ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL SOMERSET PHYSICAL THERAPIST HEADS TO TORONTO FOR THE 2015 PAN AMERICAN GAMES

Edison Au, a sports physical therapist for Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, is heading to Toronto, Canada for the XVII Pan American Games. From July 11 to 27, Au, of Warren, will serve as the Lead Medical Practitioner for boxing, working at the Oshawa Sports Centre for competitions and the Athletes’ Village for training sessions. He will also work with other world-class athletes in the Polyclinic.

The Pan American Games are one of the largest multisport competitions in the Americas, which are held every four years in the year before the summer Olympics. To date, the 2015 Toronto Pan American Games will be the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in Canada. A typical day for Au might involve orientating international team therapists to the medical services and facilities available, acquiring medical and therapy supplies, pre-practice taping or treatment, responding to in-the-ring injuries, evaluating and treating boxers’ chronic and/or acute ailments, pre/post-event massage and treatment, and anything else that could possibly assist the athletes in optimizing their performance.

Au says, “I look forward to reconnecting with my sports medicine colleagues in Toronto, where I went to college for physical therapy and where my career began.”Au also worked for five years at the University of Toronto where he was the head therapist for the university’s varsity wrestling and men’s ice hockey teams. He spent a few seasons with men’s rugby and both the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams. In addition, Au was an appointed clinical lecturer at the university, prior to his move back to the United States in 2004.

“Similar to how athletes strive to reach higher levels of competition, the therapists who take care of them also compete to work alongside them,” Au says. “It is a thrill and an honor for me to be selected to go to the Pan American Games. I enjoy working with these elite athletes and helping them achieve their lifelong goals.”

Au is no stranger to international multisport competitions; he has been a therapist at the Maccabi Games in both Israel (2001 Worlds) and in Chile (2003 Pan Ams), the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. Additionally, Au was the chief therapist for the 2003 Canadian Open Paralympic Championships as well as the 2007 ParaPan American Games in Rio, Brazil.

Au has also worked with various Canadian national teams (wrestling, rugby, athletics) which has allowed him to travel all over North America and internationally to places like Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Spain, and Finland.

At Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset’s Sports Physical Therapy and Performance Center, Au treats patients with orthopaedic and sports injuries. Au has almost two decades of experience working with professional, Olympic, and national team athletes as well as many NCAA Division I football, basketball, lacrosse and soccer players.

“Having played 20 years of competitive rugby, I can relate to athletes with almost any injury and understand the demands and pressures that they are under,” he says.

Au graduated from the University of Toronto and Queen’s University, where he played varsity rugby. He is a board-certified clinical specialist in both Orthopaedics and Sports Physical Therapy and has his diploma in sports physiotherapy. Prior to moving to New Jersey, Au lived in the Washington DC area and worked for four years with Washington Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, the physician group that has been the team doctors for the Washington Wizards, Capitals, and Nationals for over 20 years. While there, he was a physical therapy consultant for the Washington Nationals baseball team. He was also the head therapist for the Potomac Athletic Club of the US Rugby Super League for four years as well as the DC-area medical coordinator for USA Rugby.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset Sports Physical Therapy and Performance Center offers comprehensive services to help athletes of all ages and abilities gain an extra edge on their opponents while keeping them healthy. The center provides several unique services that are tailored for recreational, high school, collegiate, and professional athletes such as functional movement screening, speed and agility training, strength and conditioning, one-on-one group training and rehabilitation services. For more information about Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset’s Sports Physical Therapy and Performance Center, please visit www.rwjuh.edu/sportsmedicine or call 1-855-SPRTS-MED (1-855-777-8763).