Posts Tagged ‘athletes and chiropractic’

Look Who Else Uses Chiropractic Care: Water Polo Players

Posted on: July 11th, 2014

Folsom Chiropractor water poloAlthough it may not seem like it, water polo is a very physically demanding sport. Its players are required to spend an hour and fifteen minutes in a pool, during which they cover a distance of as much as three kilometers. There is a good deal of physical contact above and below water. In addition, teammates must shoot and pass the ball without the benefit of contact with the ground to help generate force in the upper body.
The current US Men’s Water Polo team goal keeper, Merrill Moses, attributes much of the team’s success to the benefits they get from chiropractic care and their chiropractor Dr. Terry Schroeder. According to Merrill, “I can honestly say that without chiropractic, many Olympic athletes would not be able to perform to their potential. We take such a pounding on our bodies, especially in water polo, because it’s a contact sport. I like to get a chiropractic adjustment everyday just to keep my body healthy.”

Dr. Schroeder, coach of the US Olympic Water Polo team, was himself a water polo captain and helped the US win medals in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games. In 1998 he was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.

Schroeder says, “Athletes know that the difference between winning and losing can be a matter of fractions. When looking for that edge, chiropractic often makes all the difference.” Schroeder adds, “I believe that chiropractic is going to continue to be of growing importance in the Olympic world.”

Upper body injuries are common among water polo players, particularly rotator cuff injuries and other types of shoulder pain. “Every guy I think on our Olympic team was being adjusted pretty regularly,” said Schroeder. “Some of them were a little bit slower to come on board… but as they saw the other guys kind of respond and said ‘Man my shoulder feels so much better, my neck feels so much better’ – one by one they all said ‘Maybe you can help me out. Maybe I’m going to perform a little better too.'”

Schroeder is continuing in a long chiropractic tradition. His grandfather and father were both chiropractors. “I grew up seeing people arrive at my dad’s office in pain and then watching them come out with a smile,” Schroeder says. “I’ve never taken an aspirin or had a shot. I’ve always had chiropractic care as primary care, and I believe I’m in balance, that my immune system is better for it. I’m not saying there’s no place for surgery, but the body will take care of itself if you let it.”

“Chiropractic has played a huge role in keeping me healthy – I’m the only four-time Olympian in the sport of water polo in the United States.” Schroeder added, “I won two silver medals as an athlete and now I came back with a silver medal as a coach. My gold medal in my life is chiropractic.”

Contact Barger Chiropractic of Folsom at 916-984-9999 or visit us at 231 Blue Ravine Rd #200, Folsom, CA  between Prarie City and Turnpike.

Look Who Else Uses Chiropractic: Olympic Athletes

Posted on: April 14th, 2013

Barger Chiropractic Of Folsom

By James Barger

Chiropractic care has become such an indispensable tool for athletes to keep performing at their best and to reduce the time that it takes to heal from injuries that 28 Doctors of Chiropractic (DC) were employed in the Olympic polyclinic during the 2012 Olympic Games in London. This was in addition to 27 other team DCs who traveled with their nations’ teams, not to mention individual athletes’ chiropractors. Some of the greatest athletes of all time attribute a large part of their success to the chiropractic care they receive.

Dan O’Brien, after winning three consecutive world titles in the decathlon, went on to win a gold medal in decathlon at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He said, “If I could put a percentage value on it, I think I compete eight to ten percent better from regular chiropractic care. I think that is how much of a benefit it is – if not more. If it wasn’t for chiropractic, I wouldn’t have won the gold medal.” He continued, “Every track and field athlete that I have ever met has seen a chiropractor at one time or another. In track and field, it is absolutely essential. Chiropractic care is one of the things I think that no one has denied or refuted.” O’Brien added, “You obviously can’t compete at your fullest if you’re not in alignment.  And your body can’t heal if your back is not in alignment.  It was the holistic idea that I liked about chiropractic and that is what track and field is about.”

During an interview in the August 2012 issue of Details magazine, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who has received the most (22) Olympic medals of all time, noted that he receives Graston technique treatments to keep him in top form. Phelps said, “My trainer, Keenan [Robinson], uses Graston tools, these little metal crowbars. He carves them into my shoulder blades, my back, my knee, my hamstrings-wherever I’m really tight-to loosen things up. It’s pretty intense.”

Elite cyclist Bradley Wiggins has won the most medals of any British Olympic athlete and is the first British winner of the Tour de France. He has nothing but praise for his chiropractor, Matt Rabin. Some months before the 2012 Olympic Games, Wiggins said, “I first started working with Matt at the end of 2008 following my success at the 2008 Beijing summer Olympics. After years of struggling with minor niggles that I had learned to live with, and having never really found the answer to my problems despite having sought numerous treatment options with no great success, I went to see Matt.”
Wiggins continued, “From my first session with him I had great results that were not short lived. That followed up with regular sessions I saw improvements that I had never seen before and that reflected in the way my body held up on a day to day basis which eventually saw me achieve 4th place in the 2009 Tour de France under his supervision.” He added, “Matt will undoubtedly remain an integral part of my medical support in the forthcoming seasons and lead up to the London 2012 Olympic Games.”

If the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, used chiropractic to keep him a step in front of his competitors at the 2012 Olympic Games, perhaps you should too!

Call Barger Chiropractic of Folsom today at 916-984-9999 or visit us at 231 Blue Ravine Road, #200, Folsom, Ca.  We will be happy to see you!