“Bring the training room with you.”
Finding Small Wins – Episode 2 ft. Scottie Parker
What You Will Learn
- The challenges the physical therapists and athletic trainers face when providing high quality care while travelling with a pro sports team.
- Recommendations for equipment and tools to bring with you to provide high-quality therapy on the road.
Keeping the Quality of Care High
In Episode 2 of Finding Small Wins with Scottie Parker, we discussed some of the challenges we face on the road. The expectation to provide high quality care can sometime be a challenge due to the nature of the ever-demanding schedule of the NBA. Random gyms, flights, hotels, and the ever changing environment of what equipment is available at the arena can create some logistical challenges. For your reference, here is an example of a road trip that I have completed:
- Day 1: Travel day from Phoenix to Philadelphia (change 3 time zones + 5 hour flight)
- Day 2: Play a 1:00p EST game @ Philly (essentially a 10:00a game for us) + travel from Philly to Detroit immediately after the game (2 hour flight, same time zone)
- Day 3: Play a 3:00p EST game @ Detroit + travel to Chicago immediately after the game (1 hour flight, change 1 time zone)
- Day 4: Off day in Chicago
- Day 5: Practice in Chicago
- Day 6: game @ Chicago + travel back to Phoenix with a 3:00a arrival (3.5 hour flight + change 1 time zone)
I do not think I can ever say that I get use to it. I can only say that I learn to tolerate it more and learn how to be more prepared over the seasons. In terms of preparation, I have learned the best way to manage the chaos is to bring the Training Room with me. I created my own ‘toolkit’ for a mobile training room setup in addition to what the team packs as a whole.
The worst thing I have done in the past is be in a situation on the road, the schedule changes last minute, and I do not have access to what I need to do the job. This type of controlled chaos means I need to make sure I have what I need with me.
My Physical Therapy Toolkit
In this video, I explain what it is that I bring and why I bring it. There are dozens and dozens of things I could bring with me, but I need to keep it simple and efficient. I like to hone in on these key categories:
- Manual therapy – massage lotion, instrument assisted tool, and dry needles.
- Edema management – e-stim machine, VooDoo Bands, (my preferences are MarcPro or FireFly) & compression stockings.
- Recovery – mini percussion gun (my preference is Hypervolt Go).
- Exercise – resistance bands and kinesiotape
Anything else I am missing? What would you bring? Leave a comment or head on over to Instagram to join the conversation!
