PRESS RELEASE
TCI Sports Commission Sports Performance Center partners with Grace Bay Medical
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, May 9, 2024 – Taking the initiative to prevent injuries and increase the progressive health of Turks and Caicos athletes, the TCI Sports Commission has partnered with Grace Bay Medical. National athletes are permitted each week to visit the Sports Performance Center to see Dr. Joanna Bowden, who will monitor and assess athletes’ injuries and overall health.
Dr. Bowden who has over 15 years experience in medicine, shares, “I’m undertaking a Masters in Sports and Exercise Medicine and I wanted to offer the Sports Commission and the local athletic population some of the things I’ve been learning and so that I can assist the development of athletes’ health, injury prevention, and recovery”. Dr. Bowden is also an ICIR Level 2 qualified General practitioner and a Matchday doctor.
L-R: Head of Sports Performance Angelo Garland M.Sc, CSCS, PES and Dr. Joanna Bowden MBchB, MRCGP, DRCOG
Sharing the progress thus far Dr. Bowden further states, “We will be doing this for the next months and so far I’ve been seeing athletes who are taking part in national competitions and CARIFTA which has been very interesting for me. I see people regularly who injure themselves at work and sometimes through recreational sports and I want to offer my knowledge and skills to people who are taking part in national programmes.”
The Head of Sports Performance at the TCISC Angelo Garland relayed that once Dr Jo analyses the athletes, if they need special treatment that information gets relayed to them.
He further explains, “If Athlete A has a weakness in their quad muscles she will diagnose that and then we will be able to individualise our programs so Athlete A will receive extra work on their problem area and this gives us better information on how to train our athletes. I think this is a good push forward for the Sports Performance Center and the Turks and Caicos. This is something that even myself and other former athletes did not have so this is a good way to track athletes’ progress to injury rehab and prehab.”
The Sports Performance Center currently trains hundreds of athletes, with coaches certified in Strength and Conditioning, Performance Enhancement, Rehabilitation, Nutrition, and Personal Training. Recently the department has advanced after acquiring equipment including Normatec, Plyomat, and an athletic database system. This system keeps track of all athletes’ data and charts their biometric and athletic performance. The center’s key purpose is to offer sports performance training to all National athletes who are registered with the center.
END