The history of chiropractors being involved in professional sports is one of desire by the players to get the best care for their sport. Traditionally, chiropractors were used outside the professional football teams by the players themselves, because they realized that the chiropractor had the tools and understood the player's needs. Most of the medical team that was available to players was provided by big money professions or hospital systems looking to be endorsed by the team, and paying for the privilege. Chiropractors were brought in at the request of the players themselves and were one of the few paid members of the medical team. Sports chiropractic developed in New Jersey and our state has one of the most active sports councils in the nation, whose presence is felt at many sporting events. I personally have been the medical director for USATF NJ helping runners for 25 years, and often I have a line of athletes waiting to see me when I am present at an event, something that is not atypical at the many sporting events where chiropractors are present. Simply stated, elite-level athletes, want chiropractors at their events and available to them in professional sports, because they know the chiropractor will help them safely and effectively, without using drugs or surgeries. Steve Weatherford is a prime example of a player why understood the importance of a chiropractor being present before games so potential problems are mitigated prior to gameplay. Being an athlete, any athlete is demanding, especially since you often have to satisfy high expectations while not being injured. Chiropractors are known for their unique skills in evaluating and treating athletes. Rather than throwing protocols or looking at the symptoms, chiropractors look at the functional problems, understanding that the way we move either works for us or against us, and in the case of football players, poor mobility and asymmetry leads to muscle pulls, back pain and other problems. Football players do take a lot of hits to the body, which can cause not only a muscle strain but also spinal and extremity misalignment, things the chiropractors have a unique ability to work with through spinal and extremity manipulation as well as muscle work. Check out this recent article on Former Giants punter Steve Weatherford Ex-Giants punter credits chiropractic for long NFL career For 10 years in the NFL, former Giants punter Steve Weatherford never missed a game due to injury. He thanks chiropractic and taking good care of himself for that, according to a news release from the Association of New Jersey Chiropractors. "œI was receiving chiropractic care since I was 14, which was the only reason I made it into the NFL," he said to more than 500 chiropractic physicians at the Association of New Jersey Chiropractors Fall Summit in New Brunswick. The skinniest player on the freshman team at 14, he developed back pain as a teenager from overdoing it in the weight room. But with the help of a chiropractor, he was able to grow from 108 pounds to 225 pounds by the time he graduated. He said that he has relied on chiropractors for weekly maintenance and injury prevention ever since. Read more