147. Constant Growth with Las Vegas Aces Head Athletic Trainer and Physical Therapist Michelle Anumba

147. Constant Growth with Las Vegas Aces Head Athletic Trainer and Physical Therapist Michelle Anumba

 

 

Introducing Michelle Anumba

Today I’m talking to Las Vegas Aces’ Head Athletic Trainer and Physical Therapist Dr. Michelle Anumba about constant growth.

Her Career Journey

Michelle earned her BS in evolutionary anthropology from Duke where she was an All-American shot putter and competed in the 2012 Olympic Trials. She went on to earn her DPT, also from Duke, before completing a residency in sports physical therapy at Texas Health Resources. Additionally, she received her MS in athletic training from the University of Texas at Arlington. She was hired to be the head physical therapist and athletic trainer for the WNBA Las Vegas Aces.

Constant Growth

Michelle’s interest in sports medicine came from her experience rehabbing an ACL injury in college and thinking about what injuries could be prevented with proper education and training. Her mission is to keep her athletes healthy by figuring out what they need and learning how to address it. During the WNBA off-season, she takes a moment to check in and think about what injury patterns she was seeing. This type of constant growth has allowed Michelle to stay true to her mission while allowing her to wear many hats within the system of a WNBA team.

Inside this episode:

  • Michelle’s initial interest in sports medicine began as a college athlete rehabbing an ACL injury. She began thinking that many injuries could be prevented if athletes knew what to do before things went wrong.
  • During her sports physical therapy residency, Michelle worked within the TCU training room with athletes and loved the multi-disciplinary model of college and professional athletics. She saw the incredible benefits when an athlete could address the underlying fears with a psychologist that kept them from using their full range of motion in the rehab process. 
  • When she decided to get her Athletic Training degree, there was no guarantee that this would lead to a better job. It paid off, however, as working in the WNBA requires many roles from just a handful of people. Michelle also appreciates how both the AT and PT approaches help her consider injuries in the short and long term.
  • Without the benefit of a training room full of colleagues that she would have found as a collegiate PT, Michelle has built a network of her professors and former classmates to bounce ideas off of.
  • Michelle is careful about letting her need for growth keep her from feeling like she’s doing a good job. Finding that balance and living in the moment has been key.

Resources

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