Dr. Jeff Spencer is a former champion cyclist who competed on the 1972 United States Olympic Team as a sprint cyclist and currently serves as chiropractor for the United States Postal Service Professional Cycling Team.  A 1975 graduate of the University of Southern California (USC), Dr. Spencer graduated summa cum laude from Cleveland Chiropractic College at Los Angeles in 1988.  He then set up a “regular” office in  Montrose, CA, then Grants Pass, OR, and, finally, Scottsdale, AZ, where he practiced for 12 years, until a debilitating case of dental mercury amalgam poisoning made it impossible for him to keep regular office hours.

What to do?

Since his practice had a heavy sports medicine clientele, he went mobile. That’s right!  He hit the highway, seeing his patients on the road, and he’s been there ever since.

His clients include Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Troy Glaus, Kendall Gill, Tara Daketis and Chad Reed.

In an interview with The American Chiropractor (TAC), Dr. Jeff Spencer shares his unique experience as a sports chiropractor on the road, and the winning philosophy that has made all the difference!

TAC:  What influenced you to become a chiropractor?

Spencer:  When competing as a world-class athlete, I never felt that my pre-competition, injury prevention and injury management strategies were sufficient enough to allow me to reach my full potential. After graduating from USC, I became a fitness consultant to athletes and found they echoed the same concerns, so I decided to become a licensed health care provider to learn the skills needed to address the comprehensive needs of the athlete. I chose chiropractic because it afforded great flexibility in assessment and treatment protocols and allowed me to work with my hands.

TAC:  What kind of practice do you have?

Spencer:  I presently practice solely in the professional athletic world. Athletes come to me; I go to them. I spend considerable time traveling to competitions. My clinical objectives are to prepare the athlete for top competitive performances, limit their risk of injuries, minimize injury downtime and extend their careers. I’m not limited by time or resources. My clients contract me to do whatever’s necessary to get the job done. 

TAC:  What techniques do you use?

Spencer:  Identifying the mechanical, biochemical and energetic needs of my clients is my first priority. I then select the appropriate techniques, modalities and nutrition to produce the desired clinical outcome with the least time and effort. My principle tools are diversified and non-force full body adjusting, Erchonia cold laser and kinesiotaping techniques. In addition, I use frequency specific microcurrent (FSM), autonomic response testing (ART), Scenar, earthing, the “Stick”, herbs, nutiritional supplements, homeopathics and active rehabilitation exercises. I’m super aggressive. I’m very dedicated to learning leading edge concepts. If there’s a better way to do something, I’m first in line to want to learn it. I’m always scanning the landscape for new things.  

TAC:  Have you ever worked in a “regular” clinic setting? If so, how did you “go mobile”?

Spencer: I held regular clinic office hours for 12 years before going mobile. The switch came as the result of my having a very seriously debilitation case of mercury poisoning from my dental mercury-silver fillings. While poisoned, I was physically incapable of maintaining regular office hours—let alone doing anything else. I could barely function.

However, the silver lining from the mercury poisoning was that I spent two years researching and doing everything I could to recover from a chronic illness and, in the process, learned an extra, extremely important dimension about acquiring and maintaining ultimate health and fitness—something every athlete needs, yet few practitioners have clinical knowledge of.

TAC: Do you see a lot of need for more "mobile" sports chiropractors like yourself?

Spencer: Absolutely. Top athletes are busy, have very little travel flexibility, know they need this added dimension and have the resources to acquire it. The sky’s the limit on what’s possible. We’re only limited by our creativity and clinical skill. 

TAC: What would you recommend chiropractors do if they're interested in being a sports chiropractor like yourself?

Spencer:  Become the best clinician possible and develop a wide diversity of skills to address the comprehensive needs of the athlete; master manual techniques, energetic modalities and nutritional supplements. It’s also critical to understand the athletic experience and become a representative of it by being an athlete yourself. Give presentations about what you do and why you’re different from other healthcare providers. Give people a reason to come to you. If you’re just like every other chiropractor, there’s no reason to come. 

TAC: How is your income level now in comparison to working a "steady" job in the same clinic every day?

Spencer:  The gross is easily three times what it was in a “stationary” practice, with the added bonus of absolutely no overhead. There’s lots of room for exploration, creativity and innovation that comes with the freedom of being mobile.

TAC: Tell us about your involvement with The Tour de France.

Spencer:  I’ve done all six of Lance Armstrong’s Tour victories with him. During the Tour, I take care of the entire nine-rider team. My job is to prepare the riders’ bodies for each day’s stage, prevent injuries, resolve injuries when they do happen, and accelerate post competition recoveries. It’s a 24-hour a day job to get it all done. Common problems seen include tendonitis, abrasions, lacerations, muscle tears, muscle inhibition, joint fixations/trauma, postural strain, hematomas, and everything else that pertains to the neuromuscular system. It’s awesome to have so much proactive and treatment diversity compressed into three weeks. To manage these conditions, I do a lot of adjusting, kinesiotaping, Erchonia lasering and energetic modality procedures. It’s awesome.

TAC: How can the things you've learned practicing on the road be incorporated into other doctors' practices to equip them to achieve better results for their own patients?

Spencer:  The body’s the body, whether you’re an athlete or non-athlete; and the same principles of prevention, remediation and recovery apply to both athletes and non-athletes alike. There’s absolutely no difference. All things done in the athletic world should be incorporated into regular clinical practice. The most important thing for the average patient is to get regular pro-active care and see someone immediately when a problem arises. Waiting for care can lead to improper healing and secondary problems. To get and stay healthy, people have got to change the way they look at health.

TAC: With the traveling you do for your job, what tendencies do you see for the future of chiropractic and health care in general?

Spencer:  The future of chiropractic will be determined by how effectively the profession defines its scope of practice. The literature clearly demonstrates that the body has mechanical, biochemical, nutritional and energetic needs that, when appropriately met, create consistent, optimal physical performances, both in tasks of daily living and on the playing field. In my experience, the body doesn’t care about what we think its needs are. It only cares if we can give it what it needs to build and maintain itself. If we fail to provide the body with what it needs to repair and maintain itself , regardless of our intention and belief, it will never be able to obtain optimal health or achieve top performances.

Today’s health consumer knows there’s more to health than just receiving a memorized treatment algorithm for a given diagnosis. 300 million Americans all need regular proactive and remedial chiropractic care. Chiropractic’s scope of practice and clinical competency will determine how successfully we provide the extraordinary health care experience for the consumer that enables them to embrace life to its fullest, and our profession to grow.

TAC: Do you notice chiropractic being treated differently in different places in the US?  In the world?

Spencer:  There is certainly a regional difference. You see it more in the athletic and medical institutions than in individual athletes and patients. American teams and health care establishments, by nature, are slow to embrace innovation, and there’s a distinct hierarchy among the health care providers that often slows the dialogue and implementation for groundbreaking technologies. In my experience, it can easily take a decade or more for important innovations to make it onto the radar, if ever. The loser in this is, unfortunately, the patient.

In Europe, innovation is more rapidly embraced. In the Tour de France, I have complete freedom to do whatever I want and to use a variety of very new innovations that have passed the acid test, both clinically and scientifically, yet very few people know anything about them. It’s the ultimate clinic!

TAC: Do you have any secrets to your success in practice?  In life?

Spencer: Yes. Don’t let the fear of thinking you don’t know enough get in the way of implementing new clinical procedures. Learn as you go. No truly masterful, happy, successful practitioner ever feels “they’ve arrived.”  Follow your path of inquiry. Make your decisions on what you stand to gain, not what you stand to lose. Trust your clinical instincts. Never get too comfortable with what you know. Once you think you’ve arrived, stagnation sets in, enthusiasm drops and clinical performance declines. Keep learning and experimenting. It’ll keep you fresh and young at heart. 

TAC: Do you have any final words or advice for your readers?
 
Spencer: Create the practice of your dreams by doing what Lance does: Seek the council of trusted people, listen to what they have to say, decide what you want to do and do it. There are no rules. Be creative. Find a way to make what you want to do work. Don’t let the fear of failure get in the way. Don’t try to control things too much. Look for the opportunity in the moment and change course when there’s a better way. Make spontaneity a daily requirement.

Our sincere thanks to Dr. Spencer!  He may be reached by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

With almost 30 years of experience in practice, Dr. Harold McCoy has established quite a track record in incorporating chiropractic to achieve optimal sports performance in world-class athletes. It all started in the 80’s, when Dr. McCoy treated Olympic athletes like Evander Holyfield and served seven years at the University of Washington as part of the Multidisciplinary Sports Medicine Staff, where his job was to provide protocols on how to improve athletic performance using chiropractic treatment.  Today, Dr. McCoy’s tireless efforts to help change the chiropractic industry perceptions, practices, and standards have taken a different tenor. To that end, over the last ten years, he has developed two companies, Myo-Logic and Spinal-Logic Diagnostics, Inc., based upon his Sports Medicine and clinical experience. Both companies directly sponsor or co-sponsor over 100 seminars and symposiums per year, such as the Bulletproof Seminars with Dr. Gregg Friedman, focusing on evidence-based documentation.

Further, during the past year, he has been investigating and is in the process of developing international collaborative research projects with major universities in the United States, and the world’s largest pain research center, located in Europe.

A 1975 graduate of Palmer Chiropractic College, Dr. McCoy is a member of the International Chiropractic Association (ICA), was elected a Fellow this year, and is still in practice fulltime in Kirkland, WA.

In an interview with The American Chiropractor (TAC), Dr. Harold McCoy discusses his distinguished career in chiropractic and his passion for providing evidence-based documentation on the efficacy of chiropractic care.

TAC: What influenced you to become a chiropractor?

McCoy:  While in the military, my neck was injured and I suffered with severe daily neck pain. I was prescribed physical therapy and drugs for 4 years and it didn’t help. Out of desperation, I went to a chiropractor and, after one week of cervical spine adjustments, I was pain free. This inspired me to become a chiropractor.

That’s still the best part of my job...helping other people who are in pain and ill health like I was. I have a full time practice in Kirkland, Washington, and retirement is out of the question. I have a love and passion for what I do. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

TAC:  Tell us about your experience helping athletes achieve greater results through chiropractic care.

McCoy: While working 7 years for the University of Washington Intercollegiate Athletic Department as part of the Multidisciplinary Sports Medicine staff, my job was to help develop protocols on how to improve athletic performance without using drugs. In addition to pain management strategies, our treatment protocols (including chiropractic adjustments) were developed to functionally improve flexibility, spinal and extremity joint range of motion, and muscle strength in our athletes.

I have served in over 30 International sporting events. In 1983, I was assigned to the Pan Am Games in Caracas, Venezuela, and, in 1984, I was assigned to the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team in Los Angeles.

Evander Holyfield was on our Olympic boxing team that year. That team won 11 medals in the 12 weight categories—9 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze.  Evander and four other young men on the team went on to become professional World Title holders in boxing. I was, and always will be, very proud of our young men. It was an experience I will never forget.

TAC:  What have you learned from your experience with athletes that would be useful for chiropractors dealing with their not-so-athletic patients.

McCoy:  The examination and treatment protocols I used on athletes were primarily designed to improve athletic performance by using chiropractic care to improve neurological function, range of motion and muscle strength.  We focused on an objective evidence-based approach to determine spinal and extremity range of motion limitations and muscle weaknesses and how to improve or correct them, instead of focusing on pain.

As chiropractors, we need to be educating our patients that our job is to improve their neurological and physiological function, health and quality of life. Pain reduction is just a byproduct of what we do for them.

By moving our patients from the pain model to the functional and quality-of-life model of chiropractic care, I have found that they are much more likely to follow through with our active treatment and supportive care recommendations.

We need to have our patients accepting chiropractic care on an objective (“I understand”) system rather than a subjective (“belief”) system.

TAC: Tell us about your involvement in developing an Evidence-based Outcome Assessment System and what this means for chiropractors.

McCoy: Our Myo-Logic Diagnostics company has developed a wireless evidence-based outcome assessment software and hardware system called the MSM-7000. The purpose is to prove medical and chiropractic necessity and demonstrate the need for and the efficacy of our chiropractic care, using HCFA, AMA and ICA Guidelines.

Our wireless system incorporates computerized range of motion, muscle strength, algometry and pressure/pain threshold testing.

This objective data is incorporated with pain-and activities-of-daily-living-questionnaires and automatically downloaded into our software narrative writing capability.

Our sister company, Spinal-Logic Diagnostics, provides a computerized digital biomechanical analysis of our doctors’ X-rays, using the AMA measurement system to determine the exact spinal levels and extent of ligamentous damage to the discs and facet capsules, as the result of trauma.

By giving the Gold Standard of documentation—accepted by all professions measuring functional and structural impairment and the response to care—a numerical value, we can communicate with any professional of any profession in the world. Numbers are an international language.

We can also prove, objectively, the value of the care we provide.

My goal is to introduce more objective evidence-based scientific chiropractic.

TAC: After some 30 years working in and for the chiropractic profession, what motivates you to keep on keeping on?

McCoy: Much of my clinical and sports medicine experience has led me to realize that there are huge gaps in our delivery of service; so, over the years, I pursued my own partnership for chiropractic to work with other health care professionals. We have to help our profession move forward and gain the respect of the research world as we also move toward more scientific evidence-based chiropractic. That’s one reason why I developed Myo-Logic and Spinal-Logic Diagnostics, and why I invest in sponsoring top research and informational seminars and symposiums. My career path has taken me full circle to the realization that my own pain and ill-health experience, and those of millions of others, require that we partner with other professions to really do what’s best for the patient. Doing what’s best for the patient is still what motivates me to keep going in my practice and in my research.

TAC:  You have already formed many strong alliances with very important people, both in and out of the profession.  Tell us something about these relationships and what they mean to you and the chiropractic profession.

McCoy: I am proud to know and work with doctors (DC’s, MD’s, PhD’s) like Dan Murphy, James Robinson, Lars Arendt-Nielsen, Thomas Graven-Nielsen, Art Croft, Gregg Friedman, Jeff Spencer, Michael Freeman, and Dennis Woggon. These doctors are dedicated visionaries who keep themselves abreast of current research, scientific literature, and methods to help raise the knowledge and standards for all professions. Their work and lectures to other professionals internationally influence the lives and well being of many millions of people worldwide.

I have had the pleasure of traveling with Dr. Dan Murphy, Vice President of ICA, for presentations at symposiums in Lisbon, Portugal; Rome, Italy; and Christchurch, New Zealand. In a recent Internet poll, Dr. Murphy was selected as the Number 1 most respected educator and sought-out chiropractic speaker in the world.

By the way, the ICA is hosting an International symposium in Athens, Greece, November 19-21, 2004. Five of the featured speakers are Dan Murphy, DC, DABCO; James Robinson, MD, PhD, University of Washington Multidisciplinary Pain Center; Lars Arendt-Nielsen, Dr.Sci.Med, PhD; Thomas Graven-Nielsen, PhD, Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction, Aalborg University, Denmark; and Dr. Dennis Woggon, giving a Whiplash & Scoliosis presentation. (Please call ICA at 1-800-423-4690 for details.)

TAC: Do you have any secrets to your success in practice and in life?

McCoy: I would tell other chiropractors to build a passion for what you do in life, while doing it for the right reasons. My belief in chiropractic spurred me on to objectively prove to anyone in any profession that the chiropractic care I was providing was making a difference in my patients’ lives. I also feel that associating with and knowing people of like-minds helps me stay on course. That’s why I respect Dan Murphy. He inspires me and many thousands of other doctors to stay focused on why we became chiropractors.

TAC: Do you have any final words or advice for our readers?

McCoy:  There’s a new era dawning in chiropractic. Evidence-based health care is becoming the Gold Standard in all the other professions. In order for things to get better, we need to get better. In order for things to change, we need to change. I challenge every DC out there to go back to the basics and ask yourself if you are ready to truly defend your work and prove to your patients that you make a difference in their health. Now is the time for us all to be accountable. Do whatever it takes to rethink the way you are conducting your practice, so that you can objectively show and prove to your patients, yourself, other health care professionals, and even the insurance establishment, that your work makes your patients healthier and improves the quality of their lives.

And, lastly, never, never, never forget that our mission is to serve and heal.

Our sincere thanks to Dr. McCoy!!  He may be reached by phone at 1-800-768-7253, Ext. 2; by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; or visit www.myologic.com, www.spinallogic.com, or www.bulletproofseminars.com.