COLUMN BUSINESS TALK For love – and money T How chiropractors can make money in sports BY ANTHONY LOMBARDI his past June I wrote an eye-opening article that revealed the truth about how chiropractors and team medical doctors get paid in professional football. My research verified that while many non-health-care professions who work with pro teams get paid – chiropractors are merely volunteers. For this follow-up piece, I look to answer the question: How are chiropractic practitioners treated in other sports, namely the Olympics and Major League Baseball. HIGHER, FASTER, AFFORDABLE In the June article on this topic, I cited a publication called Back Matters , published by the Canadian Chiropractic Asso-ciation. In that issue, an article featured some chiropractors working with the Canadian Olympic Team. I connected with an Olympic team chiropractor from that article and asked: 1. Is it a paid position? 2. How many hours do they work at it? 3. Does it help their private practice? Unfortunately, after a couple of friendly reminders the chiropractor did not answer my questions. Luckily, I was able to get some full and transparent answers from the other side of the border. It was explained to me that in the U.S., they have three Olympic Training Centers. There is a full-time DC at each location and these are paid positions. The training centres also have volunteer programs where DCs rotate through in two-week cycles. There are also chiro-practors that travel with different national teams. These DCs are generally chosen by that sport’s national governing body (NGB) and these are also volunteer positions. Most of the time, the NGB will pay for the chiropractors’ travel/airfare and hotel. I spoke with Dr. Sherri LaShomb, a chiropractor with the Taekwondo U.S. Olympic Team. She said that although it sounds crazy, her time is volunteered. When she is out of her office, she pays another DC to cover for her. “It is definitely a labour of love,” LaShomb said. LaShomb also pointed out it is important to note that this situation is not unique to chiropractors. Other health-care providers, like MDs, RMTs and athletic therapists, volunteer their time with the Olympic teams, too. LaShomb feels it is difficult to gauge whether her sports affiliation is a benefit to her practice. “I’m not sure if my DR. ANTHONY LOMBARDI is consultant to athletes in the NFL, CFL and NHL, and founder of the Hamilton Back Clinic in Hamilton, Ont. He teaches his fundamental EXSTORE Assessment System and conducts practice-building workshops to health professionals. Visit exstore.ca for information. 12 Canadian Chiropractor September 2017 position helps or hurts my practice,” LaShomb commented. “I’m sure it’s not a great business advantage to be gone as often as I have been, but I love it and I try my best to accom-modate my patients before and after I travel.” SACRIFICE GROWS PRACTICES In baseball, a batter can sacrifice himself (get out) on purpose in order to advance the base runner across home plate. I in-terviewed a group of MLB team DCs and it seems the sac-rifice of their time also pays big dividends in private practice. I interviewed Baltimore Orioles team chiropractor Dr. Ken Kaufman; Dr. Rick Bishop, DC of the Arizona Diamond-backs; and three other Major League Baseball DCs who spoke to me on the condition of anonymity. The DC position with a MLB team ranges across the board. Some doctors provide care on a voluntary basis with some perks, such as game tickets and clothing. While other chiropractors are paid as independent contractors for as much as $100 per hour during spring training. Most MLB DCs feel their affiliation with the team allows them to stand out among their colleagues. When patients refer their friends and family to these doctors, they often proudly report that Dr. ABC is the team chiropractor of XYZ team in the MLB. In addition, the prospective patients also feel that since a major sports team trusts the chiropractor, they can, too. REBRANDING AND RETRAINING The consensus among MLB DCs is that being a team chiro-practor in the MLB is not a big money maker. However, Kaufman pointed out it can be a part of an overall branding www.canadianchiropractor.ca
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor September 2017: Page 12
