From the Alps to the Pacific to “rig” the World Cup

From the (almost) perpetual alpine snows to the endless forests of the Northwest Coast of the United States. This is the journey that awaits Fabio Trois, who is ready to go from Ludiano to Eugene, where the World Athletics Championships will take place from Friday 15 July. In Oregon, two representatives from Ticino, Agla del Ponte and Ricky Petrociani, will be ready to compete at Hayward Field in a town of 171,000, less than a hundred kilometers from the Pacific coast. Fabio Troich will not be on the track, but he will take care of the muscles, tendons and the like of those who will be fighting for medals. Together with other physiotherapists from around the world, he was appointed by Wintecare, a Ticino company that produces various electromedical techniques widely used in physical therapy to facilitate and speed up the resolution of a certain number of ailments, to take care of Nike athletes. Physiotherapy with elite sports is not a new field for Bleniese, Swiss Ski physiotherapist for 12 years… “But coming from skiing, for me, it will be about discovering a new world. Even the composition of the bag will be different: T-shirts and shorts instead of jackets and jackets.”

Truaisch left Zurich yesterday for Eugene, via Montreal and Chicago… “The Wintecare team will be two teams and they will work a week each. I got the first, so I’ll be back in Ticino on the 20th. I’ll be working alongside a Japanese and two Spaniards. I already know an Iberian, who had contact with Swiss Ski. Wintecare will be present at various hospitality facilities set up for athletes by various brands/sponsors and I will work under the Nike brand. We will be placed off the field and all the athletes will be able to go there to talk to their managers, maintain the match and use our services. As physiotherapists, we will have the opportunity to go to the warm-up area if our presence is necessary.”

In short, the team that Truaisch will be part of will act as a support for what has been put in place by the various federations, many of which will have modern medical facilities at their disposal … « Our work will be based primarily on muscle regeneration and recovery. On the other hand, if an athlete needs medical care, it is most likely that the relevant federation staff will have to take care of him. We will focus on muscle regeneration and cardiovascular recovery. It may happen that the request for intervention in case of injury comes directly from the national team, but in principle this should not be the case. And it may happen that a particular athlete feels particularly comfortable with the treatment proposed by Wintecare, which he personally requests, once he has received the basic care of his national team, to continue the treatment. For me, this is a novelty, so first of all I have to understand what the dynamics, especially with managers, are much stronger than those of skateboarding ».

Manual ability to regenerate the muscles of athletes is indisputable. However, debuting in the world of athletics does involve a certain mental preparation…” In the past few weeks, since I received confirmation of my participation from Wintecare, I have been trying to get closer to the date by reviewing the shocks in the books and the most common loads in the world of athletics. I will have to deal with world-famous athletes, with Olympic champions or world champions, all people whose value can be counted in the millions of dollars.”

Professional growth opportunities

The full team will consist of several international therapists, split over two weeks and the hospitality of different brands/sponsors… “Dealing with colleagues from all over the world gives everyone the opportunity to talk to others about the techniques and treatments applied in different countries. This presents an unparalleled opportunity Ordinary for professional enrichment.In skiing, for example, we have a chat where World Cup physiotherapists can exchange tips, suggestions, and experiences.I imagine that in Eugene, the fact of being able to interact with fellow Spanish,Japanese,Chinese,American can allow everyone to engage with quality remedicine. Rehabilitation in sports in their countries.As far as we are concerned, although the neighbor’s grass is always greener, having attended more than one international field, I can guarantee that the level of rehabilitation in Switzerland is very high, in terms of skills and possibilities.To give an idea I often compare the structure of the Swiss Ski to that of the Italian national football team.”

It is possible that the symptoms that a Ticino therapist in Eugene will find are very far from what he is used to working on the muscles of Swiss ski athletes … «I hope to encounter new things, stretching or elongation. This is an experience that will allow me to gain more knowledge that I will later provide to the skating federation. On the other hand, before accepting the offer, I asked the opinion of Swiss Ski who appreciated the idea. However, I am not the first to be interested in skiing and athletics. About ten years ago I met the physiotherapist at the time Tina Maze, who in the winter worked with the Slovenian, while in the summer she took care of Usain Bolt’s muscles … and even then I thought I’d like to live a similar experience, from blunt trauma at -20 degrees to strains at +30″.

The World Athletics Championships is a very fast-paced event, with close-up competitions that require athletes to constantly renew their muscles. In short, it will not be a week’s vacation … «They warned me, seven days will be rather intense. About ten hours a day. The danger is that everything will be resolved at the airport – the hotel – the hospitality – the stadium – the airport. The competitions are many, the athletes as well and I imagine some of them always need our attention. On the other hand, this is our business. I would have liked to see Marco Odermatt win live in Adelboden, but at that moment I was busy with another athlete.”

Therapist and psychiatrist somewhat

In Eugene, Troisch will have to connect with athletes with whom he has not interacted before, unlike what usually happens within Swiss Ski… “The personal relationship is fundamental, an athlete is a man who works with his body and when he has a physical problem that prevents him from achieving the desired performance, he takes over The mental aspect.And with the physiotherapist, as a person who is neutral in terms of athletic performance, the athletes sometimes manage to open up.What I love most about my job is the fact that I can help the boy find a better quality of life, and allow him to return to the athletic performances he is used to, hopefully to taste his smile on his face. The podium. Let’s not forget that they are often very young and have little life experience and need to follow. In this sense, the physiotherapist also becomes a bit of a psychologist.”

Swiss skiing and the Olympics, a dream come true

2022 has recently reached the halfway point and in just 7 months Fabio Trois has brought together two major international sporting events. Eugene will become a reality these days, but in February there was the Beijing Olympics… «It was a great experience for me, it was the first time. It was very special, also for all aspects of Covid-19, not least the fact that I and the athletes, until we got on the plane, weren’t sure we could go to China: from day to day. Others we could have been positive and had to give up the trip. For the World Cup competitions before the Games, Swiss Ski established a strict management protocol, all hotels were armored, initially arrived by helicopter to avoid contact with people and by helicopter departed at the end of the race. Once in Beijing, I found a really effective organization, to the point where there was not a single outbreak of the disease. Communication between the athletes was free, but all attendees were harnessed from head to toe and it was impossible to interact with people outside of the bubble. I don’t know what protocol they will adopt in Eugene, but they will have to be very careful if they don’t want to restart the epidemic. As for me, I am at the airport and at work, I will wear a mask, whether it is mandatory or not. My passion for physical therapy came when I was a kid and it has always been my dream to be able to work with the national ski team and one day participate in the Olympics. It took me 12 years to go into the games, but in the end, it all came true. As proof that dreams must be cultivated, nothing is impossible.”

Skiing, athletics, swimming too… “A few years ago we were in the Sierra Nevada with Swiss Ski and Massimiliano Rossolino, who was preparing there to try to qualify for the London Olympics, asked me if I could follow him for three weeks, as he was in Spain without a physiotherapist. It was such a rich experience that we can still feel it sometimes.”

In Eugene, Fabio Trois will live a one-of-a-kind experience and will surely return with a rich professional background in the Ticino honored behind the scenes and on the track with Del Ponte and Petrociani.