Maialen Araolaza, a physiotherapist for the Spanish national handball team, which recently won the world championships for the second time, teaches in the UIC physiotherapy degree programme.
Araolaza is responsible for working on the handball
team's physical recovery, leading warm-ups, taping the athletes before training
sessions and matches, doing manual therapy and specific work, as well as
providing individual treatment for athletes with injuries.
According to Araolaza, these handball players “have a
great mental attitude. They work as a team and are simple, humble people who
work hard without complaining and have a lot of stamina. They're used to
getting hit often”.
Prof. Araolaza is a former athlete and handball player.
She was also an official physiotherapist for the field hockey team at the
Athens Olympics in 2004 and at the Joaquín
Blume hall of residence for top athletes. In 2011,
she also led Pilates classes at the academy for the TV programme Operación Triunfo,
the Spanish version of Star Academy.
