Olympic Healthcare Benefits More Than Athletes
The Olympics are often thought of as the pinnacle of achievement for athletes. Olympic athletes train for years for events that may be completed in mere minutes or even seconds. With so much preparation, it is vital that they are at their peak when the competition occurs. For these high-caliber athletes, not being sick or injured is just the beginning. Just as the Games themselves have changed over the years, so has healthcare for athletes. Today’s athletes work with a variety of health care providers to help them as they make last minute preparations, deal with any injuries and recover from their events. Once reserved for only the athletes or countries who had extensive sports medicine contingents, sports chiropractors are now a standard member of many teams’ staff.
HEALTHCARE FOR AMERICAN OLYMPIANS
In the US, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s Medical Network provides care for US athletes as they train and travel to the Olympics to care for the athletes onsite. In the 1980s, chiropractors at the Olympics were there accompanying individual athletes who they had worked with during training and were there to follow through. As sports medicine evolved, chiropractors gained more recognition and became vital members of the US Olympic healthcare team. In 2009, Chiropractor Bill Moreau, DC, DACBSP, FACSM, CSCS was promoted to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Director of Sports Medicine Clinics.
The USOPC has a sports medicine clinic at each of the three training facilities in the US: the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Centers in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Lake Placid, New York, as well as the Olympic & Paralympic Training Site in Chula Vista, California. USOPC’s clinical staff include physicians, chiropractors, physical therapists, athletic trainers and massage therapists. These providers work alongside physicians and volunteers who are part of the USOPC Sports Medicine Volunteer Program. The volunteer providers must be licensed with a minimum of three years of experience as well as specific requirements depending on the specialty (Chiropractors requirements include an active CCSP or DACBSP). They complete two-week rotations throughout the year.
TCA Member Dr. J. Bert Solomon, DC, CCEP, CCSP, ART, is one of the TCA members who have volunteered with the USOPC Sports Medicine Volunteer Program. In an interview for the TCA Journal 2023 Summer Issue, he described some of the activities that he took part in during his rotation: “While at the USOPC you are put to work right away and work 8 hour shifts. We were in the clinic or either on site while specific athletes were in a training session. It is common place to oversee rehab of a post surgical athlete, practice of a sporting team, or spending the whole day in the clinic. As a support staff I am at the disposal of the USOPC and help in any way they may need.” Dr. Solomon states that the USOPC encourages providers to volunteer at least once every two years, which he plans to do. (TCA Members: log into tnchiro.com and reference the Summer 2023 TCA Journal to see the full interview!)
THE OLYMPICS POLYCLINIC
Not every country is able to have an extensive network of providers. For the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, a small hospital was built in the Olympic Village to provide care, free of charge to the athletes while they were at the Games. Since then, a dedicated 24-hour healthcare facility has been a part of every Olympic Village. Today’s Olympic Polyclinic, as it is now called, features state-of-the-art equipment and is staffed by volunteers from a variety of healthcare specialties. For athletes from developing countries, the Polyclinics may be the only chance they have to receive high quality healthcare.
By the Paris 2024 Games, chiropractors were on staff at the Polyclinic for all athletes. “After more than 30 years of promoting Sports Chiropractic amongst the Olympic fraternity, FICS is starting to see the fruits of its toils coming through,” said Dr. Simon Lawson, International Sporting Federations commission chair for FICS (Fédération Internationale de Chiropratique du Sport ). “With each Olympic cycle, more national teams, individual athletes and, more recently, through the IOC Medical Commission’s COPS (Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Physiotherapy & Sports Massage) program, the Olympic Polyclinic are starting to see greater access and utilization of sports chiropractic.” In Paris, access to chiropractic was not limited to human athletes. Dr. Maj-Britt Cielewicz, a veterinarian as well as a medical doctor & chiropractor, was officially assigned to care for the horses who needed care during competitions.
BENEFITS FOR THE ATHLETES AND THE PROVIDERS
At the Polyclinic, chiropractors worked alongside team healthcare staff as well as provided stand alone care for those who did not have health staff traveling to the Olympics. They also had a recovery area where athletes could go after a long day of training and competition. This collaboration is serving to not only help the athletes but provides an excellent opportunity for collaboration between health care providers. During slower times, providers were able to meet and talk to providers from other specialties. Dr. Wendy Mehaffey, a chiropractor who worked in the Paris Polyclinic remarked: “The clinic would see athletes in and out all day long. The NGB providers would be with us in the clinic working with their teams, so it was a busy place to be both morning and night. When we had slower clinic times, we were able to have great discussions about athlete care. These are some of my favorite moments of the Games! The sports medicine knowledge inside those four walls was incredible. To share in that was priceless.” Life University had a multi-year collaborative agreement to provide chiropractic care to athletes with the Chinese Olympic Committee. After seeing the benefits of chiropractic care for the athletes, the National Institute of Sports Medicine of the Chinese Sports Ministry is looking to introduce sports chiropractic as part of sports medicine in China.
FROM THE OLYMPICS TO THE HOMETOWN
One of the benefits of the Polyclinics is that they are fully autonomous. They include not only a variety of providers, but also equipment to handle most needs. Their onsite labs and imaging suites allow patients to get results quickly. The collaboration between specialties allows the athletes to receive the most beneficial care for their circumstances and condition. With advances in remote testing and telemedicine, as well as patients’ preference for one-stop shopping, multidisciplinary clinics are becoming popular in some areas. Even when not in the same office, these same technological advances can allow individual providers to share information more easily, giving patients the benefit of collaborative care without providers being in the same location.
For those chiropractors that may be considering a run for the gold by volunteering with the USOPC Sports Medicine Volunteer Program, Dr. Solomon has this advice: “Do it! We need the help and remember you are an ambassador for the Chiropractic community at large.” Information on volunteering can be found at www.usopc.org/athlete-services/medical/volunteer-program .
As the healthcare landscape in the U.S. evolves and changes, the TCA is committed to serving the profession and helping chiropractic clinics successfully navigate those changes. From CE to practice resources, advocacy to money-saving discounts, the TCA continually promotes and protects the practice of chiropractic. Whether sole provider clinic or multi-disciplinary clinic, the TCA works to provide services and resources that allow chiropractors to focus more on their patients.
SOURCES:
Chiropractic at the Olympic and Paralympic Games-Paris 2024: A Collection of Stories and Images Showcasing Chiropractic’s Global Influence. Nov. 2024 Dynamic Chiropractic. https://dynamicchiropractic.com/article/102495-chiropractic-at-the-olympic-and-paralympic-games Accessed 12.16.2024
Hung, Colin. “Olympic Polyclinics – the Future of Healthcare?” Aug 19, 2016. Healthcare IT Today https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2016/08/19/olympic-polyclinics-the-future-of-healthcare/#:~:text=The%20first%20Olympic%20Village%20was%20built%20in,athletes%2C%20a%20small%20hospital%20was%20built%20in Accessed 12.16.2024
TCA. “Chiropractic is a Part of Olympic Preparation for Many Athletes” February 17, 2018.
USOPC.ORG “Volunteer Program” https://www.usopc.org/athlete-services/medical/volunteer-program accessed 12/17/24