Chiropractic and the Upcoming Winter Olympics!

Chiropractic Care Gives a Competitive Advantage to World-Class Athletes from Around the World

“If I could put a percentage value on it, I think I compete eight to ten percent better from regular chiropractic care. I think that is how much of a benefit it is, if not more. If it wasn’t for chiropractic, I wouldn’t have won the gold medal. Every track & field athlete that I have ever met has seen a chiropractor at one time or another. It’s absolutely essential. Chiropractic care is one of the things I think that no one can deny or refute. You obviously can’t compete at your fullest if you’re not in alignment.”

–Dan O’Brien, Olympic Gold Medalist & 3x World Champion Decathlete

The XXV Winter Olympic Games, commonly known as Milano Cortina 2026, kicks off with the Opening Ceremony tonight and runs through February 22^nd at sites across Lombardy and Northeast Italy. Approximately 2,900 athletes from more than 90 countries will compete in 116 medal events across 16 disciplines. Team USA is sending 232 athletes – our largest ever Winter Olympic team. That includes 28 athletes with Michigan connections, with representation in men’s and women’s ice hockey, figure skating, snowboarding, and freestyle skiing.

Along with being the leading international sporting event on the planet, the Olympics are a fantastic opportunity the profession can use to showcase the competitive advantage chiropractic care gives world-class athletes advancing the chiropractic discipline while raising the visibility of our field.

Chiropractic at the Olympics: A Distinguished History

The growing presence of chiropractic at the Olympic Games represents worldwide recognition of the profession and its impact on healthcare and performance for the most talented athletes. Chiropractors have been helping U.S. Olympians push the limits of their athletic talents and perform to the best of their abilities for decades.

In 1976, Dr. Leroy Perry brought attention to chiropractic while treating athletes representing Antigua in Montreal. U.S. high jumper Dwight Stones broke barriers and thrust chiropractic care into the Olympic spotlight in an interview on national TV, where he spoke about the important work being done by Dr. Perry.

Dr. George Goodheart (pictured), a second-generation chiropractor and the founder and developer of Applied Kinesiology who practiced in Detroit and Grosse Pointe for more than 60 years, became the first official US Olympic team chiropractor at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. For more on Dr. Goodheart’s story, see the Chiropractic Economics article by Eugene Charles, DC, DIBAK, “How Chiropractic Broke Through at the 1980 Winter Olympics.”

In the 46 years since Dr. Goodheart broke the chiropractic Olympic barrier, chiropractic has become a mainstay in the care of world-class athletes, leading to a growing number of chiropractors being included in the medical staffs of Olympic teams throughout the world. Chiropractors have been included on the U.S. medical team in every Olympic and Pan-American Games ever since Dr. Goodheart’s historic first.

A chiropractor, Dr. William Moreau, DC, DACBSP, FACSM, has even served as the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Vice President of Sports Medicine, overseeing all sports medicine-related activities, including medical services at the Olympic/Paralympic Games and the management of USOC Clinics at the U.S. Olympic Training Centers in Colorado Springs, Chula Vista, and Lake Placid.

For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada, included chiropractic care inside the Olympic Village Polyclinic, a multi-disciplinary facility offering comprehensive healthcare and medical services, marking the first time that chiropractors from the host country treated athletes and officials from around the world directly inside the Polyclinic. In 2012, there were 28 chiropractors in the Olympic polyclinic and 27 others working with foreign countries and teams from around the world.

For the 2020 Games in Tokyo, the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) produced a commercial featuring chiropractor Dr. Erica Witter-Davis, a champion sprinter who decided to become a chiropractor after overcoming serious injury through chiropractic care and competing at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. The 30-second ad aired 15 times during prime-time broadcasting of the Games, reaching an estimated 204 million viewers. An additional 10 placements during a special retrospective of the Games brought it to the eyes of more than 2.5 million more, making it the most nationally aired U.S. television campaign in chiropractic’s history. The ad also aired in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, Brazil, Uganda., and many European countries as well.

Chiropractic Care for the Athlete Patient

“Chiropractic plays an important role in preventive, maintenance or injury specific care, and contributes to enhanced clinical outcomes and high patient satisfaction levels among all athletes.”

Bill Moreau

U.S. Olympic Sports Medicine teams are made up of a wide range of providers, including chiropractors, MDs, DOs, physical therapists, athletic trainers, and massage therapists. For many Olympic athletes, chiropractors are essential to competing at the highest level.

Countless athletes attribute the care they receive from their chiropractors – working alongside other health care professionals – as a key to properly preparing their bodies to perform optimally. Two prominent examples are Usain Bolt, a five-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, who has credited Graston Technique with being essential to his recovery after hard workouts.

Chiropractors specializing in sports injuries and physical fitness are the ideal health care providers to help elite athletes reach their maximum physical potential. They are unparalleled in their ability to handle both injury and recovery treatment and help athletes prepare for competition.

For the athlete patient, chiropractic care is not only about treating injuries, but also aiding in recovery and positively impacting athletic performance. Chiropractors take a non-invasive, drug-free approach that is now highly regarded among Olympic athletes and their trainers, who must meet strict eligibility requirements to qualify for the Olympic Games.

Chiropractic care is particularly valuable for pain management, offering athletes highly effective solutions for achieving optimal performance – through manual therapy, including various forms of soft tissue mobilization, joint mobilization, joint manipulation, exercise and rehabilitation, and stretching – without the use of prescription drugs. Chiropractic treatments can also aid athletes through increased flexibility, reduced recovery time, and enhanced range of motion, flexibility, balance, and muscle strength.

Additional Resources

For more on chiropractic in the Olympics, see the articles below: