Medical interventions, an integral part of school sport
JOBURG – Rampant fun and games call for medics, young and seasoned, to be on the watch amid excitement of Saheti Rugby Sevens and Netball Festival fanfare.
Natrishka Govender attends to a knee injury during the Saheti Rugby Sevens and Netball Festival.
Glorious weather ushered in the 24th edition of the Saheti Rugby Sevens and Netball Festival hosted by Saheti School in Senderwood, Bedfordview, despite adverse weather conditions having been predicted.
A day of fun, games, thrills and spills was on the cards as 19 participating club and school teams took to the netball courts and rugby fields to make proud representation by battling it out for championship prestige.
In the midst of all the war cries and the clash of muscles, few were kept as busy as Natrishka Govender, resident biokineticist at Saheti, who was on hand to attend to an array of cramps and niggles experienced by players. Amid all the fun and games, Govender provided insight into the ins and outs of the grueling demands of her work on the day.
“We try to take preventative measures to make sure that there’s [fewer] injuries, with the Saheti team in particular,” she said. “And so it’s just to be here in case of a knee or ankle injury as those are the common ones in netball.”
Visible inflammation can be seen above the right knee, where treatment was administered.
Govender outlined that with the short, fast movements executed in netball, knee and ankle injuries were quite predominant in the sport. She was, however, not to be left to her own devices as she had the able assistance of Angelique Parris and Katy Englezakis, both of whom are in Grade 9 at the school.
“I did a first aid course last year after a nurse asked if a group of us were interested,” said Parris, outlining how her involvement in the festival came about. An equally enthusiastic Englezakis indicated that she held medical work close to her heart.
“I want to become a doctor when I’m older and so I feel if I do this it will be to my advantage,” she said. “I see it as an introduction of sorts.”
Responding to the question on some of the challenges encountered, Englezakis said, “Hoping that you don’t mess up and then hurt the person even more [because] I have a fear of hurting people.”
With that, the young medics, under the careful supervision of their more seasoned counterpart, could be seen getting stuck in and aiding the fallen few, in the hope of getting them battle ready once more as the day and the excitement wore on.
