Chiropractic Sports Medicine

Chiropractic Sports Medicine

The relationship between chiropractic and sport-specific needs is growing in leaps and bounds.  Now there are many NFL football teams who have hired doctors of chiropractic to serve a critical role as a natural health care provider for athletes at this level.  At the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, chiropractic care was the most requested form of health care by athletes at this venue.  Many professional, college and high school athletic programs utilize chiropractic care as a primary component in serving their athletes.  The reason is simple: athletes are benefiting from this form of natural care and are more frequently requesting it! Some athletes benefit from chiropractic care due to specific injuries they have experienced.  Others have pain complaints that interfere with their performance ability and have not responded successfully to other interventions.  And there are those who use chiropractic care on a regular basis to reduce the likelihood for musculoskeletal injuries, to recover more quickly after experiencing stressors associated with sports competition and to improve their performance potential. Although research in this area has not been extensively addressed, anecdotal evidence, primarily from the athlete's perspective, strongly suggests that this form of health care will continue to be more favorably embraced. Doctors of chiropractic have the option to pursue additional training in chiropractic sports medicine. Those with one year of additional training earn the credential “Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician”, or CCSP, and those who pursue an additional five to seven years of study earn the credential “Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physician”, or DACBSP.  Dr. David Stude has earned the DACBSP credential and has served as team doctor for many national and international events, including, for example, World Cup Speed skating, Ironman World Championships, World Powerlifting Championships, National Taekwondo Championships, International Special Olympics, and the Junior Olympic Games.
 
Below is a small example of some athletes who have used chiropractic care*:
 
Baseball: Ryne Sandberg, Brett Butler, Roberto Clemente, Jeff Reardon, Don Sutton.
 
Bodybuilders: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Colombo, DC.
Boxers: Evander Holyfield, Rocky Marciano, Jack Dempsey.
 
Football: Joe Montana, Ricky Bell, Emmitt Smith, Alex Karras, Mark Mays.
 
Tennis: Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Tracy Austin.
Golf: Tiger Woods, Jan Stephanson, Amy Alcott, Donna White, Kim Bauer.
 
Olympic athletes: Mary Lou Retton (gymnastics), Bruce Jenner (decathlon), Dan O'Brien (decathlon), Dwight Stones (high jump), Suzy Chaffee (skiing).
 
* Chiropractic First, Terry A. Rondberg; The Chiropractic Journal     (Copyright 1998); ISBN: 0-9647168-2-8.
 
“I would estimate that in excess of 90% of all world-class athletes use chiropractic care to prevent injuries and to increase their performance potential”.
Sean Atkins, Ph.D.; Exercise Physiologist.