Five Los Angeles College of Chiropractic (LACC)'s Martial Arts Club members were among 4300 competitors at the 29th Annual Ed Parker International Karate Championships in Long Beach on August 14-16. They were: Tom Sneed, Bruce Richardson, Hubert Hanlon, Shawn Phelan, and Kathy Thorn, D.C.
LACC also provided primary injury assessment and on-site health care for all competitors at the event. Interns Joe Verna and Shawn Phelan, club president and vice president, respectively, recruited a sports medicine team led by LACC faculty member John Scaringe, D.C., CCSP and radiology resident Dr. Kathy Thorn. Other interns on the sports medicine team were Bart Green, Wolfgang Shane, Rick Tweedt, Ann Parsons and Rabbonni Taculsalme.
The LACC health care team treated over 200 athletes from many countries including Spain, France, Germany, China, and Canada, as well as the United States. The range of injuries included sprains, strains, contusions, lacerations, dislocations, concussions, and fractures.
Four of the five LACC interns who served on this sports medicine team competed: Tom Sneed, Bruce Richardson, Hubert Hanlon, and Shawn Phelan all participated, as did Dr. Thorn. Tom Sneed and Bruce Richardson faced competitors in the black belt kata division; Hubert Hanlon competed in the brown belt kumite free-style fighting division; and Shawn Phelan contended in the green belt kumite and Dr. Thorn in the white belt kumite. Mr. Hanlon finished second in the brown belt light heavy-weight division.
According to the sports medicine team, many athletes, coaches, parents, and tournament organizers stopped by the treatment area to express their appreciation and report that their "minds had been changed about chiropractic."
