Sports chiropractic, also known as chiropractic sports sciences/medicine, is a specialty of chiropractic. In Canada it is generally a 2 year post-graduate residency program that results in the designation of certified chiropractic sports specialist (CCSS) offered by the Royal College of Chiropractic Sports Sciences.[1] The American equivalent is the Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician (CCSP),[2] or the Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians (DABCSP), a three-year post-doctoral program.
Internationally, the International Federation of Sports Chiropractic (FICS) has established the International Chiropractic Sport Science Diploma (ICSSD) program in connection with Murdoch University,[3] in Perth, Australia. It is FICS' prerequisite for a Doctor to be approved to participate in any International sporting event. Applicants can receive the degree through participation in a combination of online courses, seminars, and receive credit for post-doctoral education, like the national programs listed above, already attained.
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The focus of chiropractic sports specialists is to provide care in the conservative management, rehabilitation and performance optimization of neuromusculoskeletal system for athletic populations and to participate in a multi-disciplinary sports injury care environment. The book "Opportunities in Chiropractic Careers" states that sports chiropractors have made contributions to protective gear and trauma management in contact sports, athletic health maintenance, therapy, and enhanced rehabilitation after injury.[4] Spinal injury prevention has been identified as a role that sports chiropractors play.[5]
An growing obstacle to chiropractic sports medicine is the exclusion of chiropractors from performing high school physicals, a necessary requirement for participation. Besides physicians, in certain states nurse practitioners are allowed to do physicals.[6] Specifically with regard to chiropractors the study reported "...states that permit practitioners with little or no cardiovascular training (such as chiropractors or naturopathic practitioners) to provide medical clearance of high school athletes increased from 11 (22%) in 1997 to 18 (35%) in 2005."[6]
In 2002, 31% of National Football League teams used a chiropractor in an official capacity on their medical staff.[7] In 2006, a study analyzing Division I NCAA college athletes at inter-college sporting events in Hawaii found that chiropractic usage within the last 12 months was reported by 39% of respondents.[8]
Chiropractic sports medicine specialists first began treating Olympic athletes at the Olympic Games in Mexico City, in 1968, when Dr. Leroy Perry arranged a relationship with the Aruba team. The first official appointment of a chiropractor to the US team began with the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York, United States, when Dr. George Goodheart's name was given to Irving Dardik, MD, then chairman of the USOC Sports Medicine Committee by Dr. Stephen J. Press.[9] Subsequently a program was developed to screen Chiropractic Doctors at the USOTC in Colo. Spngs., CO. And, at each subsequent games chiropractors were included with the US team, and other national teams as well. In the 2008 Games in Beijing, the US team sent four chiropractors,[10] and, in another US first, i.e., they appointed Dr. Mike Reed, DC medical director of the US team. As part of a demonstration project under the aegis of the IOC for the first time in Olympic history, chiropractic care will be fully integrated and in treating athletes in the polyclinic in 2010 at the Winter Olympics games in Vancouver.[11][12]
Outside of the United States, Life University has developed relationships with the Costa Rican, Guatemalan, and Honduran Olympic Committees. Dr. John Downes of Life University participated in the Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Olympic Games as Costa Rica's Chiropractor. In 2000, Life University opened a 4500 sq. ft. Chiropractic Clinic in the Costa Rican Olympic Committee Compound under the supervision of Dr. Trace Palmer with the focus of supporting the country's athletic federations.[13]
A number of barriers exist for chiropractors interested in sports care. Most sports organizations have an existing relationship with a local physician-based clinic or hospital. Physicians' interests in sports injuries predates chiropractors and the development of their recent sports chiropractic programs. Furthermore, university-based sports programs work with their own undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for student education and paid positions ranging from athletic trainer, physical therapist, physician assistants to physicians. The problem has been briefly evaluated.[14][15] and found that in rare instances chiropractors have found positions within major sports franchises or university programs. More likely, is the admittance of chiropractors at the high school level in rural America consistent with low physician ratios. To meet the needs of small athlete populations in rural communities, school administrators, coaches, and parents are often more accepting of non-traditional means of sports care.
Royal College of Chiropractic Sport Sciences of Canada - RCCSS(C) [1]
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