What an amazing experience it was working at the Rio 2016 Paralympics. The athletes I met and treated were absolutely inspirational. To see these people overcome huge obstacle and then dedicate themselves to competing against the best in the world really forces you to re-evaluate your whole outlook on life.
Working in a multidisciplinary team with some of the worlds best Sports Doctors, Physiotherapists, Osteopaths and, of course, other Sports Chiropractors was also a tremendous experience. All the health professionals in the Paralympic Polyclinic worked together for the common good of the athlete and everybody was very friendly.
The athletes (and officials) I treated were all so nice and appreciative of everything I did for them and I can honestly say I have come away with many new friends. Just to be able to help each individual I treated in some way was my primary goal and I could write about every patient I saw as they were all winners to me. That said, I will quickly tell you about some of the athletes I treated who were also lucky enough to achieve great results.
Majid Farzin is an Iranian powerlifter who I treated in the Paralympic Polyclinic just two hours before his competition for soreness in both shoulders and arms and in his neck. Majid went on to win a gold medal and break the world record. He was very happy and came in for a bit more treatment the next day and to show me his gold medal! I couldn't be more proud of this great man!
El Amin Chentouf is a Moroccan Marathon and 5000 meter runner. I was treating El Amin for a very painful plantar fasciitis. If you're a runner and you have suffered from this before, you would know how hard it is to run with this condition, let alone complete a marathon. After treating El Amin the night before his marathon, he went on to win the gold medal, a fantastic addition to the silver medal he won for the 5000 meters!
As I said, I have many more inspirational stories I could tell as all the athletes I saw were champions in my eyes. You will just have to ask me in person to tell you about some of these other inspirational stories!
