Yudu - sportEX dynamics - 1999-2010

TEACHING SPORTS THERAPY Sports therapy students may not all be aspiring actors

or artists, but I find that drawing and role-playing are great methods when teaching sports therapy. I get my students to draw the muscles on huge flipchart paper, which we then stick on the walls so they can learn the muscle origins and insertions while they are massaging. Going one step further, I ask my students to draw the muscles on to each other – after making sure they haven’t picked up my permanent markers! This allows them to see the muscles in a much more realistic, three-dimensional way, which unfortunately books often fail to do. I recently took my students to the Body Worlds

exhibition in Manchester. It is a shame that this is not a permanent event, as my students found it so beneficial – just as I did when I saw cadavers when I was studying. I bought the Body Worlds book and I plan to show it to all my students so they can see what a real body looks like on the inside and notice the countless subtle anatomical variations between us all. Role-playing and simulation is another effective way of

covering information. As communication and listening skills are vital to being a good therapist, students must be given the time to develop these skills. I use various role-play scenarios where one student is the client and the other is the therapist. I ask the students to carry out a subjective assessment under different circumstances; for example, the role-playing client may be deaf in one ear, may speak limited English or may be incapable of giving more than one- word answers. This may sound ridiculous, but all clinicians encounter challenging clients at times. Doing exercises like these can be fun, but more importantly they develop the students’ skills in gathering information and extracting the important parts in order to form their subjective assessment.

SELF-ANALYSIS When I started teaching sports massage techniques, I had to be very critical of myself to make sure I was practising what I was going to preach. I was more than capable of delivering an effective treatment session, but I had picked up some bad habits along the way. My posture wasn’t perfect and neither was my hand positioning. I had to study again so that I didn’t pass my bad habits on to my students. I liken this to driving: many of us, if asked to take our driving tests again, would

TEACHERS NOT ONLY NEED TO KNOW THEIR SUBJECT IN DETAIL BUT ALSO HAVE TO BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN WHY THINGS HAPPEN

BOX 1: TOP TEN TIPS FOR THE BUDDING TEACHER 1. Know your subject inside-out. 2. Be passionate, enthusiastic and motivational.

3. Meticulous preparation is vital and planning is essential, but you must be flexible and able to adapt. Every group is different. 4. Keep up to date with clinical knowledge and practice.

5. Always cater for different learning styles. Ideally each lesson should incorporate something for everyone. You can never be too creative: always give things a try and then reflect on their effectiveness.

6. Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know the answer to a question. Rather than give a vague answer, tell the student you will get back to them with a response.

7. Relate theory to practical and real life whenever possible. Students learn much better if information is put into context and they can see why it is relevant.

8. Don’t be afraid of silences: they are great for allowing students to take in information and reflect.

9. Remember that students of all ages respond well to praise and constructive feedback.

10. Learn from your mistakes! Teaching is a learning process for both the student and the teacher.