BTG & AFL - Chris

BTG and AFL Worlds Collide.

Joining Bayside Therapy Group (BTG) as one of the new Myotherapist/Massage Therapist

a year and a half ago has been an amazing experience that has led to gaining invaluable knowledge from both Steve and Claire, as well as the opportunity to continue accelerating my professional skills. Being in the clinic for a considerable amount of time now, it has been a pleasure to be a part of BTG’s fabric and building professional relationships with each one of you. What most of my client’s wouldn’t know, is that this job is more than just working at a private clinic. Us therapists are a dime in a dozen, and we are constantly being approached for plenty of work across many different businesses. An opportunity that I am extremely lucky to have is working with Sydney’s

AFL and AFLW team’s whenever they are in Melbourne for a game.

So, it’s Saturday night and Essendon is playing Richmond at the colosseum of AFL, the MCG. It’s like another weekend for me, going to watch my team lose (again), however, this time I get a call up to come and assist in treating Sydney’s AFL team; tucked away, a football kick away from the MCG in a hotel. Walking in (and still getting butterflies), this

is always a pinch me moment, seeing professional AFL players strolling around like they are the most unrecognisable people. I am chauffeured upstairs to the room where there are multiple tables setup, this is where you start to feel the nerves… only until the first player comes in and I ask them, “how can I help you?”. This phrase brings familiarity to

me, as once I ask that question (the same question I ask every client who has a session with me), everything becomes clear to me, a client from BTG or that AFL player. Everyone is just trying to receive help, and all the nerves are flushed away.

Having now experienced treating both Sydney’s male and female AFL players, I can confidently say that they both have completely different needs. This is what I pride myself on, meeting a large variety of individuals specific needs, and these are transferable skills which I showcase at BTG with you all. With the AFL players, you must

use your sixth sense to work out if you are doing a great job, as there isn’t much communication. You need to be able to receive feedback by their body language and how their soft tissue is reacting to the pressure, as to the men, this is their relaxing time. Their nervous systems are in overload from the pressure that AFL puts them in, and this might be the only half an hour they get to switch off during the week. It’s almost a mix of relaxation techniques, and deep remedial pressure, but doing it blindly, it takes some adjusting, but it’s a holistic approach that the AFL players absolutely prefer. This is why, the saying of “it’s just a massage” means nothing in our world, because a “massage”

can mean so much more. The AFLW players on the other hand, will voice their feedback to you, which usually leads to a lot of chat, which is a much more comforting way to go about it. Either way, you must be able to adjust to the different demands at the AFL level for both men and women, and at private clinics, such as BTG.

I firmly believe the sports medicine health module is best practice, if a professional AFL player had a hamstring strain and needed to play in 2 weeks’ time, they would be getting 2-3 sessions of physio/massage sessions, including other recovery measures in a day. This is simply, the sports medicine approach to health, I like to offer all my clients at

BTG the red-carpet sports medicine approach to help you get better. We want the real world, to try and be as close to the sports medicine model, which is the ideal world. We want those two worlds to be as closely aligned as possible, because the health gain outcomes that come from providing the sports medicine approach to regular everyday people is astronomical. This is why it is so vital for myself to be a part of some of the biggest sporting clubs in Australia, working with them so I can continue to learn what it takes to help someone receive the most optimal care.

I look forward to continuing to work on my craft and offering industry led treatments to help you all at BTG, no matter who you are, what you need. I firmly believe, I can help you directly or at least indirectly, by pointing you to the right direction.

Thank you for your time

Christopher Loukas