We all have those moments in our lives that, when we look back on them, we can't help but smile. Some of these moments are personal in nature, like thinking back to the day we got married, the moment our children entered this world, or the second we crossed the finish line in the race we weren't sure we could run. Other memorable moments are centered around our careers. With that thought in mind, here are six such moments as shared by a handful of sports DCs who are responsible for treating some of the world's most elite athletes.
Jason T. Levy, DC, ART, CCSP, CKTP
Director of Advanced Performance & Rehabilitation Center with locations in Short Hills and Morristown, New Jersey; and team chiropractor for the New York Jets (NFL), New Jersey Devils (NHL) and New York Red Bulls (MLS)
For Dr. Levy, one of his most memorable moments was during his very first season with the Jets. "It was one of our first Monday night games in Miami," he recalls, "and one of the players pulled a hamstring on [the] first kickoff of the game."
As a result, Dr. Levy says he spent the entire game working on the player's hamstring, doing soft-tissue work and ART every time he was on the sidelines. He worked on the player to the point where his forearms and hands "were just killing me" on the plane trip back home.
Yet, it isn't necessarily the amount of work Dr. Levy did on the player that causes this game to stick in his mind. Instead, it was the result of this hard work ... and the player's response.
"I don't recall the outcome of the game," says Dr. Levy, "but I kept him in the game and he was crazy grateful." In fact, the player went up to him multiple times during the game and thanked him for all he was doing, and again once the season was over.
"You care about your players the way you care about all your patients," Dr. Levy says. "You have a sense of being part of it and contributing to the win or the game when you're able to keep the guys on the field."
Stuart E. Yoss, DC, CCSP, ART
Active Release Technique provider and clinic director at Bannockburn Chiropractic & Sports Injury Center, with offices in Bannockburn and Northbrook, Illinois; and team chiropractor for the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL), Bears (NFL) and Bulls (NBA)
Dr. Yoss shares that his most memorable moment occurred right after the Chicago Blackhawks won the 2015 Stanley Cup. "We were all in the locker room celebrating the victory," he says, and Coach Joel Quenneville came over to me and said, 'I don't know what the hell you did, but thank you for getting Shawzy [Andrew Shaw] on the ice.'"
Earlier in the day, during the morning skate, Shaw had reached for a puck and strained his lower back. "When I got down to the arena, he came walking over to me in the shape of a question mark," says Dr. Yoss, "and said to do whatever I need to do to get him ready. He was not going to miss this game."
The reason this one was so important was because if the Blackhawks won, it would be their first Stanley Cup-clinching victory on home ice since 1961. "I worked on him for a while," says Dr. Yoss, "much longer than I ever had before. The training staff also helped. It was definitely an all-hands-on-deck moment."
It worked, too. "By the time I was done with [Shaw], he was standing up straight and was able to play," says Dr. Yoss. "I knew my name wasn't going to be on Lord Stanley's Cup, but just hearing the coach acknowledge me like that was all I needed."
Jay Greenstein, DC, CCSP, CKTP, CGFI
Founder and CEO of Sport and Spine Rehab and Sport and Spine Athletics, with locations in Virginia and Maryland; and team provider for the NFL's Washington Redskins cheerleaders and Arena Football League's Washington Valor
For Dr. Greenstein, two points in time stick out to him as being memorable during his career thus far. The first was when he was at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. While there, he and a team of health care providers decided to quickly set up a sort of pop-up clinic to help take care of athletes who were competing without a chiropractor on their health care team.
This meant working swiftly to get the things they needed, which included tables to treat the athletes and EHRs to record their information. "They made me the 'dude in charge,'" Dr. Greenstein says proudly because he felt so honored to be able to treat athletes from around the world who didn't have the resources to have chiropractors on their medical staff.
Another instance that sticks out in Dr. Greenstein's mind occurred just this past year, when he worked with the Washington Valor football team. "There were definitely tough times throughout the season," he says, yet they did end up getting in the championship and winning.
"Players were coming up to us saying, 'You were part of this!' he recalls, adding, "The guys were always super appreciative of the care that was given to them. They recognized the value of chiropractic. That we were there to support them."
Editor's Note: Pt. 2 of this article (July issue) features memorable moments from three other DCs who work with professional athletes / pro teams.
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