Chiropractics are no strangers when it comes to working with athletes – whether you are a crossfit enthusiast, kick-boxing guru, weekend parent athlete or two-time Olympic gold medalist, chiropractic care has been proven to improve athletic performance in leaps and bounds mentally and physically.
As an effective approach to achieving overall wellness and advancing preventive care, chiropractic care has come along way since its beginnings at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City becoming a key ingredient in the recipe of success for Olympic athletes. The recently completed 2016 Olympic Training Camp held at the USA Training Facility in Chula Vista, California, served as a showcase for the competitive advantage chiropractic care can provide for world-class athletes helping them push the limits of their athletic abilities and improve overall success in their gaming performance.
Last January, Chula Vista officially took over the Olympic Training Center, as the third Elite Olympic Training Center (Colorado Springs & Lake Placid being the other two) determined to build on the legacy of success the town currently held; over 60 medals were won by Chula Vista athletes over the past six Olympic and Paralympic Games, along with American records, world records, and numerous world championship and World Cup medals.
Each Training Center is staffed with a full-time sports medicine crew who generally includes chiropractors, physical therapists and athletic trainers. In addition to the full- time staff, they run a rotating, invitation only, traveling staff which is an experience that sports chiropractors covet and look forward to from the early days of training in chiropractic school.
Recently, Dr. Anthony J. Deluca, DC, CCSP, director of Deluca Family Chiropractic in Old Bridge, N.J., accepted the invitation as one of the lead chiropractors at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Facility in California. Deluca was selectively chosen for this two-week rotation based on his chiropractic expertise and years of field experience nationally and internationally as the Medical Staff at CSIT World Games, in Italy, Team Doctor at the World Dancing Championship in Nice France, Medical Staff at Pan American Games in Mexico, just to name a few.
During his time in Chula Vista, Deluca worked on athletes with a multitude of traumatic and overuse injuries. He had the opportunity to switch roles and stand on the side-lines requiring him to think on his feet as he assessed the severity of on- field injuries, performing orthopedic and neurological exams. Treating patients onsite and at the centers clinic was something Deluca preferred because it was different from his day-to- day practice. Usually when a patient goes to a chiropractic office, they are pre-screened. In other words, if you’ve experienced an emergency, you go to the emergency room, or to your doctors office and then you seek out a chiropractor. Being on the field allowed Deluca to stretch his knowledge as the first go-to making quick decisions and understanding diverse injuries on a more integrated, hands on level.
“I learned a lot about gymnastics, and the bio-metrics of the sport. Watching from the sideline allowed me to understand visually how the injury occurred which in turn helps me educate the athletes on how to prevent a re-occurrence of the problem,” Deluca explained.
Most of the athletes were very receptive to chiropractic care; mostly musculoskel injuries of the neck, back, knee, shoulder, wrist, and ankle – depending upon what their particular problem is.
“What I loved about the experience was that it was a multi-disciplinary approach; physical therapy, medical doctor on staff, ATC, select athletic trainers, it wasn’t just one or the other.
“I think it’s a great, yet entirely different experience to go to the Olympic Training Camp. Upon arrival a USOC test is required for professionals to understand specific protocol and discipline, which is something I really appreciated”. An experience that not only provided Deluca with the opportunity to work with some of the best athletes in the country, but to also share and gain knowledge with the nation’s finest trainers, coaches and medical professionals, “it is an opportunity I look forward to experiencing again someday,” Deluca explained. “My goal is to continue on this path, while one-day hopefully serving my country as a USOC medical professional.”
Since his return home this past Fall, Dr. Deluca has been invited to go to the third Olympic Training Camp in Lake Placid for 2018 training and looks forward to playing an active role in the success of the United States Olympic medalists for years to come.
