In the next few weeks, as you marvel at the talents of Olympic athletes performing in London, remember some of the people behind the scenes.
They’ll include eight Charlotte-area chiropractors who have been working closely with the U.S. Olympic wrestling, judo, weightlifting and volleyball teams.
One of the doctors, Matthew McAlees, 28, has worked with the wrestling team since 2009, traveling to the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs and attending the weeklong Olympic trials in Iowa City.
“Dr. Matthew” and his colleagues will be giving regular chiropractic adjustments to keep the athletes performing at their best. Or as McAlees says, “Making sure their bodies are firing on all cylinders.”
But these chiropractors don’t just crack spines.
They’ll also offer stress and “mindset” management to help the athletes visualize success even in the face of unexpected events. They’ll focus on nutrition, too, making sure the athletes have the food they need to nourish their hard-working bodies.
“We handle all their performance work,” McAlees said. “A lot of them have been to events before, but they’ve never been to anything of this size. We’ve been prepping them for what to expect.”
McAlees is one of about 100 Olympics-bound chiropractors who work for Orlando-based Maximized Living. The organization has wellness centers around the country, including about 10 in the Charlotte area. In addition to advanced chiropractic training, doctors have certifications in nutrition, detoxification, exercise and mental preparedness to deliver what the group calls a “holistic, whole-athlete approach to wellness.”
Other chiropractors going to London from the Charlotte area are: Drs. Aaron Ernst, Sarah Ernst, Lonnie Bagwell, Marc Surprenant, Charles Francis, Holly Clemens and Kyle Loveless.
McAlees, who appears weekly as a health expert on WCNC-TV’s Charlotte segment of the Today Show, leaves for London Friday and will return Aug. 10. He’s one of the youngest in the Charlotte group of chiropractors, none of whom have worked at the Olympics before.
But they’ve gotten to know the athletes over three years. “We’ve worked on them quite a bit,” McAlees said. “They know us. They trust us.”
And they trust chiropractic, McAlees said.
He cited a recent University of Chicago study that found a special chiropractic adjustment significantly lowers high blood pressure. It’s as effective as taking two blood-pressure medicines in combination, without any side effects, the study concluded.
