February 5, 2014 — With the 2014 Winter Olympic Games set to begin Feb. 7, 2014, Palmer College of Chiropractic would like to salute its alumni, students, administrators, faculty, and others with ties to the Winter Olympics — past and present. Following are brief profiles of some of their notable Winter Olympians.
Palmer graduate prepares Team USA for 2014 Winter Olympics
William Moreau, DC, DACBSP, has cared for athletes for most of his career. Today he’s the Managing Director of Sports Medicine for the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Dr. Moreau, a 1981 graduate of Palmer’s Davenport, Iowa campus, directs the multiple disciplinary clinics that service about 20,000 athlete visits annually, oversees the medical care and medical team selections at the Games, and develops a nationwide network of health care providers to support Team USA athletes. He also serves as Medical Director for the Olympic Games.
“The athletes who comprise Team USA are the hardest-working, hardest-training and most amazing people I’ve ever treated,” he says. “The athletes we see are akin to BMW racing machines; their joints and muscles are so finely tuned that small differences make notable changes.”
Dr. Moreau will be on site for the Sochi Games, overseeing a medical team of 28 physicians – six of whom are doctors of chiropractic. For more information: teamusa.org/For-Athletes/Medical-Services/Clinics-and-Staff
Lindsay Alcock, DC, Olympian and Palmer graduate
Lindsay Alcock, DC, of Calgary, Canada, represented her country in two Winter Olympic Games (2002 and 2006) during a stellar six-year World Cup career in the sport of skeleton, which included winning the silver medal at the 2004 World Championships.
A 2013 Summa Cum Laude graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic’s San Jose, Calif., campus, Alcock practices in Calgary, where she also does motivational speaking.
She credits Palmer alumnus Greg Uchacz, DC (San Jose, 1992), chiropractor for the Canadian teams of the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, for providing the Canadian Olympians with high-quality care, and for inspiring her to enroll at Palmer and follow a similar career path.
Palmer student Melissa Hoar is skeleton champion
Melissa Hoar, a student at Palmer’s San Jose, Calif., campus, recently was featured in a Foundation for Chiropractic Progress “Future Champions of Chiropractic” ad.
A native of Australia, Melissa competed in the sport of skeleton in the 2010 Winter Olympics, and qualified for the World Championships every year since she started “sliding” in 2005. She achieved performance-strengthening results through care provided during the Vancouver, B.C., Olympiad by Palmer Davenport alumnus Jason Ross, DC, Team USA chiropractor.
“I always knew I wanted to do something within the health field, and chiropractic seemed like it was the best fit for me, especially as I personally benefited, and learned that chiropractic was more than just adjusting the spine,” said Melissa. Also a two-time Surf Life Saving world-champion, she’ll soon graduate from Palmer’s San Jose, Calif., campus, where she received care from Palmer San Jose alumnus Steven Capobianco, DC.
Palmer administrator has close ties to USA Bobsledding program
Former U.S. Bobsled Team member Dave Juehring, DC, director of Palmer’s Chiropractic Rehabilitation and Sports Injury Department, is a 1994 graduate of Palmer’s Davenport, Iowa campus. He’s also a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and a Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Rehabilitation Board.
So how’d he go from flying down an icy track to being one of the nation’s leading sports chiropractors?
“My introduction to sports chiropractic was as an athlete,” said Juehring. “I had a back injury while competing in track and field in college, and, having grown up in Davenport, I thought I’d try chiropractic. I went to the Palmer Clinic, and within a month my back was fine and I was back to competing.”
While Juehring went on to compete on the U.S. Bobsled Team, he didn’t make an Olympic team. But he began treating Olympic bobsled athletes and went on to be a USA Olympic Bobsled coach and eventually a team leader in the 1998 and 2002 Winter Games.
Oh Canada! … For the fourth time!
Richard Robinson, DC, a 1996 graduate of Palmer’s San Jose, Calif., campus will be one of two chiropractors providing care for members of Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.
He also provided chiropractic care for members of the Canadian teams at the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.
“I’ve worked with speed skaters for 10 years, and I’ll be responsible for all the athletes taking part in speed skating, hockey, figure skating and curling,” said Dr. Robinson.
With this appointment, Dr. Robinson will have participated in four Olympiads (including the summer 2012 Games in China). Dr. Robinson will be a featured speaker at the Palmer San Jose Homecoming May 2-4.
Palmer graduate is part of Olympic history!
Stephen Press, DC, CCSP, graduated from Palmer’s Davenport, Iowa campus in 1978. He took his passion for chiropractic and sports to a global level. In 1992, he served as the chief
physician for the entire Soviet Olympic team during the Winter Games in Albertville, France.
How’d that happen?
In 1987, Press founded the Federation Internationale du Chiropractic Sportive (FICS). One year later, the FICS and Press traveled to Moscow, where he began a relationship with Russian athletes that would last for decades. He treated figure skater and Olympic gold Medalist Ekaterina Gordeeva for sciatica, helped raise a quarter of a million dollars to set up a chiropractic clinic in Moscow, and was presented a gold medal of his own – the Coach of Champions award. The rest is history.
“Thirty years ago, it was the dream of a chiropractor to go to the Olympics,” said Dr. Press. “Today we have more openings for Olympic chiropractors than there are qualified chiropractors to fill them.”
His tips for those who want to be sports chiropractors: “Get your CCSP certification. Sports chiropractic is a specialty, and you need to be on top of it. Volunteer at your local Little League and work your way up from the trenches.”
Palmer graduate Dr. Greg Uchacz is three-time Olympic chiropractor
Greg Uchacz, D.C., graduated from Palmer’s San Jose campus in 1992. He’s been a chiropractor for the Canadian teams of the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.
Dr. Uchacz is recognized as one of the best sports chiropractors in Canada. He was honored as the 2012 “Chiropractor of the Year” by the Alberta College and Association of Chiropractors.
“The education I received at Palmer was outstanding,” said Dr. Uchacz. “It challenged me with critical thinking and really established a solid foundation for me to continue to grow as a chiropractor out in clinical practice.”
Source: Palmer College of Chiropractic
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