Owner/Head Coach Sportmed
Name: Serge F. Arsenault, B.Sc.PT
Hometown: Moncton, New Brunswick
Position:
- Physiotherapist
- Owner of Sportmed Physiotherapy
Accreditations:
- Health Sciences Diploma, Université de Moncton (U de M)
- Bachelor of Health Sciences, Physiotherapy (B.Sc.PT), Université Laval
Post-Degree Certification:
- Selective Functional Movement Assessment – Advanced
- Functional Movement Screen Level II
- E2 and V2 Manual Therapy
- Shirley Sarhmann Advanced
- Acupuncture Level 1
- Mulligan Concept, Upper and Lower Quadrant certifications
- Advanced Physical Therapy Lumbo-Pelvic Complex Certification
- Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization – Level A
- Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization – Level B
- Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization – Level C
- Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization – Shoulder Girdle
- Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization – Exercise
- Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) Medical Professional Level 3 (course)
- World Golf Fitness Summit – Carlsbad, California
- Vestibular Rehabilitation Introduction – for balance, dizziness and vertigo issues.
What the Sportmed team says about Serge:
- “Serge genuinely cares about us (his staff). He’s empathetic and wants to make sure everyone has what they need and that we are happy.”
- “I love working for Serge. He’s very understanding and he really cares if something is not going right. He wants the best for every one of us (his employees). I’ve known Serge since 2002 and he has become like family to me.”
- “Serge is reflective, talkative, attentive, thoughtful, and a respectful person and boss.”
- “He’s capable of analyzing and making decisions.”
- “He’s caring, compassionate and wants us all to reach our personal work goals. He wants us to go in the direction that we are passionate about.”
- “Serge gives everybody the chance to better themselves and will do what he can to help that person in the process. He has definitely done that for me.”
- “I really don’t know how Serge does it but he never stops thinking about the clinic. He works harder then all of us put together. He always sees the big picture.”
- “He’s really a good boss, always there to listen to us if we need him.”
- “He’s so understanding, he’s the first person to make you feel part of the group. If it’s important to you, it’s important to him. He’s the owner but our opinion and keeping us informed on the progress and development of the clinic is important to him.”
“So you’re ‘THE Guy’ behind Sportmed Physiotherapy”
“Well, if you’re asking if I’m the owner, then yes, that’s me. But as for being THE Guy? I’m more like the head coach.
Every single member of our team brings a special energy and skill to the clinic. Sportmed is doing great things because of this team.”
“Why did you get into physiotherapy?”
“I had back problems in junior high school. Waaay back; summer of ‘92. We were playing our daily game of pickup baseball and I vividly remember my back going into spasms that were so painful, I had to stop playing.
This was the first of many spasms. I was heading into high school and the doctor prescribed a back brace. What a humiliating thing to have to wear heading into a new school and trying to fit in. It was the physiotherapist at the U de M clinic who helped fix me and that was the catalyst to my career into physiotherapy.”
“Did you work at Sportmed before you became the owner?”
“Actually, yes. I worked here 2000 to 2008 as an employee before having the opportunity to buy the clinic. While I was finishing my degree at Université Laval, I knew that I really wanted to work at Sportmed in Moncton.
So a few months before I graduated I contacted the owner who told me that there might be a position opening up. Lucky for me, they had a physiotherapist leaving to work in the USA. I applied, and the rest is history. As ‘they’ say, timing is everything.”
“You wanted to work in Moncton?”
“As Paul Brandt sings It’s where I come from and it’s who I am.”
“You had a bad back. Have you had any other ‘interesting’ injuries?”
“Oh yes. August 1, 2010, I attempted, quite unsuccessfully, to waterski for the first time in my life. What a catastrophe that was!I literally kicked myself in the shoulder. That’s right – I kicked myself in the shoulder. Hyperextended and dislocated my knee. Broke it in three places and had multiple ligament tears. ACL and PCL. I had to undergo surgery to repair some of the fractures. I’ve yet to have the ligaments repaired.
It ended up being one of those bad news/good news stories. The injury forced me off work for a year but after some healing had taken place, I was able to pursue a couple of very intriguing courses involving leading-edge methods of working with human movement patterns. It was such an ah-ha moment for me that I sent my whole team off to learn and become certified. It’s really put a spark into our practice.”
“Sportmed Physiotherapy is in CEPS Louis-J.-Robichaud, Centre for Health and Wellness, located on the Université de Moncton campus. Are you involved with the university?”
“Sportmed is privately owned but we are affiliated with the university.
We work with U de M’s sports teams; our physiotherapists are hands-on getting the players back in the game after they’ve been injured.
On the research front, U de M has involved us in some really important fieldwork that they’re doing. We’re really pumped about being associated with such cutting-edge work.
And, of course, there are the students. We run a “Student Trainer” program for U de M and some of these students work with us in the clinic. We keep our eyes open. One or more of these young adults may very well be the next member(s) of our team.”
“You mentioned baseball. Are you still active in sports?”
“I gave up baseball, but I still lace up the skates for hockey and hit the golf course as much as I can. I tried water skiing but I won’t be doing that again!”
“And you’re a sports fan?”
“Oh yes! Of course, I follow the Aigles Bleus.
As for the big leagues, I’m a huge New England Patriots fan. The Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Blue Jays are my other teams. Love to watch the golf majors too.”
“Do you volunteer outside the clinic?”
“Absolutely. We all do. I like to stay involved with athletes, so I frequently volunteer at sporting events. There’s a long list, but some of the more recent ones are:
- World U18 Track and field Championship, Moncton 2010
- Chief Physiotherapist at Skate Canada – Moncton 2012
- Canadian Track and Field Championships, Moncton 2013,
- Uteck Bowl medical coverage in 2011, and of course Université de Moncton and Atlantic University Sport events
- Chief Physiotherapist for the 2014 FIFA Women’s Under 20 World Cup (Moncton)
