b'ComplianceLEGAL NUTRITIONCouncilANJC Leadership ANJC Leadership LEGAL EASE NUTRITION REHAB Council Executive Directors UPDATE LEGAL Q&A CHIROASSISTINSURANCE Update INSURANCE Update Legislative UpdateTECHNIQUE Councilconcussions, dislocations, concussions and internal injuries. How many of you think you would have had the knowl-MedicareQ&Aedge, ability and confidence to handle OUR HEALTHworking those situations? Imagine the same situation but where four sports By Dr. Gregory H. Doerr chiropractors allow you to shadow them for an entire day at an event, showing Chiropractic Care for the International Traveler How to Build a Sports Practice you all of these skills. Then on Day 2, they give you your own mat to take care If there is one thing I have noticed in ourexercise rehabilitation. of. Now alone at that mat and within profession, many people advertise thatseconds of getting there, an athlete they treat sports injuries, but there arePerfecting your skills as a sportstakes a kick to the head so hard that she very few who are sports chiropractors.chiropractor is one of the best ways tofalls unconscious in a pool of her own The effort it takes to become a sportsmarket yourself and build your practice.blood. Do you think you would be ready chiropractor and build a sports practiceBy working sporting events, you getto handle this situation? As you walk to takes years of education, sacrifice andthe opportunity to perfect your skillsthe unconscious athlete with your heart effort. There are many ways to buildat caring for sports injuries in the acuteracing, you turn around to see two of a sports practice. Depending on whosetting. As a doctor, you have very fewthose same four doctors walking just you talk to, they may all have slightlyopportunities to see as many of thebehind you not to take control, but to different paths to the same point, butsame athletes or the injuries associatedassist you in the evaluation and triaging all have sacrificed in their own ways towith a specific sport as working sidelines.of that athlete. That is mentorship, that achieve the skills necessary to become aIn a single taekwondo event you mayis education, that is networking. IN true sports chiropractor. see and manage dozens of injuries in aTIME, THAT IS BUILDING A SPORTS day. It could take months or even yearsPRACTICE!There are definitely a few similaritiesto see the same number of athletes inIf you want me to sum up how I built a amongst sports chiropractors. One isa particular sport simply walk into yoursports practice: EFFORT! they make sure they have the necessaryoffice. This creates invaluable expertise education to evaluate and treat sportsin the sports field. Whether its football,Constantly taking classes to further injuries. Second, sports chiropractorssoccer, track and field, marathons, etc.,your education in the management and do the best they can to attend andyou can become an expert in that sportevaluation of sports injuries, working work sporting events to learn sportsand the injuries associated with it muchsporting events as often as you can to injuries first hand and acute care ofquicker than the years it would take tocontinue building my skills, networking these injuries. Third, sport chiropractorsbuild the same expertise in your office.with athletes and other sports clinicians, mentor and collaborate with each other.As an added benefit, working events isand mentorships give you the confi-There is no group of professionals I havea great way to be active in your commu- dence and resources to always bounce ever met that are so willing to share theirnity and build your practice. Thosecases or injuries off doctors who may knowledge with each other and supportinjured during sporting events locally willknow more about the subject than you each other in practice and with patients. frequently follow up in your office, anddo. If you are interested in this type of Education for a sports chiropractor canwhen working larger non-local events, itpractice and really want to be the best come in many different forms. Sportsallows you to develop networking withyou can be, attend the ANJC Sports certifications, post-graduate educationother sports clinicians that will becomeCouncil meetings and seminars and start courses, working sideline events andreferral sources. All of the personal timethe process! mentorships. There are several sportsI sacrificed to work these events allowed certifications that can be achieved. Theme the education and skill to build aGregory H. Doerr, DC, CCSP, SFMA, most common of them are the CCSPsuccessful sports practice. ART, FMT, CSTI, CKTP, is an ANJC and DACBSP. These post-graduateLastly, mentorship. This may seem likemember and the clinical director and courses are offered by several of ourone of the less important aspects ofowner of Bergen Chiropractic and Sports chiropractic colleges. Other degreesbuilding the practice, but in my opinion,Rehabilitation Center, an office which available for sports chiropractorsthis is the most important. Finding fellowcombines chiropractic, sports injury include the masters programs offeredclinicians with years of experience whotreatment, rehabilitation, and physical at a few of our chiropractic collegesare willing to share their experiencestherapy. He is the developer and instructor and ICSSP, which is the internationaland knowledge allows you to handleof FST: Functional Soft Tissue, and the co-developer and instructor of FAKTR: certification offered through FICS. Therethe above events with confidence.Functional and Kinetic Treatment with are other topics important for a sportsThree months out of school I foundRehabilitation, Provocation and Motion.chiropractor to become educated in,myself working a full-contact taekwondo including soft tissue treatments, tapingevent. This is when you are thrown into techniques, emergency procedures andsituations such as triaging fractures, www.njchiropractors.com I 11'