Club Doctor Stripped of Licence to Practise

Jul 25, 2008
24,064
40,229
The Linc
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
Oakland Raiders
That in itself doesn't mean much, unless it was a fairly simple, straightforward condition. If it was an acute injury with a definite MOI, it would be worrisome, but if it was a more general knee pain that had an insidious onset with vague symptoms, people are often unsure about contributing factors, and hence diagnosis is more difficult. The second Dr may have even been helped in their diagnosis by what the first Dr did and asked.

The worrying element over the previous few seasons has been the number of injuries that have occurred in the controlled environment of training, the number of players with repeat conditions (Cloke/Goldsack/Jolly with consistent patellar tendinopathy issues), injuries that have occurred in the gym, and the sheer length of absence of players (Freeman/Sinclair/Reid/Elliott/Wells).

Wells was a fairly resilient player at North, playing high double digit games in nearly all 14 seasons, apart from 2009, and then the 2014/15 seasons, when he had an unusual ankle ligament injury with an MOI that no one could figure out, followed by Achilles issues in 2015. Yet at Collingwood, he was back to minimal games with minor muscle strains. It's too easy too blame it all on turning up for the pre-season in less than ideal shape.

So far Bacquie, Girvan and Davoren have paid the price, with only slight improvement in injury.

Maybe the club should move heavan and earth to get Peter Brukner back in some capacity. After all, he is an expert in overuse injuries.

Don’t forget Langdon and Sier with their back injuries!

Bit of a test for Murphy here. It’ll be interesting to see how we confront it.
 
The Jamie Elliott thing was common sense. I read up on the injury. It's a really serious one.

His body? Because yeah, as you said, my Googlefu suggested that the best rehab option for that injury is to do nothing. Given how long Jamie was carrying this problem, I'd like to think that continuing to play and train played a massive role in how long he carried it.

Ed earlier in this thread you complained about posters being armchair doctors. Yet here you are being exactly that.

If you wanted a common sense approach think about this.

It should be common sense to anyone that a poster on an Internet forum who has no medical expertise short of reading a google article can possibly hope to creditably critic the management of a complex injury by a person who has spent years studying this and similar conditions and then spent many years acquiring the clinical expertise to diagnose, examine, manage and operate on the injury in question.

What's more , unlike the person who you are criticing, you have never seen the patient , you don't know most of the history of the complaint, you haven't examined the patient, you haven't seen the notes and results of the investigations and even if you had the opportunity to do so you would have no understanding of what you were reading and doing.

Whether the injury has been well handled or poorly handled none of us are able to tell. It would be common sense to understand that to be true.
 
His body? Because yeah, as you said, my Googlefu suggested that the best rehab option for that injury is to do nothing. Given how long Jamie was carrying this problem, I'd like to think that continuing to play and train played a massive role in how long he carried it.
And yet your Googlefu didn't lead you to the article where Jamie details the injury, how resting didn't improve the condition, how they sought consult from world renowned physio John Kountouris who specializes in back stress fractures and all decided that surgery was the best option. The same surgery that had him playing this year. Jamie also mentions the discomfort he is in when staying still “I think about my posture every day. Even now I don’t feel comfortable sitting like this for a long period,” Elliott said. “My body needs to move.”

So maybe, just maybe, the docs, physios, surgeons and Jamie himself knew more about treating his injury than Dr Ed's Googlefu.
 
Jul 21, 2008
25,863
32,414
Melbourne
AFL Club
Collingwood
Ed earlier in this thread you complained about posters being armchair doctors. Yet here you are being exactly that.

If you wanted a common sense approach think about this.

It should be common sense to anyone that a poster on an Internet forum who has no medical expertise short of reading a google article can possibly hope to creditably critic the management of a complex injury by a person who has spent years studying this and similar conditions and then spent many years acquiring the clinical expertise to diagnose, examine, manage and operate on the injury in question.

What's more , unlike the person who you are criticing, you have never seen the patient , you don't know most of the history of the complaint, you haven't examined the patient, you haven't seen the notes and results of the investigations and even if you had the opportunity to do so you would have no understanding of what you were reading and doing.

Whether the injury has been well handled or poorly handled none of us are able to tell. It would be common sense to understand that to be true.
Now I don't pretend to be even a keyboard doctor, though I did read an article on Elliott's condition and declared he would never play again. I also added that I would be more than happy for events to prove me wrong, and they did! Jamie Elliott played much of last season, perhaps without flying as high or as often but still performing well. I can only conclude that his condition was more than adequately handled by the relevant medical personnel. Seeing is believing, performance is proof. Whatever else this club doctor has done, he cannot be held responsible for Jamie's defunct football career. Someone or something, be it man or miracle, has worked a most wondrous healing process on the back of our pint-sized hero.
 

CFC2010

Cancelled
10k Posts Collingwood Magpies - Brayden Sier 2019 Player Sponsor Collingwood - Jaidyn Stephenson Player Sponsor 2018 Collingwood - Matthew Scharenberg Player Sponsor 2017 Collingwood Magpies - James Aish Player Sponsor 2016
Aug 22, 2014
19,470
34,435
AFL Club
Collingwood
Now I don't pretend to be even a keyboard doctor, though I did read an article on Elliott's condition and declared he would never play again. I also added that I would be more than happy for events to prove me wrong, and they did! Jamie Elliott played much of last season, perhaps without flying as high or as often but still performing well. I can only conclude that his condition was more than adequately handled by the relevant medical personnel. Seeing is believing, performance is proof. Whatever else this club doctor has done, he cannot be held responsible for Jamie's defunct football career. Someone or something, be it man or miracle, has worked a most wondrous healing process on the back of our pint-sized hero.

Agree 100% TGG......if not for the ankle injury he was on track to play all 22 games.

IMO he might have been the difference in a extra win or two.
 

BigCharlie

Debutant
Sep 7, 2017
123
188
AFL Club
Collingwood
Surely the BigFooty amateur Doctors on here are not suggesting our injuries are a result of employing this Doctor.

Sporting injuries are multi-factorial, but only the most uneducated and/or obtuse wouldn't believe that Sports Physicians, Physiotherapists and High Performance Managers all differ greatly in their knowledge and competence. Alternatively, they could have the requisite knowledge, competence and experience but just be a bad fit at a particular point in time.

I'll ask again: Was Bradshaw parachuted into the position merely on Balme's recommendation, or did he undergo a recruitment process? If he was handed the job merely on Balme's recommendation, along with the view that Geelong had a better than average run with soft tissue conditions during his time there, then that is dereliction of duty, since there could be numerous reasons why a club performs better in that regard.

Hint: North Melbourne didn't have such a low rate of soft tissue injuries during the early part of this decade because of who the club doctor was (Although they played a role)
 
Sporting injuries are multi-factorial, but only the most uneducated and/or obtuse wouldn't believe that Sports Physicians, Physiotherapists and High Performance Managers all differ greatly in their knowledge and competence. Alternatively, they could have the requisite knowledge, competence and experience but just be a bad fit at a particular point in time.

I'll ask again: Was Bradshaw parachuted into the position merely on Balme's recommendation, or did he undergo a recruitment process? If he was handed the job merely on Balme's recommendation, along with the view that Geelong had a better than average run with soft tissue conditions during his time there, then that is dereliction of duty, since there could be numerous reasons why a club performs better in that regard.

Hint: North Melbourne didn't have such a low rate of soft tissue injuries during the early part of this decade because of who the club doctor was (Although they played a role)
Not sure I agree with this completely. Sports med is a relatively small field and then smaller again when looking at sports med doctors who work in the AFL. Also not a particularly specialised field in that a lot of people who come into it do from a side interest and also work in other areas.

As such there are not going to be a large number of candidates and an AFL club may have a difficulty putting together a suitably qualified person or panel to oversee a recruitment process. Blames experience with seeing Bradshaw work at Geelong may have been as valuable a piece of information as there was to see if he was suitable for the job. I am not discounting there may be benefits to a recruiting process but at times, in this small field, it may not be the best way to go.
 
Surely the BigFooty amateur Doctors on here are not suggesting our injuries are a result of employing this Doctor.

Nah, couldn't be...unless we have reached a new low for this place
Here was I thinking it had to do with playing a contact sport in which athletes routinely run 12-15km!
 
Aug 18, 2010
1,354
3,037
Melbs
AFL Club
Collingwood
You can't seriously blame Eddie for this recruitment, surely? I'm the first to admit that I've been a bit cynical about the direction lately, but this matter is completely unrelated to the club. I'm sure we will see a replacement in due course.

It's the internet: people can blame anyone for anything. And they will.
 

Saintly Viewed

.
30k Posts 10k Posts Collingwood - Tyler Brown Player Sponsor 2020 Collingwood Magpies - Brayden Sier 2019 Player Sponsor Collingwood - Jaidyn Stephenson Player Sponsor 2018 Collingwood Board Goal Kicking Tip Comp Collingwood - Matthew Scharenberg Player Sponsor 2017 Shiny Penny
Aug 10, 2015
48,085
39,985
AFL Club
Collingwood
Maybe we can get Ron Jeremy from the Bulldogs?
Lol Dr Zimmerman would love that.

Very very witty, I likes, great post :)
 
Sep 17, 2007
27,163
30,388
Melbourne
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
Man. U, Chicago Bulls, Ολυμπιακός
Ed earlier in this thread you complained about posters being armchair doctors. Yet here you are being exactly that.

If you wanted a common sense approach think about this.

It should be common sense to anyone that a poster on an Internet forum who has no medical expertise short of reading a google article can possibly hope to creditably critic the management of a complex injury by a person who has spent years studying this and similar conditions and then spent many years acquiring the clinical expertise to diagnose, examine, manage and operate on the injury in question.

What's more , unlike the person who you are criticing, you have never seen the patient , you don't know most of the history of the complaint, you haven't examined the patient, you haven't seen the notes and results of the investigations and even if you had the opportunity to do so you would have no understanding of what you were reading and doing.

Whether the injury has been well handled or poorly handled none of us are able to tell. It would be common sense to understand that to be true.

The common sense part of that post you quoted was about my speculating at the time that there was a chance Jamie may never play again.

Which he then backed up himself.
 
The common sense part of that post you quoted was about my speculating at the time that there was a chance Jamie may never play again.

Which he then backed up himself.
So you read a google article about the pars defect and concluded that it can be a career ending injury. Forgive me for being a little underwhelmed with your expertise.

Again the common sense approach here would be to understand you are in no position to critic the management of Elliott's case.
 
Jan 12, 2011
25,397
35,576
AFL Club
Collingwood
So you read a google article about the pars defect and concluded that it can be a career ending injury. Forgive me for being a little underwhelmed with your expertise.

Again the common sense approach here would be to understand you are in no position to critic the management of Elliott's case.
He has history of making huge claims that when tested disappear in a puff of blue smoke
 
The common sense part of that post you quoted was about my speculating at the time that there was a chance Jamie may never play again.

Which he then backed up himself.
So you're big noting that you guessed something might happen, which didn't. Bravo
 
Back