Sports Medicine Coordinator / Physiotherapist

Sarah Elliott

Sports Medicine is an area of vital importance for all athletes because of 'two way impact'.  Sport can cause injury to physical wellbeing and injury can affect performance in sport. Elite athletes are often those that can endure the longest, hardest, best periods of training unaffected by interruptions such as injury. This makes injury prevention and appropriate, fast and thorough injury management a key component of performance enhancement.

For Northern Territory Institute of Sport (NTIS) athletes making a booking or requiring further information contact the NTIS Sports Medicine Coordinator / Physiotherapist on (08) 8922 6828.

NTIS Sports Medicine Services

Screenings

Each NTIS athlete undergoes a medical screening prior to commencement of their first scholarship program. This helps to determine that they are both ready for, and safe within, the training environment at the NTIS. 

The athletes need to take a copy of the NTIS Medical Screening form to their Doctor and have them conduct the medical screening.

To download a copy of the screening form please select NTIS Medical screening document.

Injury Management

The NTIS provides free onsite sports physiotherapy services to full scholarship athletes. The NTIS Physiotherapist / Sports Medicine Coordinator (SMC) coordinates access to external providers in all Sports Medicine disciplines, and ensures that any specific recommendations they make are appropriately integrated with current NTIS service provision.

If athletes are required to travel internationally or interstate to compete the NTIS SMC is available to assist with identification of appropriately skilled practitioners and  to provide any relevant/ required historical information to those providers to ensure that the athlete receives the best possible care while away from home.

Injury Prevention

At the NTIS injury prevention is managed through surveillance, education and collaboration.

Injury surveillance is an ongoing committment at the NTIS.  It is collated with screening, physical testing and training load information to ensure that injury to any and all athletes are minimised.

NTIS athletes are provided with simple education about important topics such as:

• Acute and chronic injury identification, with early stage management up to reporting the injury and being asessed by the NTIS Physiotherapist.
• Injury reporting process: fast identification + fast reporting + fast assessment = optimal management planning
• Communication and compliance requirements for athletes, coaches and PES providers to ensure the injury management runs smoothly.
• Injury management process: optimal management planning + cohesive implementation + communication = optimal outcomes.

A key role of the NTIS Physiotherapist / Sports Medicine Coordinator is active participation and collaboration with the other Athlete Services team members. Sports activities, gym activities or specific skills can be collaboratively viewed from perspectives of performance and injury risk.

The variety of specialities within the Athlete Services group provides a huge range of perspective on athlete performance and safety needs. Collaborative planning within the group helps to develop strategies to best address these needs effectively, that can then be put forward to coach and athlete.

Integrated planning by the Athlete Services team members provides elite quality program input for elite or aspiring athletes. For elite athletes this offers a process of reaching best available performance levels without over-reaching.

For young and developing athletes, this creates an environment that allows both safe and optimal preparation for elite competition in years to come.

INJURY PREVENTION IS PERFORMANCE ENHANCING