Dr Kim Gregory, lead Consultant in Sports and Exercise Medicine at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), recently had the opportunity to apply her expert skills on the other side of the world, supporting ParalympicsGB at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang.

Great Britain came away from South Korea with seven medals, one more than they achieved at Sochi 2014, making this their most successful Winter Paralympics in history.

Dr Gregory, who volunteered at both the London Olympics and Paralympics in 2012 and has worked with other GB teams at other high-profile sporting events, was given the opportunity to accompany the athletes to the Games as their Travelling Chief Medical Officer (CMO). She says: “I felt privileged and proud to support a remarkable group of 17 athletes, and be part of an amazing support team that I had always hoped one day I would be part of.

“I have developed a passion for Para Sport through my career and this was an opportunity which certainly surpassed my expectations.

“I owe a massive thanks to Dr Stuart Miller (Chief Medical Officer for ParalympicsGB) for giving me the opportunity to travel.

“The `team behind the team`, under the leadership of Penny Briscoe (Chef de Mission of the Delegation), worked immensely hard to support the athletes and were proud to watch their hard work, determination, talent and pride translate into the results achieved.

“I really hope that I get the chance to further develop my skills at future games, but I’m very aware that there are not many sports physicians that get the chance to go to the games given the four year cycle of competition. I was very fortunate to go and ensured I used the opportunity to maximise my learning.”

Dr Gregory’s main role as Travelling CMO was to provide medical treatment, alongside physiotherapists, strength and conditioning coaches and a sports psychologist, to the para alpine ski, para snowboard, para Nordic and wheelchair curling athletes. Ensuring her fellow support team mates were also fit and well was similarly important.

“I spent most my time at the para alpine skiing venue during competition because of the relative risks of those sports but I was there to support all of the athletes. At UHB, I’ve seen multiple ski-related injuries since my return and I now have a greater appreciation of the injury mechanisms of those sports, having seen the technical demands of them first-hand.

“Translating my sports medicine skills to a winter environment where the field of play is ice and snow brings different challenges. Although we have seen snow in Birmingham this year, the volume was significantly greater in PyeongChang. A snow-covered environment makes for a spectacularly scenic alpine consultation room – a bit different to my office at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB).”

The indoor village-based consultation room was within the GB performance hub, which became an area to not only treat athletes but as a place for the team to meet and watch competition coverage on TV in downtime. It also served as the venue for yoga sessions for staff and athletes.

After the success at recent Games, Great Britain considers itself as a winter sports nation but although medal counts made headlines, Dr Gregory says that her personal priority was “that every athlete was fit and made their start line to achieve their goal of competing at a Paralympics.”

She says: “It’s not just about the medallists but the overall team performance. It was a very successful Games, with fantastic performances from all of the athletes taking part.

“As part of the `team behind the team`, you don’t just do whatever your main role is. You muck in with whatever it is that is required. We were all shovelling snow to make the pathways safer for everyone towards our village accommodation. The lead physio cleaned the bath and we would disinfect the mats for the athletes to do their recovery work on, daily. There are a lot of day-to-day, infection control jobs that we do over and above treating athletes. That’s just part of it, it’s not a chore, it’s not a hassle; It’s what you do because it plays a part within the team.

“You are very aware that you’re in a confined `games bubble` environment and if somebody picks up an infection it can spread quickly.

“When you’re in that environment with the athletes, their coaches and their support teams, you learn an awful lot about the sport, the technical demands, the injury risk and profiles.”

She also says that having a multidisciplinary team (MDT) was especially beneficial and a strength of sports medicine teams. “I’ve not in my previous jobs travelled with a sports psychologist and being able to see first-hand the benefits to athletes in a competitive environment was a great learning opportunity.”

How would Dr Gregory sum up her experience at the Games?

“It’s amazing to watch athletes who have worked for four or more years achieve an ambition and to play a part in a strong ‘team behind the team’ who work equally hard in their roles and come together to provide support to the athletes. The experience has developed me personally and I’ve learned a lot about myself and the skills I’ve learnt will translate and will without a doubt benefit the sports and exercise medicine patients we see here at QEHB.”

The Sports and Exercise Medicine Service (SEMS) offers a comprehensive service, delivered by a consultant and a team of musculoskeletal physiotherapists, caring for recreational athletes and dancers, as well as elite athletes who choose to use the NHS. The team can treat patients aged 14 and over. The service also offers one of only three NHS dance clinics in the UK.