Víctor Olivares Ibarra, Chile
Hello!
It is an honor to address your esteemed organization. I am extremely pleased to write these lines because I feel a great enthusiasm at having the possibility of being part of IFSPT. I'm going to tell you about myself. My professional career began in 1986, when I began my Physical Education studies at the Universidad of Playa Ancha in Valparaíso, located 100 km from the capital city, Santiago de Chile. In my 5 years of university career undergraduate, I never stopped developing myself into issues related to health, exercise, injuries and their recovery process. This obsession let me began my studies in Physical Therapy 2 months after finishing my Physical Education degree. They were 10 years of truly enriching university life.
From 1990 to the present, I have worked as a trainer and physio, mixing both careers as a comprehensive approach when addressing sports and musculoskeletal health issues through exercise and training. Since 1997, I have had my own private practice within sports facilities.
Regarding my experience in organizations, I was a member of the board of the Chilean Society of Sports Medicine (www.sochmedep.cl) for 10 consecutive years (1996-2006) holding various positions on the board. This organization is the second oldest Sports Medicine Society in Latin America and has held its 66th Congress in 2021. The society brings together professionals from different disciplines, such as doctors, physios, Physical Education teachers, trainers and nutritionists, among others. After leaving the board of SOCHMEDEP, I had the idea of creating a sports physical therapy society, and in 2008 the Chilean Society of Physical Therapy in Sports, SOKIDE (www.sokide.cl) was born. Together with 7 other sports physios, we gave shape to this wonderful project, and our society quickly generated interest and participation both nationally and in international relations with sister societies, such as AKD from Argentina and SONAFE from Brazil.
In 2010, we organized our first congress, which was well attended by 400 people, and we invited our colleagues from Argentina and Brazil, something that has become a tradition in subsequent congresses, with great participation and excellent results. Since then, SOKIDE has actively participated in the official recognition of our specialty by the Chilean Ministry of Health thanks to a joint effort with the Chilean School of Physiotherapy (union entity that brings together all physiotherapy specialties in the country). These actions will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the work and professional development of the future of physiotherapy in our country. Before the existence of SOKIDE, there were no officially recognized physios as specialists in this area in Chile. For this reason, I am proud to say that I am one of the first 5 sports physios in the country recognized by our colleagues, obtaining my specialty in 2016 in a ceremony organized by the Chilean School of Physiotherapy. Another organization in which I participated, in 2018, I was proposed as an advisor to the Chilean Ministry of Sport in the area of science, and I have held this position to date, forming part of work groups on COVID and sports in the middle of the pandemic as in other advisory bodies.
In the clinical field, I have worked in various sports and disciplines, such as soccer, roller hockey, volleyball, running, rugby, etc. In addition, I have been active in teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the field of sports at various university and institutions in Santiago and other regions of the country, both in theory and in clinical practice, since the year 2000. My main professional strength lies in the clinical resolution of musculoskeletal and sports health problems, as well as the teaching of these topics through countless of my own courses that I have taught since 2011 both in Chile and in Latin America.
I wish to offer my experience to the IFSPT because I believe that my career, which began in 1996 in national and international trade organizations as well as in politics (Ministry of Sport) has given me a deep understanding of teamwork to achieve goals that will benefit future generations of physical therapists in sport. This will undoubtedly be a great challenge. It is precisely these types of challenges that motivate me to continue advancing and collaborating. It would be a very significant boost for our specialty if our country, for the first time, has a representative in such an important institution worldwide, thus paving the way for the new generations. From a country as far away as ours, we will show that we can participate in large projects and live up to the highest international standards in our field of action.
At SOKIDE, I currently hold the position of Director of International Affairs, appointed thanks to my international experience that has transcended Latin American borders. On the other hand, my career in both the clinical and educational fields has allowed me to be a nationally and internationally recognized professional in my area. Both situations can be positive elements for dissemination and generate greater participation at the national and international level, as well as to integrate new countries with which I have had contact, in order to help consolidate the societies already participating in the IFSPT and to create and promote the growth of their own sports physiotherapy societies in Latin America, as is the case of Costa Rica and Paraguay, which are in the process of being created.
Finally, I would like to thank you for this opportunity to participate and share with you the great enthusiasm that we feel at SOKIDE at having the possibility of being part of such a prestigious institution.
A cordial greeting to all!