To Your Health
June, 2007 (Vol. 01, Issue 06) |
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View From The Top
Perspectives on Health and Wellness From Jeff Spencer, Sports Chiropractor to the Stars
By Dr. Jeff Spencer
Superstars in every area of sports and the performing arts depend on their bodies to be in top condition in order to achieve a level of excellence that is seldom attained. These top performers can afford the very best health care available.
Interestingly enough, many of them choose chiropractic care to keep their bodies in optimum health. In fact, some of these top performers actually have a personal doctor of chiropractic in attendance when they are on tour or at a specific event. There are a relatively small number of doctors who work with these superstars. They are sought out for their expertise, and their identities are not well-known.
One of these is Jeff Spencer, DC.
Dr. Spencer began his chiropractic career as did most of his colleagues. He attended chiropractic college, and after graduation, began an office practice like most doctors. But it wasn't long before he became a doctor "on call" with a very select group of patients.
While he isn't able to discuss most of his patients by name, Dr. Spencer is able to provide insight into how and why chiropractic plays such a critical role in the success of many top performers. In this interview, he shares his understanding of how these superstars maintain their bodies to achieve peak performance.
When you think about the athletes or entertainers you work with; how do you see chiropractic playing a role in their success?
Well, I think it's absolutely vital because the person's ability to be a consistent top performer depends entirely on their state of health. So, by definition, it's essential to proactively address what may be silent in the body, but that can be the "time bomb" that'll blow up and lead to catastrophic loss of time and inability to perform, and can ruin a season or career. As importantly, once the athlete or performer comes back from a tour or an extended period of significant physical work without reasonable recovery, they need to have a proven system to accelerate recovery. Chiropractic care, as well as dealing with the obvious issues of health, allows the performer and the doctor to be on the leading edge of creating and promoting wellness to ensure a long, vital and highly productive career.
How often do most of these athletes/entertainers receive chiropractic care?
It depends on the challenges associated with their profession and what the demands on their bodies are. During periods of high concentration of activity, such as a tour or during a really difficult period of athletic training or competition, they may receive daily care or more; it just depends on the nature of activity. Generally speaking, they receive as much care as they reasonably can get for the given set of circumstances, so we always build into our objectives the ability to address what needs come up for them during the course of training, competing or performing.
