After three seasons, I moved to a more
senior role at Livingston Football Club but
they went into receivership and my post
was made redundant. So I undertook
locum work to fund completion of my
master’s degree, and headed to Australia
to complete this. On my return I worked as
maternity cover at the Fitness Assessment
and Sports Injuries Centre (FASIC) at the
University of Edinburgh, and was then
appointed to a permanent post within
Scottish Rugby, working at Glasgow
Warriors.
I was a Team Physiotherapist then
became Lead Physiotherapist after a few
years, and subsequently became the
Physiotherapist Manager and National
Team Physiotherapist before becoming
Head of Performance Medical for Scottish
Rugby, where I was responsible for the
medical services we provided to all of our
squads. I was at Scottish Rugby for 11
years, across several posts. In 2016 I was
chosen as the Lead Physiotherapist for GB
Women's 7s, and supported them in their
journey to the Olympics in Rio.
How did you secure the role working
with Cirque du Soleil and can you tell me
about what the position entails?
Truthfully, as is often the way with sports
jobs, I stumbled across the post of Director
of Performance Medicine at Cirque du
Soleil online. I had always been intrigued
by this company and the art it creates, but
had never imagined such a post existed.
And so I decided it was time to take a
chance to change my career path, and
applied - five interviews later, I was offered
the role and moved to Montreal where
Cirque has its international headquarters.
My role is largely managerial now, since
I don't yet have French competence, and
so cannot register as a physiotherapist
in Quebec. I lead and manage a team
of between 65 and 70 therapists across
25 shows which are globally located or
travelling. We support approximately
1,400 artists who perform daily, and this
group is enormously diverse, from clowns
to acrobats, dancers to musicians and
many other disciplines. This diversity
means we encounter truly diverse
injuries also - from aerial artists with
problematic shoulders, to tumblers with
tendinopathies.
We are also responsible for the
emergency response within our shows,
which is similar to sport in that if an
accident happens, we are the first
responders on-stage to provide care.
We work across five pillars - Injury Risk
Reduction, Acute Care and Emergency
Response, Rehabilitation, Healthcare
Administration and Performance Support.
Interestingly though, injury is infrequent in
this space - artists may perform up to 480
times per year, which is quite unlike sport,
and their performances are very similar
to each other, also unlike sport. But it
appears that by undertaking consistent
activity, you form protection against injury
through familiarity and specific adaptation
to the demands. And so we spend a
notable amount of time seeking to prevent
injuries to further support this.
My role now is to support my team to
deliver healthcare and we employ people
from multiple professional backgrounds,
as this reflects the professional differences
which we are exposed to as a global
company. We have physiotherapists
from the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada,
Mexico, Brazil and Belgium in our team,
but also US Physical Therapists, Canadian
Athletic Therapists and US Athletic
Trainers.
physiotherapist, and some of the most
memorable or impactful are actually from
my time in the NHS, though there have
been some from my time in sport also.
I personally find making a difference is
an enormous motivator for me - seeing
change for the good makes me want to
do more, and never seems like a chore.
And I get a buzz from their success and
their reaction to success, particularly when
some of your knowledge and experience
is a direct contributor.
The overcoming of adversity touches
people profoundly, and it is an honour
and responsibility that people trust you
to help them when they need it. This is one
of the things that makes physiotherapy
and physiotherapists special. ❒
About Cirque du Soleil
Originally composed of 20 street
performers in 1984, Cirque du Soleil
Entertainment Group completely
reinvented circus arts and went
on to become a world leader in
live entertainment. Established in
Montreal, the Canadian organization
has brought wonder and delight to
over 180 million spectators with
productions presented in 450 cities
in 60 countries.
There must be a sense of
satisfaction when someone
you’ve been working with
on an issue vastly improves
through physiotherapy and is
able to live their life to the
full again. Can you tell us
what it’s like helping
someone through
that process?
There have been
many cases in
my time as a
QMYOU / Alumni Interview
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