencing competition where I treated an injured civvy. It turned out the civvy I had treated was part of the British team and their manager had sent a letter to request my services. In less than a fortnight, I was off to join the team at the World Championships in Athens. I didn’t know anyone from the squad and had no idea what to expect as I had only ever worked with the army and combined services teams at smaller events. On the first day, I was standing around in my trousers and tunic looking like a fish out of water when a guy stopped as he was walking past me and said ‘you must be the new Brit!’ It turned out he was Professor Peter Harmer, the head physio for the American fencing team (now the chief medical rep for the International Fencing Federation). He immediately threw me a polo shirt and shorts, told me to get changed, and basically mentored me throughout the competition while we worked on fencers from Britain, America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, to name but few of the countries.
The fantastic thing about working at the internationals is that unlike physios here in the UK, the physios from the other nations were so willing to help you to move forward and you were given the professional respect that I have only been shown here on a couple of occasions. The other thing is that they all new what a sports therapist (in USA Trainer) was trained to do.
Working for the army – and taking part in the World Championships in particular - opened up a few doors to me when I left the services in 1995. Calling on one or two contacts, the word soon got around that I had my own practice and was willing to travel. Before long, I was getting bookings from various sports clubs and individuals, from the UK and abroad. The beauty of having gone to local, national and international competitions while I was in the army meant that my name was – and still is - being passed on from person to person, club to club, country to country. Much of my work today can be traced back to the people I have treated or worked alongside at those earlier competitions. I will still get a call from, say, an Australian I had worked on at the fencing championships in 1994, saying ‘we’re flying in to London on the 26th for a competition in Edinburgh, Birmingham etc. If we stay overnight, can you come and treat us before we head up to Scotland, or wherever?’ If I have the time, I will travel up to treat them, even if it is only one or two personel, as this keeps your name out there and people remember.
Over the years, I have continued to learn new therapies so that I can mix and match these in my treatments to suit the needs of the client. I’ve found that kinesiology works particularly well with sports therapy. It gives me a better understanding of the muscle balancing work I’m doing and allows me to continually test the muscles I’m working so that I can adapt the treatment if necessary.
I’m also qualified in reflexology, massage in pregnancy, nutrition, botanical and mineral therapy. I have learnt all of these to enhance my sports treatment and do not use them on a stand alone basis. For instance, I would not do a whole reflexology routine on a client, but I might incorporate some of the reflexes into my treatment if I think it could help. If I felt a full reflexology treatment was more appropriate, I would refer the client to a reflexologist.
Other than my private practice, there are a couple of other avenues I have tried since leaving the army that I decided weren’t for me. Early on, I accepted a job as a sports therapist at a clinic on Harley Street, but I found that my contract and working in one location was restrictive and didn’t suit my personality. I also couldn’t justify the amount of money I was being asked to charge clients.
I have also worked as a part-time sports therapy lecturer at two colleges, but as much as I loved working with the students, I wasn’t happy with the limited number of contact hours and all the politics and bureaucracy involved. I have also run my own school and more recently, started to offer private training, but this is usually one-day workshops aimed at qualified therapists, students and chiropractors, teaching them quick assessments, releases and stretching techniques.
To this day, I still enjoy being challenged and working with different client groups. In 1999 I was pleased to meet up with one of my old students in South Korea while I was out there for The World Fencing Championships. She had moved back to Seoul with her family and was specialising in treating classical musicians as her daughter was a professional in this field. We spent two days studying musicians as they played different instruments for us, while we worked out what muscles were being engaged and the possible referral areas, and so on. If you imagine someone holding a violin between their chin and shoulder and moving their arm back and forth for hours at a time, you can appreciate the sort of problems musicians can develop over time. I really enjoyed helping her to work through this, which I guess ties in with my military background – in the army, you are trained to literally strip something apart, look at how it works and the different ways it can be put back together to understand its workings. I think some therapists fall into the trap of following their textbook or training to the letter, without understanding the nuts and bolts of how something works and can be adapted.
At the moment, I am devoting some of my time to representing the interests of sports therapists at meetings being held by Skills Active on behalf of the C Th A. I have worked very hard to get where I am today and believe that as sports therapists, we need to make it clear to the industry here in the UK that we are highly trained individuals that have an important role to play – whether it’s treating Mary and her sore legs, Joe with his bad back, the amateur rugby player down the road, or a top athlete competing in the Olympics. To this end, I am working alongside people like Kush Kumar author and chairman of the C Th A, Jennifer Wayte Vice-presidents of FHT, Mel Cash author and principle of the LSSM on the GCMT to ensure that sports therapists are being fully represented at the highest level.
Top tips for sports therapists • Make sure you are in it for the right reason. For me, it’s not about money. It’s that buzz of being able to ‘fix’ somebody • Learn to adapt your treatments to suit the client, context and time available. At some events, you often have just 10 minutes to assess and treat the client • Treat the cause, not the symptom. So often the pain/problem is referred • Learn new therapies and techniques that you can incorporate into your treatment to make it more holistic • Do voluntary work for a local club – they get free treatments and you get great experience. You also get their contact details when completing medical cards • Give out business cards to everyone, at every opportunity • Network with other sports therapists and sports/health professionals to share ideas and encourage referrals. Chiropractors are particularly good at referring clients to sports therapists • Strike up a good rapport with your clients and inject a little humour. If you are ‘too’ professional, you may come across as cold and not particularly caring • Make a follow-up call. Not only does this show that you care, their symptoms 48 hours after the appointment may give you further information about their injury and if you’ve given the appropriate treatment • Do not continue to treat clients who are clearly not prepared to help themselves or carry out prescribed exercises at home. Their prolonged injury time will damage your reputation
Herman Fenton is a qualified sports and complementary therapist. His regular client base is diverse and includes students, housewives, nurses, farmers, professional sportsmen and women, judges and members of parliament. hermanfenton@aol.com