Integrative Medicine Group
2009 Seattle Marathon
Another record turnout at the Seattle Marathon meant another successful event for both the Bastyr University Sports Medicine Club and the Department of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine(AOM). The event, which drew an estimated 16,200 participants to four race events Nov. 28 and 29, provided a rich training environment for naturopathic medicine (ND) and AOM students, who supplied post-race care and support for race finishers.
Comprised of ND students, the Sports Medicine Club offered participants a variety of free services, including stretching, soft-tissue work, therapeutic taping and naturopathic manipulation. “This was our fourth year participating in the event and our biggest turn out thus far, both for students and the number of people who took advantage of our services,” said Chris Merlino, the club’s organizer. “The people we worked with said they were very satisfied with our efforts, and we’re excited to continue our participation at this event in 2010.”
Students in the acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM) program also volunteered at the race, helping athletes recover from fatigue and injuries. “For many of the race participants, this was their first experience with acupuncture,” said Kyo Mitchell, DAOM, LAc, assistant professor of AOM, who noted the numerous compliments students received for their organizational skills and acupuncture treatments. “We do this event to help students get experience in using acupuncture for sports medicine.”
The event also gave Bastyr an opportunity to raise awareness of the health care services offered at the University’s state-of-the-art teaching clinic in Seattle, Bastyr Center for Natural Health (BCNH). Those who received treatments were not only educated about the benefits of incorporating acupuncture into their health care, but were offered coupons for discounts on services at BCNH.
2010 Emerald City Volleyball Tournament
Over Memorial Day Weekend, May 29-31 2010, a group of students and our supervising doctor, Dr. Masahiro Takakura, headed out to the University of Washington to volunteer our services. The event was the Emerald City Classic Invitational. This is a huge tournament for volleyball players, with ages ranging from 12-18. The teams came from all over Washington, Oregon, and even as far as Brazil. We provided athletic taping along with stretching, body work, soft tissue manipulation, icing, etc. There were over 200 teams at the tournament and over 2000 participants, as well as many family members. It was a great opportunity for us to get our name out there and for us to work with people.
We received amazing compliments and such positive remarks from the staff and athletes of the event, as well as from the parents of the athletes. We were told that the job done by the volunteers of this club was nothing short of amazing. The athletes felt taken care of better than any other tournament they had been to and that each and every one of the trainers was incredible. What a great opportunity for those who volunteered their time and hard work!
A sincere gratitude goes out to the students and doctors who volunteered their time and expertise at the event. It could not have been made possible without you. Thank you so much! Dr. Masahiro Takakura, Dr. Cortney Cusack, Dr. Celeste Saenz, Chad Borys, Cyndi Hope, Brenden Witte, Effy Germanis, Thomas Declemente, Ellen Sims, Rachelle Price, Joshua Leibow, Candice Staniek, Jessie Carroll, Calvin Kwan, Shawn Postma, Elizabeth Zamecki, Linda Alva, Claire Graser, Suzanne Smokevitch, Jacqueline Blakely, Daniel Heller, Emily Chao, and Darci Davis.
2011 Emerald City Volleyball Tournament
Over 200 volleyball teams met on the University of Washington campus on Memorial Day weekend to face-off in one of the biggest volleyball events in the Pacific Northwest. Teams from the United States, Canada, and Brazil participated in the 3-day event.
Spikes, blocks, digs, and sets were served-up simultaneously on 23 separate courts and the Bastyr Sports Medicine Club was there every step of the way, helping to keep the players in the action. Club members provided athletic taping, Kinesio! taping, cryotherapy, and injury evaluation and treatment for athletes under the expert supervision of 3 physicians, a physician assistant, and an athletic trainers.
Injuries from head-to-toe were assessed and treated. Many students who participated logged over 30 hours and 100 patient contacts. “It was an incredible experience,” states Calvin Kwan, a 4th year student and active Sports Medicine Club member. He went on to add, “Dr. Takakura and Dr. Maitlen helped us work through each patient athlete’s case quickly and effectively.”
This is the 2nd year of the collaboration of Bastyr University and the Emerald City Classic and it has quickly become a hit with both athletes and Bastyr students alike.
2011 Seattle Marathon
From its humble beginnings of 38 runners in 1970, the Seattle Marathon has seen its participants grow to what is estimated to be 17,000 runners this year! The Bastyr Sports Medicine Club is proud to announce yet another successful year volunteering at one of the top-10 marathons/half marathons in the U.S.!
To kick off the 2011 festivities, a two-day Health and Fitness Expo was held at the Westin Seattle Hotel. The BSMC, in partnership with Kinesio Tape USA, tabled for the company, offering free Kinesio taping by students trained under Dr. Takakura (a core Bastyr faculty and Kinesio Tape representative). Kinesio Tape trained BSMC members assessed and treated a multitude of preexisting conditions and provided preventative taping for: strains, sprains, inhibiting hyper tonic muscles, facilitating weak muscles, lymphatic drainage, and mechanical correction for joints such as those of the knee and ankle and much more.
On the day of the marathon, runners and walkers visited the Victory Recovery Area located at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, in search of a means to remedy their ailing bodies. The BSMC students offered free soft tissue massage, naturopathic manipulation, muscle energy stretching, and Kinesio taping to nearly 200 highly inspirational half and full marathon participants. The BSMC members saw a cornucopia of conditions including, but not limited to, muscle strains, muscle spasms/cramps, joint sprains, hypothermia, skeletal subluxations, and a variety of myalgias.
The BSMC and its members would love to invite you to future events including a 3-day event at the Emerald City Classics Volleyball tournament during the spring and a number
A big "Thank you" to:
Our Attending Docs:
Dr Masahiro Takakura, Dr Darci Davis, Dr Sheetal Shah
BSMC Co-Captains:
Cassy Dymond, Calvin Kwan
BSMC Members:
Andrew Simon, Lily Chang, Cory Ojima, Chad Borys, Erica Joseph, Cyndi Hope, Allison Apfelbaum, Effy Germais, Shawn Postma, Stacey Meisel, Nichole Anderson, Vanessa Pavey, Landon Opunui, Anup Mulakaluri, Seth Enos, Laura Firetag
2012 Emerald City Classic Volleyball Tournament
2016 Emerald City Volleyball Tournament
This past Memorial Day long weekend, the Bastyr Sports Medicine Club returned to the ECC volleyball tournament for the 7th consecutive year to provide voluntary sports medicine, medical care, and first aid care to over 2000 athletes aged 11-18. A total of 200 volleyball teams from several states, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, as well as from Canada, were invited to participate in the three-day tournament.
Lead by medical director and lead supervising physician, Dr. Masahiro Takakura ND, DC, LAc, and supervising physician Dr. Calvin Kwan ND, and accompanied by Dr. Andrew Simon ND, Dr. Darci Davis ND, Dr. Amoz Van Dyke ND, and Dr. Hannah Gordon ND, the BSMC club members provided hands on treatment to address a range of conditions, including bruises/contusions, abrasions, ankle injuries, knee pain, hip pain, wrist and finger injuries, ligamentous sprains, meniscal tears, muscle strains, athlete biomechanics, low back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain/injuries, and various forms of tendonitis. The team of Naturopathic medical students and Doctors also evaluated and referred athletes for possible concussions and fractures.
Organized and led by the BSMC leadership team, nearly 30 club members arrived to the Dempsey Arena at the University of Washington over the weekend to utilize their learned physical medicine skills and provide care for the athletes who played several games throughout the weekend. The BSMC club members spent 2 months planning, training, and prepping for this event. Students from Bastyr’s San Diego campus, and the sports medicine club from Bastyr San Diego, also made the trip up to Seattle to join in on the action! Over nearly 35 hours of total service time, the students worked through quick physical assessments, ruling out injuries and emergency cases, and used a wide variety of physical medicine modalities to help treat the athletes. These modalities included ice therapy, cold friction rubs, soft tissue mobilization and myofascial release, muscle energy stretching and neuromuscular reeducation, naturopathic joint manipulations, craniosacral therapy, athletic taping, and Kinesio taping. Along with practicing these skills, the students practiced their history taking, physical exam and orthopedic exam skills, neurological evaluation of concussions, triaging acute injuries, and working in a team to provide optimal medical care! Further, the naturopathic medical students also provided appropriate follow-up treatments and recommendations such as home exercises, stretching, and appropriate medical referrals for conditions that needed more follow up. The high number of patient contacts was a tremendous opportunity for students to hone in on their medical decision-making skills and gain valuable feedback from the supervising doctors.
As done so in previous years, BSMC also worked alongside the Bastyr TCM Sports Medicine club, supervised by Sofina Lin, LAc, providing integrative Naturopathic sports medicine and traditional Chinese medicine to help treat the volleyball players! There was also a great collaborative effort to communicate with the volunteer EMT of the event on first aid cases. All in all, it was a tremendous display of collaboration between the various medical teams present at the tournament.
BSMC would like to give a big thank-you to our supervising physicians and practitioners for taking the time out of their day to help medical students practice their skills and gain valuable real world experience. Also, a huge thank-you goes out to Jim Clavadetscher, ECC event organizer, for once again inviting us out and allowing us to practice our medicine. We look forward to re-joining the ECC team next year for an even bigger and better event!
2016Gaelic Athletic Association Finals
This year’s US Gaelic Athletic Association Finals were held in Seattle, WA over the Labor day long weekend of September 2nd-4th. Over 100 teams from 50+ cities brought with them over 2,000 athletes aged 16-40+ that competed for titles in Gaelic football, hurling, and camogie. These sports are intense, very physically demanding, and just as exciting to watch! For this event, the Bastyr Sports Medicine Club, sponsored by Masa Integrative Clinic, volunteered to be the sole first aid, sports medicine, and medical team for all athletes and participants over the three-day weekend.
This year’s US Gaelic Athletic Association Finals were held in Seattle, WA over the Labor day long weekend of September 2nd-4th. Over 100 teams from 50+ cities brought with them over 2,000 athletes aged 16-40+ that competed for titles in Gaelic football, hurling, and camogie. These sports are intense, very physically demanding, and just as exciting to watch! For this event, the Bastyr Sports Medicine Club, sponsored by Masa Integrative Clinic, volunteered to be the sole first aid, sports medicine, and medical team for all athletes and participants over the three-day weekend.
Sponsored and overseen by lead supervising physician Dr. Masahiro Takakura ND DC, LAc, and supervising physician Dr. Darci Davis, ND, the student members of the BSMC provided all medical care for the event while seeing over 300 athletes and participants for various presenting conditions, including; bruises/contusions, abrasions, lacerations, shoulder dislocations, ankle injuries, knee pain, hip pain, wrist and finger injuries and dislocations, ligamentous sprains, meniscal tears, muscle strains, athlete biomechanics, low back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain/injuries, fractures, concussions, and various forms of tendonitis. The team of Naturopathic medical students and Doctors also evaluated and referred athletes for emergency medical care when necessary.
Organized by the BSMC leadership team, nearly 15 club members arrived to Magnuson Park in Seattle over the weekend to utilize their learned physical medicine skills and provide care for the athletes who played several games throughout the weekend. The BSMC club members spent several weeks planning, training, and prepping for this event. Students from Bastyr’s San Diego campus, and the sports medicine club from Bastyr San Diego, also made the trip up to Seattle to join in on the action! Over nearly 30 hours of total service time, the students worked through quick physical assessments, ruling out injuries and emergency cases, and used a wide variety of physical medicine modalities to help treat the athletes. These modalities included ice therapy, cold friction rubs, soft tissue mobilization and myofascial release, muscle energy stretching and neuromuscular re-education, naturopathic joint manipulations, craniosacral therapy, athletic taping, compression taping, Leukotaping, Kinesiotaping (a gracious donation from Kinesiotaping Association), and splinting/joint immobilization. Along with practicing these skills, the students practiced their history taking, physical exam and orthopedic exam skills, accurately using objective assessments with goniometers, charting and assessment treatment outcomes, neurological evaluation of concussions, triaging acute injuries, wound cleaning and closure, and working in a team to provide optimal medical care! Further, the naturopathic medical students also provided appropriate follow-up treatments and recommendations such as home exercises, stretching, and appropriate medical referrals for conditions that needed more follow up. The high number of patient contacts was a tremendous opportunity for students to hone in on their medical decision-making skills and gain valuable feedback from the supervising doctors.
As done so in many previous events, BSMC also worked alongside the Bastyr TCM Sports Medicine club, supervised by Sofina Lin, LAc, providing integrative Naturopathic sports medicine and traditional Chinese medicine to help treat the Gaelic sports athletes! There was also a great collaborative effort to communicate with the dedicated EMT of the event, Bryce, on first aid cases. All in all, it was a tremendous display of collaboration between the various medical teams present at the tournament. The event coordinators also expressed a tremendous appreciation of the work and service provided by the team of students and doctors, and stated that this was the most extensive medical care that has ever been provided at a USGAA event over the last 50+ years!
This event also gave the BSMC a unique opportunity to further the Naturopathic sports medicine field. The leadership board and the supervising doctors conducted a treatment quality assurance assessment on all treatment modalities that were provided during the event. Using appropriate informed consent and confidentiality measures, data was collected from all consenting athletes regarding the immediate outcomes of treatment. This information gathered will be organized and analyzed, and presented as a showcase of the effects of Naturopathic principles on the outcomes of sports medicine treatment. This is a very exciting first step in expanding the information available on the use of Naturopathy in the sports medicine world, so definitely be on the look out for updates on this topic! This survey assessment would not have been possible without all the hard work, guidance, and help that was received from Dr. Masa Sasagawa, and the BSMC is incredibly thankful for his support.
Finally, BSMC would like to give a big thank-you to our supervising physicians and practitioners for sponsoring the event and taking the time out of their day to help medical students practice their skills and gain valuable real world experience. Also, a huge thank-you goes out to Dr. Ara Walline for connecting us to this event, as well as Dermot Randles, Brian White, Paul McGarry, John Keane, and the entire Seattle Gaelic Atheltic Club, the USGAA Seattle Finals event organizers, for inviting us out and allowing us to practice our medicine. We look forward to future collaborative efforts between the BSMC and the Gaelic Athletic Association. A special thank you also goes out to Jim Clavadetscher, event organizer for the annual Emerald City Championship volleyball tournaments, for all his support and assistance in helping us be prepared and well equipped for this event.
2016 Seattle Marathon
On November 27, 2016 Bastyr Sports Medicine Club and the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Bastyr Sports Medicine Club provided complimentary naturopathic physical medicine and acupuncture to the athletes at the 2016 Seattle Marathon. This was BSMC’s 11th appearance at the Seattle Marathon, and students provided physical medicine modalities such as soft tissue massage, muscle energy stretching, kinesio taping, and naturopathic manipulation.
This event exemplified a true integrative model between two different medicines, allowing many patients to receive both naturopathic medicine and acupuncture. Separate from the sports medicine clubs there were many other health care practitioners volunteering such as the University of Washington Medicine, Washington Sports Massage Team, and Washington State Chiropractic Association. The Seattle Center became a center of multidisciplinary medical approaches, providing students the opportunity to network and work amongst a diverse group of healthcare practitioners. Dr. Yang ND, LAc, one of the acupuncture supervisors, states “coming back and witnessing the enthusiasm exuded by both ND and AOM students made me proud to be part of this amazing learning experience. This event illustrates a true integration of Naturopathic, East Asian and Western Medicine in assessing, triaging, and treating patients. It’s also a prime venue to introduce our medicine to the masses.” This event is a great opportunity for students to learn and gain valuable clinical experience.
Naturopathic medical students worked together in teams consisting of primary and secondary student clinicians to assess and treat a variety of different cases. Primary clinicians are students in their third or fourth year of naturopathic medical school who have received more advanced training in clinical assessment and treatment. These student clinicians are not only responsible for patient assessment, but also teaching and mentoring the secondary student clinicians. In fact, many secondary clinicians were encouraged to perform muscle energy stretching and soft tissue massage on patients with assistance from primary student clinicians. Megan Roark, a second-year naturopathic medical students, states “returning as a second-year student was great! I was able to participate more, but I was also able to obtain new skills from the primaries while observing under them.”
The Bastyr Sports Medicine Club would like to thank our sponsors Masa Integrative Clinic, Kinesio Taping Association International, and Bastyr University. We would also like to thank our clinical supervisors Dr. Masahiro Takakura ND, LAc, Dr. Calvin Kwan ND, Dr. Tom Yang ND, LAc, and Dr. Grace Chang ND, LAc for without them this event would not be possible. Lastly, BSMC would like to thank student volunteers for giving their commitment and enthusiasm to learning and working together as a team in providing comprehensive medical services.
2017 Spikefest Charity Grass Volleyball Tournament
During the weekend of August 19th, the Bastyr Sports Medicine Club (BSMC) attended the 6th Annual CSL Chang Family Foundation, Spikefest Charity Grass Volleyball Tournament. This event brought together over 150 athletes aged 14 – 40+ that competed for a good cause. The proceeds of the event went to Urban Impact of Seattle, whose mission is to partner with communities and families to break the cycle of social, material, and spiritual poverty. For this event, the BSMC, sponsored by Sports Medicine Associates and Integrative Medicine Group, volunteered to be the sole first aid, sports medicine, and medical team for all athletes and participants over the day event.
This event was supervised by Dr. Calvin Kwan, ND who oversaw student members of the BSMC. We provided medical care to over 50 athletes that presented with various conditions including: bruises, ankle injuries, low back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, athlete biomechanics, contusions, and various forms of tendonitis. This was a great opportunity for students to further their Sports Medicine skills. Using appropriate informed consent and confidentiality measures, members were able to practice various modalities including ice therapy, cold friction rubs, soft tissue mobilization and myofascial release, muscle energy stretching and neuromuscular re-education, naturopathic joint manipulations, craniosacral therapy, athletic taping, compression taping, Leukotaping, and Kinesio taping (a generous donation from Kinesiotaping Association). Along with practicing these skills, the students practiced their history taking, physical exam and orthopedic exam skills, accurately using objective assessments, charting and assessment treatment outcomes, triaging acute injuries, wound cleaning and closure, and working in a team to provide optimal medical care!
The BSMC would like to give a big thank-you to Dr. Kwan, ND for taking the time to come out and share his expertise, and the Sports Medicine Associates and Integrative Medicine Group for sponsoring us and making this event possible. We would like to thank Tammy Chin, Hilary Wang, and Lydia Wang for connecting us to this event and allowing us to be the first medical team to oversee the event. Lastly, we would like to thank KT Association for their generous donation. We enjoyed coming out to the event and look forward to returning next year!
Seattle Marathon 2017
On November 25th, BSMC was able to provide another year of voluntary care for the Seattle Marathon runners. Even though it was a dark, windy and rainy morning, there was still over 5,000 runners and walkers that participated in this years event where experience ranged from veteran marathoners to first time runners. The Bastyr Sports Medicine Club in conjunction with the Bastyr’s Acupuncture Sports Medicine Club had the privilege of providing integrative care for the marathon participants in the form of MES, kinesio taping, Tui Na, acupuncture, and craniosacral therapy.
On November 26th, BSMC was able to provide another year of voluntary care for the Seattle Marathon runners. Even though it was a dark, windy and rainy morning, there was still over 5,000 runners and walkers that participated in this years event where experience ranged from veteran marathoners to first time runners. The Bastyr Sports Medicine Club in conjunction with the Bastyr’s Acupuncture Sports Medicine Club had the privilege of providing integrative care for the marathon participants in the form of MES, kinesio taping, Tui Na, acupuncture, and craniosacral therapy.
This year we were able to help over 100 patients with post-run stretching, musculoskeletal pain and answer any general health questions they had. Under the guidance of the supervising doctors, students were also able to practice proper patient care by implementing skills learned in classes such as orthopedic testing, acute injury evaluation, soft tissue manipulation and injury prevention.
Thank you to all the students who participated at the event, and were eager to lend their healing hands. Special thanks to our sponsors Integrative Medicine Group, Kinesio Taping Association International, and Bastyr University. We would also like to thank Dr. Masahiro Takakura, ND, LAc, DC, Dr. Tom Yang, ND, LAc, LMP, Dr. Calvin Kwan, ND, Dr. Anh Ngoc Le, ND, LAc, and Dr. Thien Nguyen, ND, LAc for supervising the event. We appreciate them donating their time and expanding our knowledge. Additionally, we’d like to thank Lydia Wang for volunteering her time and coordinating patient intake!
Firas Mouazzen: “I thought it was an awesome experience to share with other Bastyr students. It was great to collectively work together off campus. We were able to display our skill sets in a professional and effective manner. All while making a difference in the Seattle community.”
Kristen Williams: “We had many students coming out with great energies who clearly made time to practice their skills before they came to the Seattle Marathon. It makes for a smooth day when students come prepared. Seeing students from different programs work well together was fantastic! Our goal is for each year & event to better ourselves.”
Jessica Norton: “Volunteering at the Seattle marathon has been an amazing experience. Thanks to our supervisors, I have been able to practice and improve my orthopedic assessment as well as soft tissue and joint manipulations on dozens of patients in a fast paced setting. It has been a great way to synthesize my classroom learning and practical skills!”
Dr. Ngoc: “Each year, our club and organization continues to grow and it is great to see the passion to practice and learn continue to grow as well in all our students and our practitioners. It takes a lot of time and dedication to prepare for an event and everyone contributes in their own way starting from the supervisor and leadership group to the student members. Thank you for your efforts and we, practitioners and physicians of Integrative Medicine Group, look forward to our continuing collaborations.”
The Revolution Brazilian Jiu- Jitsu Gi and No-Gi Tournament
Leaders and leaders in training from the Bastyr Sports Medicine Club, along with supervisors from Integrative Medicine Group, volunteered as medical staff at The Revolution Brazilian Jiu- Jitsu Gi and No-Gi tournament on March 3-4, 2018. The Revolution had its largest tournament yet, with over 900 competitors, spanning from 4 years old to mid-50’s.
On Saturday the medical staff treated 18 years old and up competitors. Injuries ranged form minor cuts to being knocked unconscious. On Sunday the age range included 4-17 year olds and ranged from acute sprained ankles, to chronic lower back pain. The students were able to assist the supervisors and nurse practitioners when running onto the mats to assess competitors.Off the mats, the students were able to use their skills from school, of proper history intake of injuries, manual therapy techniques, muscle energy stretching, soft tissue manipulation, orthopedic tests, along with Kinesio taping.
Many thanks for our donation of Kinesio tape from Kinesio Taping Association International. As well as a large thank you to our supervisors from Integrative Medicine Group, Dr. Calvin Kwan, ND, CKTI and Dr. Darci Davis, ND. We also appreciate Lydia Wang for supporting us at the event with patient intake.
2018 Emerald City Volleyball Tournament
2018 marked the 32nd year of the Emerald City Classic volleyball tournament at the University of Washington. The Bastyr Sports Medicine Club once again returned for the 9th consecutive year to provide voluntary sports medicine and first aid care to over 2000 athletes. Teams from all over the United States and Canada were invited to compete against each other in the three-day tournament.
Lead by Integrative Medicine Group medical director Dr. Masahiro Takakura ND, DC, LAc, and supervising physicians Dr. Calvin Kwan ND, Dr. Grace Chang ND, LAc, Dr. Thien Nguyen ND, LAc, CKTI, Dr. Tom Yang ND, LAc, Dr. Darci Davis ND, and Dr. Anh Ngoc Le ND, LAc, the BSMC club members provided hands on treatment for a wide range of conditions, which included ankle injuries, knee pain, bruises, shoulder pain/injuries, wrist and finger injuries. The team of Naturopathic medical students and doctors also evaluated and referred athletes for possible concussions.
Organized and led by the BSMC leadership team, club members were able to utilize various physical medicine skills to provide care for the athletes who played multiple games throughout the weekend. The BSMC club members spent months planning, training, and prepping for the big event. Students worked through physical assessments, ruling out injuries and emergency cases, and utilized a wide variety of modalities such as athletic and Kinesio taping, soft tissue mobilization, myofascial release, ice therapy, craniosacral therapy, cupping, friction rubs, muscle energy stretching, naturopathic joint manipulations, and referral to acupuncture to help treat the athletes. In addition to practicing these modalities, the students refined their history taking, physical/orthopedic examination skills, and neurological assessment of concussions whilst working as a team to provide effective and efficient medical care.
BSMC also had the opportunity to work alongside the Bastyr TCM Sports Medicine club, supervised by Dr. Grace Chang ND, LAc, Dr. Tom Yang ND, LAc, and Dr. Anh Ngoc Le ND, LAc, providing traditional Chinese medicine to the players. Overall, everyone demonstrated professionalism and collaborated with each other to ensure the event ran smoothly and the athletes received the best care we could offer.
BSMC would like to extend a huge thank-you to all the supervising physicians and practitioners for taking time out of their busy schedules to provide an educational opportunity for the students to practice clinical skills in real life scenarios. Special thanks must also be given to Jim Clavadetscher, ECC event organizer, for again inviting us to attend the tournament, Kinesio for providing Kinesio tape and Blake Morgan from Integrative Therapeutics for providing information and samples to the parents and coaches. Once again, we are so grateful and look forward to participating in the ECC tournament next year!
2018 Seattle Marathon
Sunday, November 25, 2018 was a beautiful day to be running and volunteering at the Seattle Marathon. This was the 13th year that Bastyr Sports Medicine Club (BSMC) and Bastyr’s Acupuncture Sports Medicine Club provided complementary treatment to athletes at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall near the race’s finish line. This was BSMC’s 1st year volunteering at the Seattle Marathon Expo held on Friday, November 23 and Saturday, November 24. Students were able to attend and learn more about marketing and pre-race treatments with doctors from Integrative Medicine Group (IMG).
The Bastyr clubs provided a unique model at the marathon with the integration of naturopathic medicine and acupuncture. BSMC members used a variety of modalities in their treatments, including muscle energy stretching, Tui Na, soft tissue mobilization, kinesio taping, craniosacral therapy and naturopathic manipulation to treat over 100 runners. Students with varying levels of education worked in small pods at the event. Students in their 3rd or 4th years of education were primaries at the event, and were able to practice their intake skills and orthopedic exams, while others in their 2nd and 1st year observed and assisted them. The pods were overseen by the supervising doctors of IMG, which provided an opportunity for members to ask questions and improve their skills.
Thank you to all of the students who participated in the event this year. Special thanks to our sponsor Integrative Medicine Group and the supervising doctors, Dr. Masa Takakura ND, LAc, DC, CKTI, Dr. Calvin Kwan ND, CKTI, Dr. Tom Yang ND, LAc, LMP and Dr. Jessica Norton ND, LAc for donating their time and sharing their knowledge. Thank you to Kinesio Taping Association International for their donations and support! We’d also like to extend a big thank you to Lydia Kwan and Kristen Williams LAc, who both ran the front desk and kept everything organized. Overall, we had another great experience at the Seattle Marathon, and look forward to volunteering next year!
Quotes from volunteers this year:
Megan Roark, a BSMC leader, commented, “It was nice to see athletes that we treated in previous years come back because they appreciated and enjoyed the medicine we were able to provide them. We were happy to hear that the athletes were interested in seeing a naturopathic doctor outside of this event.”
Dr. Jessica Norton commented, “It was an awesome experience to be able to return to the marathon this year as one of the supervising doctors. Being able to share what I've learned through the years with the students is a humbling and enriching experience. We always learn a lot by working with the runners and look forward to next year.”
Dr. Tom Yang remarked, “ It was great to integrate different modalities to help the runners in their recovery and it was inspiring to see the ND and acupuncture students working seamlessly as an integrated team.”
2019 Dakine Beach Volleyball
On May 18-19, 2019, Integrative Medicine Group sponsored the Bastyr Sports Medicine Club at the DaKine Beach Volleyball Tournament at Alki Beach in West Seattle. This was a beach doubles tournament, and had divisions consisting of women’s AA, coed A, U14 juniors, and U12 juniors. The Bastyr Sports Medicine Club members that attended the event included: Raymond Chao, Veronica Neumann, Aimee Kisiachi, and Chelsea Mikula. This was the club’s first year volunteering with the DaKine Volleyball Club, and the club was happy to play a role at such a lively event.
The Bastyr Sports Medicine Club was the only first aid and medical team for the event, and the members were supervised by Dr. Darci Davis, ND, Dr. Yang, ND, LAc and Dr. Jessica Norton, ND, LAc. Students encountered shoulder and knee injuries, sprained ankles and wrists, back pain, and various other injuries. The sandy nature of the tournament challenged the students to modify their treatments to better support the athletes. The students used Kinesio taping, soft tissue mobilization, joint manipulation, cupping, muscle energy stretching, and athletic taping as treatment modalities.
The Bastyr Sports Medicine Club would like to thank Dr. Darci Davis, Dr. Yang ND, LAc and Dr. Jessica Norton for supervising the student club members, and for improving our sports medicine skills. We’d also like to thank Integrative Medicine Group for their sponsorship, and Kinesiotaping Association for their Kinesio tape donation. Thanks to Christie Plaksy, assistant club director and director of programming, and other DaKine event organizers for reaching out
to us and arranging such a remarkable event. The Bastyr Sports Medicine Club enjoyed practicing their skills at the beach volleyball tournament, and look forward to volunteering at future DaKine volleyball events!
2019Emerald City Classic Volleyball Tournament
Over the 2019 Memorial Day weekend, Bastyr Sports Medicine Club (BSMC) volunteered at the 33rd annual Emerald City Classic (ECC) Volleyball Tournament for the 9th consecutive year. The tournament hosted 192 teams with over 1,000 athletes from across the United States and Canada. The tournament was held at the University of Washington, and had open and club divisions with athletes ranging from 14-18 years of age. The Bastyr Sports Medicine Club worked with the Traditional Chinese Medicine Sports Medicine Club (TCMSMC) to treat over 450 athletes throughout the weekend. This year, the BSMC served as the tournament first aid and emergency medical team.
The BSMC students that attended the event included: Raymond Chao, Yelena Novik, Megan Roark, Aimee Kisaichi, Veronica Neumann, Chelsea Mikula, Payton Robertson, Nikol Wells, Andrew Dablaing, Katie DiNello, Paula Mader, Keith Dickson, and Victoria Lofdahl. TCMSMC students that attended the event included: Kay Uribe, Jiazhen Li, Yun Xiao, Sharon Blaney, Zoe Lai, Phuong Thach, and Jeffrey Wong. All students received extra training in SafeSport athlete protection before the tournament, while some students received additional training in emergency sports medicine in preparation. The students were supervised by Dr. Tom Yang, ND, LAc, LMP, Dr. Ashok Bhandari, ND, MS(Ayr), Dr. Masahiro Takakura, ND, LAc, DC, Dr. Jessica Norton, ND, LAc, and Dr. Darci Davis, ND.
This was the first year American Naturopathic Board of Sports Physicians (ANBSP) invited students from other Naturopathic Medicine Schools to this event. Bastyr University California, Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine, and National University of Naturopathic Medicine all came together to practice their skills and learn from the Integrative Medicine Group’s doctors listed above. These students included: Happy Uppal (BUC), Mary Buse (Boucher), Morgan Woods (BUC), Tanelle Westgard (Boucher), Elaine McHugh (BUC), Larissa van As (Boucher) and James Lee (NUNM).
The students appreciated volunteering at the ECC Volleyball Tournament, it offered them an opportunity to apply what they have learned along with practicing their clinical skills in an acute setting. The ECC volleyball tournament was a great way to practice acute history taking, focused assessment, and effective treatment. The students utilized Kinesio taping, cupping, soft tissue manipulation, joint mobilization, muscle energy stretching, athletic taping, pelvic blocking, and acupuncture to help athletes. This year, the students performed a notable amount of concussion assessments, and a handful of imaging referrals. The BSMC and TCMSMC worked together to provide integrative care to the athletes and made referrals when appropriate.
Another notable aspect of the ECC Volleyball Tournament this year was that Integrative Medicine Group also conducted research on Manual Directional Tissue Testing along with separate research for concussion assessments.
The Bastyr Sports Medicine Club would like to extend a huge thank you to Integrative Medicine Group’s supervising doctors for taking the time to share their expertise. We would also like to extend our appreciation to Kinesio Taping Association for their generous donation of Kinesio Tape. Thanks to Jim Clavadetscher and the rest of ECC’s volunteers for arranging such an exceptional event, and for donating a total of 4000 hours to make ECC run efficiently. The BSMC had a remarkable experience at this year’s ECC Volleyball Tournament. We were happy to take on more responsibility working as emergency medical staff, and we had great pleasure in working with students from various naturopathic medical schools. We hope to keep growing as a club, and we look forward to volunteering at ECC next year!
2019 Spikefest Charity Grass Volleyball Tournament
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, 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 Acupuncture 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!
2019 Seattle Marathon
On December 1, 2019, for the fourteenth consecutive year, the volunteers from various organization were qualified through American Naturopathic Board of Sports Physicians (ANBSP) and Acupuncture Sports Medicine Associates (ASMA) to provide physical medicine and acupuncture care under the supervision of physicians from Integrative Medicine Group (IMG) at the 50th Seattle Marathon. Those members of ANBSP and ASMA are from Bastyr Sports Medicine Club and Traditional Chinese Sports Medicine Club both of which come from Bastyr Kenmore, Bastyr San Diego, and Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine, Canada. IMG physicians and volunteers treated 160 athletes providing acupuncture, cupping, gua sha, physical medicine modalities including: soft tissue release, muscle energy stretching, Kinesio Taping, and naturopathic manipulation.
Megan, one of the co-captains of the BSMC stated, “This is my 5th Seattle Marathon as a student volunteer, and every year I get to incorporate new treatments I have learned while in school. Particularly this year I enjoyed getting to support and teach skills to the other ND students in attendance.”
Taylor Vigneault, a first-year naturopathic medical student stated, “I really enjoyed the opportunity to connect with runners and aid in their recovery post-race. I enjoyed educating them on how to take care of themselves at home with proper use of foam rollers, at home stretching, and Epsom salt baths for muscles!”
Special thanks to IMG physicians: Masahiro Takakura ND, DC, LAc, Darci Davis, ND, Tom Yang ND, LAc, LMP, Jessica Norton, ND, LAc, and Sharon Blaney, LAc, Kinesio Taping International, Bastyr University, and Hannah Arbach for their commitment to fostering community relationships, supporting student learning and providing comprehensive and integrative medical services.
2021 Seattle Marathon
Dr. Veronica Neumann and Dr. Aimee Kisaichi from NCIC/SNCC volunteered at the Seattle Marathon that took place on November 28, 2021. This was the fifteenth-year our doctors have participated.
This year was particularly remarkable because of Covid and there was a new race course and treatment environment. The new course allowed for proper COVID-19 protocols where runners could spread out. All vendors and services were located outside this year, and doctors were stationed in the tents near the finish line at Gas Works Park.
Volunteers physicians included Dr. Veronica Neumann, Dr. Aimee Kisaichi, Dr. Tom Yang, and Bastyr student volunteer, Xavier Aponte. Volunteers utilized Kinesio Taping, acupuncture/dry needling, soft tissue release, muscle energy stretching, spinal manipulation, and more.
This was Dr. Veronica Neumann’s fifth year volunteering at the marathon. She stated, “It was impressive to see so much adaptability at the marathon- from runners, staff, and volunteers. The weather was windy, cold, and rainy, but that didn’t stop people from pushing forward.”
It was also Dr. Aimee Kisaichi’s fifth year volunteering at the marathon. She commented, “After a year hiatus, it was great to see so many athletes show up to the event.”
Special thank you to the Seattle Marathon for coordinating the event and inviting us back. Also, a big thank you to Kinesio Taping International for the Kinesio Tape donation. We look forward to next year!
2022 Emerald City Volleyball Classics
The Bastyr Sports Medicine Club worked together with Integrative Medicine Group (www.integrativemedicinegroup.org) at the 2022 Emerald City Volleyball Class Tournament over Memorial Day weekend on May 28, 29, and 30.
We saw close to one-hundred athletes for treatments. Treatments included concussion assessment and management, fracture and dislocated small joints assessment and management, management of hypoglycemia, prevention with athletic taping, kinesio taping, soft tissue release, joint manipulation, and counseling.
Dr. Darci Davis and Dr. Aimee Kisaichi were medical directors at this event. Sharon Blaney LAc, LMT, and Dr Megan Roark also helped the event. They have extra training through American Naturopathic Board of Sports Physicians (www.anbsp.org) to assess and manage sports related medical conditions. They assess not only injuries but also metabolic and mental issues. There were 5 students that volunteered at the event: Tara Singh, Ashley Scharbach, Tom Hatch, Amie Kim and Nikol Wells. As quoted from interim President of Bastyr Sports Medicine Club, Tom Hatch (ND class 2022):
“Volunteering at the first aid tent with the Bastyr Sports Medicine Club and Integrative Medicine Group was a fun, intense, and highly educational experience. The doctors and students brought enthusiastic and caring energy to the event and met all athletes, coaches, and parents, with exemplary knowledge and compassion. Our cohesive, team-centered approach allowed us to weather the long hours and thrive in the ever-changing dynamics of the tournament. The doctors were excellent about providing lots of teaching moments and taking charge of the difficult situations that came up. I learned a ton about first aid, especially concussion and fracture/ sprain management, and athletic and kinesio taping for athletic performance. This was one of the most fun medical experiences I've had and I can't wait to volunteer again next year.”
We, as naturopathic practitioners, were able to provide comprehensive care to the athletes in hopes of making this tournament a safe and successful event. We appreciate the University of Washington and tournament directors for allowing us this opportunity and look forward to next year.
2022 Seattle Marathon
Dr. Veronica Neumann and Dr. Tom Hatch from NCIC/SNCC volunteered at the Seattle Marathon that took place on November 27, 2022. This was the sixteen-year our doctors have participated.
This year was particularly remarkable because of Covid and there was a new race course and treatment environment. The new course allowed for proper COVID-19 protocols where runners could spread out. All vendors and services were located outside this year, and doctors were stationed in the tents near the finish line at Gas Works Park.
Volunteers physicians included Dr. Veronica Neumann, and Dr Tom Hatch, and Bastyr student volunteer, Devin McKee. Volunteers utilized Kinesio Taping, acupuncture/dry needling, soft tissue release, muscle energy stretching, spinal manipulation, and more.
This was Dr. Veronica Neumann’s sixth year volunteering at the marathon. She stated, “It was impressive to see so much adaptability at the marathon- from runners, staff, and volunteers. The weather was windy, cold, and rainy, but that didn’t stop people from pushing forward.”
It was also Dr. Tom Hatch's second year volunteering at the marathon. She commented, “After a year hiatus, it was great to see so many athletes show up to the event.”
2023 Emerald City Volleyball Classics
The Bastyr Sports Medicine Club worked together with Integrative Medicine Group (www.integrativemedicinegroup.org) at the 2023 Emerald City Volleyball Class Tournament over Memorial Day weekend on May 27, 28, and 29.
We saw close to one-hundred athletes for treatments. Treatments included concussion assessment and management, fracture and dislocated small joints assessment and management, management of hypoglycemia, prevention with athletic taping, kinesio taping, soft tissue release, joint manipulation, and counseling.
Dr. Masahiro Takakura, Dr. Aimee Kisaichi and Dr Tom Hatch were medical directors at this event. and helped the event. They have extra training through American Naturopathic Board of Sports Physicians (www.anbsp.org) to assess and manage sports related medical conditions. They assess not only injuries but also metabolic and mental issues. There were 5 students that volunteered at the event: Devin McKee, Amie Kim and Nikol Wells.
“Volunteering at the first aid tent with the Bastyr Sports Medicine Club and Integrative Medicine Group was a fun, intense, and highly educational experience. The doctors and students brought enthusiastic and caring energy to the event and met all athletes, coaches, and parents, with exemplary knowledge and compassion. Our cohesive, team-centered approach allowed us to weather the long hours and thrive in the ever-changing dynamics of the tournament. The doctors were excellent about providing lots of teaching moments and taking charge of the difficult situations that came up. I learned a ton about first aid, especially concussion and fracture/ sprain management, and athletic and kinesio taping for athletic performance. This was one of the most fun medical experiences I've had and I can't wait to volunteer again next year.”
We, as naturopathic practitioners, were able to provide comprehensive care to the athletes in hopes of making this tournament a safe and successful event. We appreciate the University of Washington and tournament directors for allowing us this opportunity and look forward to next year.