Maccabiah 17, as it is called in Hebrew, was held at various sites throughout Israel July 10-21, 2005. It was the largest and most successful of all the Jewish Olympics, with close to 7,000 participants from nearly 50 countries!
The games were a landmark event for the chiropractic profession in Israel, since this is the first time the Israeli Chiropractic Society was invited to provide treatment as part of the health care team. The significance of this should be noted, for it constitutes acknowledgement of our ability to contribute a valuable and highly sought-after form of health care. The following is a report that summarizes both the extent of our participation and the types of problems encountered. The data collected and presented was based on six criteria: the number of hours worked; the number of treatments given; the sporting event worked; the countries of the recipients; typical/unusual conditions seen; and medal winners treated.
The totals presented below were reported by the various treating chiropractors:
We attempted to have a uniform method of data gathering, relying on the history/treatment forms developed by the Federation Internationale de Chiropratique Sportive (FICS). Compliance in this regard was faulty either due to doctors forgetting to bring the forms to the event, or in some instances, the sheer volume of athletes became so large that there was simply inadequate time to get the details. (One of the doctors reported that an entire team of 20 athletes lined up for care!)
Because this was a seminal event, a number of problems arose at the venue sites (both logistically and practically). We encountered problems with letting players and coaches know we were available for providing treatment. We also had a couple of episodes of equipment failure, i.e., broken tables. Some of our volunteers in the end gave no treatment at all, due to unannounced venue changes, equipment failure, or an inability to communicate their presence or purpose.
In conclusion, I would say that based on the number of treatments administered (despite there being no advance notice to athletes or coaches that we were participating, with only verbal announcements at the venues), it is readily apparent that there is a large demand for our services. The athletes and coaches do not care about medical politics or professional health care rivalries; they simply are interested in what can put them back in play as rapidly as possible and optimize their performances - naturally.
Richard Gakner, DC, CCSP
Chiropractic Coordinator, 17th Maccabiah Games
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