Gwen Dalgleish Graduate Sports Therapist and Part-time lecturer at University of Teesside

I first developed an interest in sports injuries during my years playing rugby at club, regional and international levels. It amazed me the lack of advice and care available to athletes in this contact sport. I new that I wanted to continue working in sport after I retired from competition and felt this was an area I could contribute to most.

I returned to full-time and during that time I opened a massage therapy clinic at my local sports centre which ran until I moved to study at University of Teesside. I graduated in 2005 and immediately opened my own sports injury clinic.

In late 2005 I was approached to be involved with the set up and running of a new graduate sport injury clinic at the University of Teesside and in early 2006 the doors opened to the new Teesside Sports Injury Centre with a clinic at the university and one at Stokesley. There are now 5 clinics employing 4 graduates from the sports therapy programme.

As the founding sports therapist of the centre I helped to create links with the universities elite athlete scheme, by providing screening and injury treatment and management for a wide variety of sports. These athletes can now be screened and treated at any one of our centres making the services more accessible.

After graduating I initially volunteered with Hartlepool Ladies RFC rugby team which then lead to a job as the 1st XV sports therapist at Hartlepool Old Boys RFC.  This has been a very rewarding working with the team through relegation and the rebuild that has seen them achieve promotion this season (07/08), undefeated.

I have been the sports therapist for the North East Women’s Squad for two years. This involved developing a programme of support for the players (over and above the excellent coaching they receive) that includes fitness testing and screening, injury treatment and rehabilitation, and general player welfare that has involved arranging sessions on sports psychology and will include in the future sports nutrition and strength and conditioning sessions.  The success of the new programme has resulted in the squad finishing 3rd in this years regional cup (07/08), a dramatic improvement on last years results.

Having completed courses in core stability through Performance Stability I am combining my interest in this area with my love for rugby and currently writing a paper on physiological profiles of regional female rugby players as part of an MSc in Sport and Exercise. The aim is to develop a screening process that is rugby specific using traditional musculoskeletal testing, fitness testing and core stability screening techniques to assist in the development of rugby and position specific training programmes with a view to reducing injuries.