SAQ® IN IRAQ

Introduction

I was recently detached to the British Military Hospital based in Basra, Iraq.  I worked as a Royal Air Force Remedial Instructor under the guidance of hospital staff, principally three British Army Physiotherapists.  The main task of my job was to design and implement programmes enabling injured Servicemen to recover and stay in Iraq.  I was deployed from 1 November 2008 to 3 March 2009.

The main conditions I dealt with were lower limb and back injuries.  For all patients we performed late stage rehabilitation work including SAQ® drills.  The drills formed the main part of the patients work once their condition had improved to allow running.  Each session would be made up of drills involving the SAQ® equipment, starting from the warm up through to complex movements. 

Findings                

For the work based project I performed 2 x 4 week programmes on patients.  The patients started with basic drills before moving onto more specific work, each one had an assessment in Strength, Power and Balance, pre and post their programme.  I conducted two objective tests which produced excellent results based on the SAQ® work.  The tests were a triple hop test which resulted in an average of 70cm improvement per leg and a single leg balance test which resulted in a 2 sec improvement per leg.  Both results indicated improvement, especially the strength test and all the training was based on returning the patient to full fitness.

Conclusion

SAQ® forms an essential part of any Service person’s rehabilitation from injury.  The principles behind SAQ® are very similar to those used in all of the stages of rehabilitation developing from the very early stages of performing walking skills through the late stages of running, turning and reacting.  All RAF Physical Training Instructors are trained in the principles and I would recommend the course to anyone involved in rehabilitation.  My findings show that SAQ® can be used anytime and anywhere in the world and also proves that with minimal equipment you can achieve excellent results regardless of the conditions.

Tommo Thompson

RAF Odiham 

"SAQ has become a valued part of our strategy for bringing the military into contact with young people in education. To be able to deliver a physical education programme that is not only easy to learn how to coach, but fires the imagination of those receiving the training is a real bonus. Because premier sports teams use the system the package already has credibility in the eyes of the students. The Army itself is begnning to recognise the benefits of SAQ as a training tool, not only for sports but also for progressive training to allow recruits to achieve the demanding fitness targets of basic training. Overall having used the equipment for a year now there is nothing but praise coming back from the teams employing it in schools and colleges." 

Chris Chudleigh - Army Careers Advisor