When sports chiropractors first appeared at the Olympic Games in the 1980s, it was alongside individual athletes who had experienced the benefits of chiropractic care in their training and recovery processes at home. Fast forward to Paris 2024, where chiropractic care was available in the polyclinic for all athletes, and the attitude has now evolved to recognize that “every athlete deserves access to sports chiropractic."
Life Track Teams Make History at NAIA Championships
Life University is the first institution in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) history to win the men's and women's outdoor track titles in the same year.
Competing in Abbotsford, British Columbia in May, the Life men's team won the championship with 90 points, easily outdistancing second place Point Loma Nazarene College of California by 37 points. The Life women's team won with 156 points; the next-best team (McKendree College of Illinois) scored 108.
First place finishes on the men's side were Francis Kirwan (5,000 and 10,000 meters); Solomon Birir (800 meters); Mike Tsoukalas (hammer); and George Ondimu (3,000 meters).
First place finishes on the women's side were Monica Twum (100 and 200 meters); Sedell Roberts (400 meters, 400-meter hurdles); Leontine Tsiba (800 and 1,500 meters); and Meosha Hubbard (triple jump and long jump).
Basketball Coach Steps Down
Coach Roger Kaiser, who led the Life University men's basketball team to the NAIA championship three of the past four seasons, has announced his retirement. No immediate successor has been named.
"I feel that I am most fortunate to have been involved in organized basketball for 54 years as a player and a coach," said Kaiser. "I owe a debt of gratitude to my teammates and coaches, and to the many players, assistant coaches and fans who have made my basketball career so memorable and enjoyable."
In 1974, Kaiser coached West Georgia College to the NAIA national championship. In 1990, Kaiser became Life's athletic director and head basketball coach. The Running Eagles became a major power in small college basketball, winning more than 85 percent of their games and making it to the NAIA national tournament eight consecutive years. The Running Eagles won their first NAIA championship in men's basketball in 1997, followed by back-to-back championships in 1999 and 2000.
Coach Kaiser's collegiate record was 663-233. He will continue as the school's athletic director.
Chiropractic Care in Jamaica
Jamaica possesses idyllic natural beauty, but the poverty of many of the islanders is ugly. Basic health care on the island is not readily affordable for many. Earlier this year, Dr. Dennis Thompson, a 1985 graduate of Northwestern College of Chiropractic, and Northwestern students Shamonie Haneca, Heather Patellas and Aaron Rogalski traveled to Jamaica's capital city, Kingston, to provide chiropractic care and health education to the orphans of the city.
For six days, Dr. Thompson and the students provided care for hundreds of needy children in Kingston. Their trip started at a home for severely handicapped children known as "Sophie's Place" in Gordon Town. They also delivered care at "My Father's House," a home for infants and young children, and "Mary's Child," a center that provides care for abandoned pregnant teenagers and their babies.
"The children were in worse condition than what we had expected," said Rogalski, an eighth-trimester student. "We saw things that you thought you would only see in books."
"Not only did we go as chiropractors to adjust, but to offer education on nutrition, hygiene, etc.," noted Heather. "We wanted to offer something on the larger scale. We didn't go there to cure anyone."
"Not a day goes by that we don't think of the children, and hope and dream that they can continue to find treatment," added Heather. "We can all see ourselves going back to Kingston to reconnect with the children."
New Electees to CCE Board
Last month, the Council on Chiropractic Education held its annual elections for members to the CCE Board of Directors. The new electees are:
Peter Martin,DC (San Jose, California)William Ramsey,PhD (Chesterfield, Missouri)David Wickes,DC (Lombard, Illinois)Alfred Davis,DC (Montclair, New Jersey)
Each electee will serve a three-year term beginning in January 2001. The CCE Board of Directors consists of 13 members: seven from chiropractic programs/institutions; four practicing doctors of chiropractic; and two public members.
NYCC Professor to Edit Track Magazine
James Ebbets,DC, an associate professor at New York Chiropractic College, has been named the new editor of Track Coach magazine, the international technical journal of U.S. Track and Field.
Dr. Ebbets was a member of the Villanova track team in the 1970s. Since 1983, he has been the lead instructor in the coaching education program for the U.S. Track and Field program. He also earned a level II certificate in track and field at Brigham Young University in 1992 in the long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault events.
Alabama Chiropractor Runs for Mayor
Dr. Greg Kuhlmann, a 1988 graduate of Life University, has declared himself a candidate for mayor of Spanish Fort, Alabama.
"Currently, we are at a crossroads as a community," said Dr. Kuhlmann. "Our city has grown and will continue to grow at an accelerated rate. Good leadership and planning are essential to maintain our unique quality of life in Spanish Fort."
Dr. Kuhlmann was appointed to the city's planning commission in 1995. He's been a member of the Alabama State Board of Chiropractic Examiners since 1995 and served as its president in 1999.
Dr. Kuhlmann's platform is to improve the police and fire departments; create citizen panels to plan park and recreational facilities and a library; attract more businesses to the community; and develop a growth-management plan with local property owners.
SOTO-USA - Set for First Annual Clinical Symposium
SOTO-USA describes itself as a nonprofit organization dedicated to support the chiropractic profession, research, and promote the awareness, understanding and utilization of the sacro-occipital technique SOT) as founded and developed by Dr. Major Bertrand DeJarnette.
SOTO-USA supports chiropractic research by supporting the peer-reviewed journals. SOTO-USA members are offered the choice of receiving the Journal of the Neuromusculoskeletal System (JNMS) free, or receiving the Journal of Physiological and Manipulative Therapeutics (JMPT) at a significant discount. The group has also developed a relationship with two other excellent chiropractic peer reviewed journals, Topics in Clinical Chiropractic and the Chiropractic Research Journal, which will also offer members substantial subscription discounts. A portion of membership fees is donated to the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research.
This August 24-27, SOTO-USA will hold its first annual clinical symposium in Chicago. It will feature Dr. George Goodheart and discussions on the future of chiropractic research by Drs. Dana Lawrence, Anthony Rosen, Ron Rupert, Arnold Cianciulli and George McAndrew.
SOTO-USA can be contacted at (336) 760-1618. Their website is http://www.SOTO-USA.org. Charles Blum,DC,FICS, is president of SOTO-USA (drcblum@aol.com).