On August 17, 2019, the Bastyr Sports Medicine Club (BSMC) volunteered at the Christian Sports League Spikefest Charity Grass Volleyball Tournament in Bellevue, WA. The club was sponsored by Bastyr University, the Integrative Medicine Group, and the Kinesiotaping Association. In attendance were supervisor, Masahiro Takakura, ND, LAc, DC, acupuncture students, Sharon Blaney, Jeffrey Wong, Kay Uribe, Zoe Lai, and naturopathic medical students, Megan Roark, Yelena Novik, Raymond Chao, Katie DiNello, and Nikol Wells.
For the past eight years, the Chang Family Foundation and Christian Sports League have hosted the tournament to benefit Jubilee REACH, a non-profit organization that supports youth in Bellevue through education, community, and relationship building. The Bastyr Sport Medicine Club was grateful to have been involved with such a wonderful cause for the third consecutive year.
The club was supervised by Masahiro Takakura, ND, LAc, DC, CKTI and was the only first aid and medical service at the event. The students were busy practicing history intakes, orthopedic tests, and various physical medicine techniques to assess injuries and treat the ambitious athletes. The students saw 81 players during the event and provided treatment for a variety of conditions including shoulder, knee, and ankle injuries, neck and low back pain, epicondylitis, tendonitis, and many more. The students treated the athletes with acupuncture, cupping, athletic and Kinesio taping, muscle energy stretching, and spinal manipulation. “This was a great event for the BSMC to volunteer at”, says Yelena Novik, co-captain of the club. “We were able to volunteer for the community while gaining hands-on clinical experience under Dr. Masa’s mentorship.” This year was particularly exciting because it was the first year the students were able to offer acupuncture through the Bastyr Traditional Chinese Medicine Sports Medicine Club. Many athletes took advantage of this service!
Overall, the event was a huge success. The BSMC was able to connect with the community while further developing their physical medicine skills. The club would like to extend a huge thank you to Dr. Masa for taking the time to supervise and share his wisdom. They would also like to thank Bastyr University, the Integrative Medicine Group, and the Kinesiotaping Association for their sponsorship and donations. Thank you to Tammy Chin, CSL Program Director, and Caroline Wong Nakata, CSL Regional Director, for organizing such an exceptional event. The BSMC gained a remarkable amount of knowledge from the Spikefest Tournament and look forward to volunteering at the event next year!
The Bastyr Sports Medicine Club with supervisor Masahiro Takakura, ND, LAc, DC, CKTI
Thank you to the Kinesiotaping Association for their generous Kinesio tape donation. The students were able to practice their taping skills while addressing player’s injuries.
Bastyr Sports Medicine Club 