Olympic athletes have found that chiropractic is not only good for injuries, but also helps to improve performance. Nicole Freedman of Stanford, California, qualified for the 2000 US Olympic squad as a cyclist at the Olympic Team trials in Jackson, Mississippi, after being receiving a chiropractic adjustment. She had told her chiropractor that she thought she needed an adjustment to be at her peak performance.
Dr. Jan Corwin, a past president of ACA’s Council on Sports Injuries and Physical Fitness, said of the athletes he treated in Korea (1988), “They were totally into it. I had so many patients while I was there, I didn’t even have time to eat. By the time I left Seoul I had lost 12 pounds.” Dr. Corwin went on to say, “At least 50% to 75% of all the athletes I treated had prior chiropractic care and were very aware of the benefits of chiropractic to them as athletes.”
Chiropractic has grown in popularity among athletes because of the good care athletes have received from chiropractors all over the country. The list of athletes who have been treated with chiropractic is impressive. Olympic stars like Carl Lewis, Greg Louganis, Willi Banks, Edwin Moses are among the athletes who benefit from chiropractic.
In the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia Sheila Taormina (gold medallist in swimming) and Marisa Pedulla (U.S. Judo Team) each received care from Dr. Steven Horowitz who was the chiropractic physician for the U.S. Olympic medical staff in 1996. Each woman wrote to thank Dr. Horowitz for their care. According to Dr. Horowitz, the athletes were very excited about the chiropractic care given to them. He also notes that the athletes wanted to be sure that he was there for American athletes only. The athletes felt that they did not want Dr. Horowitz to give an advantage to other athletes by providing chiropractic care.
