Treating the troops - 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

On my return to UK in 1992, I enrolled on a number of 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 as their sports therapist rather than do a guard duty. As a result, I was able to treat military sportsmen taking part in a wide range of sporting events, from many different countries. Military sports personnel and teams were at the top of their Sports, so 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 when I was taking part in a fencing competition as a member of the combined services fencing team, where I treated an injured civvy. It turned out that the person that I had treated was a member of the British team and their manager had sent a letter to my commanding officer requesting my services at the upcoming world championships in Athens as they had a physio but did not have a sports therapist. It was less than a fortnight from being told, to being off to join the British fencing team at my first World Fencing Championships in Athens 1994. On arrival I did not know what to expect as I had only ever worked with the army and combined services teams or at smaller civilian events both as a competitor and as a therapist.  On the first day, arriving at the stadium waiting around in pressed trousers and nice white tunic not sure of the dress code feeling like a fish out of water, when a guy stopped as he was walking past me and said ‘you must be the new Brit!’ (god I must have looked really green). It turned out that he was Professor Peter Harmer, the head physio for the American fencing team (now the chief medical rep for the International Fencing Federation). He introduced me to the rest of his crew and some of the physio's and therapists from other countries, who welcomed me with open arms and could not do enough to help me and share their experience. Peter threw me a polo shirt and a pair of shorts, told me to get changed as this was the dress, and he plus the others therapists basically mentored me throughout the 10 days of the competition while we worked on fencers from Britain, America, Australia, New Zealand, 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 ever been shown here on a couple of occasions by physios. The other thing is that they all new what a sports therapist (known in the USA as a 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. The word soon got around that I had left the services and had my own practice and was willing to travel. Before long, I was getting bookings from various sports clubs and individuals, in 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 a world championships back in 1994, saying ‘we’re flying in to London on such and such a day for a competition in Edinburgh, Birmingham etc. If we stay overnight, could you come over and treat us before we head up to Scotland, or after we finish before we fly out?’ If I have the time, I will travel to treat them, 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 patients. 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, diet and nutrition, botanical and mineral therapy. I have learnt all of these and more, and use them to enhance my sports treatment and rarely use them on a stand alone basis. For instance, I would not do a whole reflexology routine on a patient, 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 patient to a reflexologist, this is why networking is important.

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 patients.

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 patient 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 or can be adapted.

I am devoting some of my time to representing the interests of sports and Remedial therapists of all levels as a PSB at meetings being held by the CNHC on behalf of the SRTC. 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 Jennifer Wayte Presidents of FHT, Mel Cash author and principle of the LSSM on the Sports and Remedial Therapies Council to ensure that sports therapists are being fully represented at the highest level.

Although I say Sports therapists, I also include in that termanology Sports and remedial Massage therapists too (as they are a pre-requist to becoming a sports therapist), as this is work that was started when I was a member on the GCMT

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 individual client/patient, context and time available. At some events, you often have just 5 minutes to assess and treat the athlete. • Treat the cause, not the symptom. As often the pain/problem is referred from else where. • Learn new therapies and techniques that you can incorporate into your treatment to make it more holistic. • If your just starting out, do voluntary work for a local clubs – the patients 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 they will come back to you eventually. • Network with other therapists and sports/health professionals to share ideas and encourage referrals. McTimoney chiropractors are particularly good at referring patients to sports therapists. • Strike up a good rapport with your patients 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 for your next appointment or if you’ve given the appropriate treatment. • Do not continue to treat patients who are clearly not prepared to help themselves or are being seen by other practitioners who may be undoing what you have done.

Remeber their prolonged injury time may damage your reputation and it is better to lose one patient than to lose your reputation.

So if in doubt step away.

herminator@stonehengetherapies.com