Written by Renita Rasmann
Doctors Rob Scott, Chef de Mission and Renita Rasmann – Tug of War World Indoor Championships, 8-11 March 2023, Parkgate, Northern Ireland
Tug of War Indoor World Championships was my first event through FICS. I went there with a lot of excitement as I had never seen Tug of War in real life. When I arrived I was a little bit nervous since I’m younger than everyone else and might seem not experienced enough. I’m pleased to say that those worries were unnecessary as Dr Rob Scott was very welcoming and introduced me to the whole official team, who were extremely kind and treated me as a professional colleague. They explained to me all the bits and pieces of Tug of War and the history of this sport. It was devastating to hear that it used to be part of the Olympics and now the whole team has to work really hard to get it back to the Olympics.
Many thanks to the team for such a warm welcome, the great organization of the event, and all the friendliness – it was my pleasure to be part of such an amazing team. In the end, they even pursued me to take part in the Outdoor World Championships in Switzerland.
It was an honour to wear the FICS uniform with “Sports Chiropractor” written on it. When I saw the pullers competing, I was very surprised – I had thought that Tug of War was mainly about strength, yet it’s a lot more about the technique. It’s beautiful to see how synchronized the whole team is with their movement and how horizontal their bodies go while pulling.
Treating the athletes was obviously the best part of the event. Once one team member found us, the word went around, and we were back-to-back for 4 hours with the rest of the team. Even though we were busy, I didn’t feel tired as it was extremely exciting to help athlete after athlete. Most common complaints were pain over the right sided midback and thoracolumbar junction and left sided neck. Which makes complete sense if we consider the biomechanics of pulling. There were quite a few exciting acute injuries and I got to use all the knowledge I have learnt during the FICS Upper & Lower extremity seminars. The most common one was an ankle sprain – this usually happened when the puller in front fell onto the ankle of the one behind.
An interesting part of competitions like this is the language barrier – I’m usually able to speak English, Estonian, and a little bit or Italian and Russian – but while treating I felt like all my lingual channels opened and I was able to communicate without a problem. I just had to add in the body and hand gestures.
The skin on their back looked awful due to the burning of the rope. A lot of them tried to prevent it by tapping the whole of their back on the right side, however, the rope oftentimes burnt even through the clothes and tape.
All the athletes were extremely thankful after the treatments. Chinese people kept on bringing me different gifts, and Italians taught me how to pull the rope. And my biggest surprise was during the medal ceremony of the Mix580kg when the winners – Basque Country – asked me to join them for the podium since they felt like the treatments they received helped them so much to achieve first place. They even gave me the trophy to hold… it was honestly an indescribable feeling. Those moments make me realize even more how much I love the profession and that I’m able to help athletes achieve their maximum.
I’m very thankful to FICS for giving me this opportunity, and I am looking forward to the next competitions lining up. Last but not least, big thanks to Dr Rob Scott, who was extremely supportive throughout the competition and shared his knowledge about chiropractic and skills with me.
