National Update on Sports Physiotherapy at Fr. Muller Medical College

Mangalore, March 7: A two-day programme comprising a symposium ‘National Update on Sports Physiotherapy’ on March 7 and ‘Workshop on Fitness- Evaluation and Training’ on March 8, organized by the department of physiotherapy, Father Muller Medical College, was inaugurated here on Saturday March 7.
 
Paul Close, chief physiotherapist, National Cricket Academy, Bangalore, inaugurated the programme. Addressing the delegates from various parts of the country, he said that sports physiotherapy in the Indian sub-continent is of world class standard and added that plenty of offers await sports physiotherapists in the global sports arena.

Prof AG Maiya, associate dean, MCOAHS, Manipal University, was the Guest of Honour. In his address, he said that in India the sports industry has been growing since the past seven years. Sports physiotherapists play a vital role in keeping sports persons away from injuries. “Nowadays many institutions have been offering sports physiotherapy education. We can find a lot of Indian sports physiotherapists in global sports”, he said.
 
Fr Patrick Rodrigues, director, FMCI, in his presidential address opined that sports physiotherapy is an integral part of any sport or game. “There is a need to rehabilitate injured sports persons as early as possible to heighten the morale of the team”, he said. Fr Rodrigues also pointed out that undertaking physical exercises in a gym without a trainer is not a good practice as far as health is concerned.

Fr Denis D’Sa, administrator, FMMC, Dr Sanjeev Rai, dean, FMMC and Physiotherapy course co-ordinator Mr Narasimman S were present on the occasion. 

Topics in the symposium included Sports specific screening, On-field assessment, Fitness assessment, Sports specific training, Rehabilitation, Optimizing sports performance, Recent advances etc.

The Resource persons included Kiran Challagundla, Physiotherapist, Indian Badminton Team and Former physiotherapist, Deccan Chargers IPL team; Fidy Davis, Asso. Professor, MCOAHS, Manipal University; Earnest Vijayapandian Churchill, Fitness and Rehab Director, O2 Health Studio, Chennai and an ACSM certified Fitness Trainer; Prof. Subhash Khatri, HOD Physiotherapy, JNMC, Belgaum; M Ram Prasad, Principal, Srinivas College of Physiotherapy, Mangalore; Sravana Kumar JN, Fitness Trainer, Academic Incharge, Nizam Institute of Physiotherapy Hyderabad, and several staff from the Dept. of Physiotherapy, FMMC.