Kevin Matthews Seb Coe
Kevin with Seb Coe
My Olympic Experience - Kevin Matthews
To have been thrilled and excited would be an understatement when I heard I’d been selected to join the team of ‘Games Makers’ as a physiotherapist in Weymouth and Portland for the sailing events during the London 2012 Olympic Games.
However nothing prepared me for how I would feel when I was actually there treating the sailors from countries around the world, and meeting many celebrities including Lord Coe, Ben Ainslie and Nick Dempsey, to name but a few. It was an amazing experience and I now have fantastic memories that will live with me for the rest of my life!
To have worked with so many healthcare professionals with so many years of experience and from so many different backgrounds and professions was also unforgettable and a good learning curve for me too.
The different treatment techniques that I learnt from them during the Olympics, put together with my own treatment experience - including Kinesiology tapping, mobilization techniques, laser and ultrasound therapies and most importantly hands-on soft tissue massage - was put into practice on many sailors with good results.
From July 16th the sailors arrived and I instantly started to notice that due to these guys spending vast amounts of time sailing from a very early age their bodies have adapted to sailing. This, in turn results in hypermobile lower backs, lordosic posture sometimes with added scoliosis and on-going cervical (neck) overuse injuries.
During the first two weeks prior to the first day of competition I came across problems including intervertebral strains of the cervical spine which I treated successfully with Ultrasound therapy and Kinesiology tape before sailing and ice massage and laser therapy post sailing. Tightness of the thoracic spine muscles due to lordosis (shoulders back, chest out) was another common problem which I treated with deep tissue massage and occasionally manipulation of the thoracic spine. Hypermobile lower backs presented various problems in the lumbar spine areas to me throughout the Olympics, which I treated again with deep tissue massage and mobilisation techniques.
Everyday when these sailors came in for treatment I had to ask myself “Do I just treat the presenting symptoms or go deeper into postural correction and treat other areas too?”
It was, at times, a difficult question to answer as I was only treating these competitors for the four weeks or so I was there and wouldn’t see them again afterwards for follow-up treatments. Also, I felt that if I started to try and alter the balance of their body’s mechanics in order to treat the symptoms and give pain relief I might decrease or affect their sailing ability and psychologically it could affect their state of mind. One of these sailors was Xu Lijia who went on to win Gold in the Women’s Laser Radial class.
The London 2012 Olympic Organisation (LOCOG) supplied me with my uniform and meals but, to the surprise of many, my time at Weymouth was voluntary so I had to take four weeks off work without pay. However the biggest hurdle was that I also had to find my own accommodation and I must say a very, very big thank you to Steve and Jayne Birbeck of Bellini’s Bar in Dartmouth who sponsored my accommodation in Steve’s house in Weymouth throughout my stay.
The experience and personal satisfaction that I gained throughout my time working in the 2012 Olympic Games is unquestionable. It can only help to broaden my clinical expertise and treatment skills on patients in Dartmouth, the South Hams and South Devon who present with a range of sports and occupational injuries including back pain, tendonitis, ligament sprains, and muscle strains.
First Published October 2012 By The Dart