Helping the Chiropractic Profession Capture the Middle and High School Athlete Market
INTERVIEW
“There is no profession as equipped and qualified as the chiropractic profession to care for this segment of the population; it ’s just most chiropractors don’t realize this. We ’ve been low man on the totem pole for so long, we don’t realize we have more tools in our tool bag than any other profession...
Tim Maggs, DC
The American Chiropractor
The prevention and care of sports-related musculoskeletal injuries in middle and high school athletes is virtually ignored by traditional healthcare providers, according to Dr. Tim Maggs (TM). He has developed the Concerned Parents of Young Athletes Program in partnership with Foot Levelers, and his goal is to provide every middle and high school athlete in this country with the opportunity to go through a biomechanical exam prior to each sports season, in addition to their current medical exam. He hopes to do this with the development of a national network of chiropractors. Maggs has written many articles reflecting this dream, and he travels the country teaching his Structural Management Program. “Once they go through this biomechanical exam, the only one qualified to inteipret and treat abnormal biomechanical findings is a chiropractor, separating us from every other professional out there,” says Maggs.
Four years ago, Maggs was appointed director of sports injuries and sports biomechanics at Christian Brothers Academy, an affluent private high school in Albany, New York. “Chiropractors have had an impossible time gaining access to high school athletes for a myriad of reasons,” states Maggs. “My goal is to now show docs how to gain access to this market and how to care for these young athletes better than anyone else ever has.”
Maggs has launched the Concerned Parents of Young Athletes Providers Network in an effort to provide full training to other chiropractors who wish to increase the number of young athletes they see in their offices. This network will provide training in every aspect of the practice—from gaining entry to high schools to marketing, biomechanical examinations, acute injury care, corrective rehab, report of findings, and more.
TAC: Dr. Maggs, why is it so difficult for chiropractors to gain access to athletic departments in high schools?
TM: There aie multiple reasons. The first is that we don’t have a unified, consistent product and message to offer. Schools don’t know what we would do for them. We’ve done a horrible job of educating our communities as to what we’re all about. They think the orthopedist and even the athletic trainer is more qualified to handle injuries than we are. Secondly, most chiropractors practice using the medical model, or reactively, and I don’t think we’re going to win over the masses when we compete with the physical therapists (PTs), the pediatricians, and the orthopedists. We have to separate ourselves from all of these groups, and once we begin to do that, it’s easy to realize why we aie so much more equipped to deal with every aspect
of a young athlete’s health than any of the other professions. My greatest success in doing this has been through our Structural Fingerprint Exam.
■ "His goal is to provide every middle and high school athlete in this country with the opportunity to go through a biomechanical exam prior to each sports season, in addition to their current medical exam.? J
TAC: What is the Structural Fingerprint Exam?
TM: This exam was developed over 25 years ago when I worked with the New York Giants. At that time, I recognized that they were basically reacting to injuries much more than preventing injuries. I spoke with their trainer about things like a sacral base angle and Ferguson’s center of gravity line that could be seen on X-ray, and suggested we could almost predict who might have back problems. He disregarded the concept, but I pursued it, creating the most comprehensive
biomechanical exam available today. We do a complete physical exam, digital foot scan, and four standing X-rays—two of the neck and two of the lower back. In the past 12 years,
I’ve performed over 1,500 Structural Fingerprint Exams on middle and high school athletes, creating the largest database of findings and the largest high school athlete practice in the country today.
TAC: What is the response to you requiring X-rays for every young athlete?
TM: In the past 15 years, only one parent has requested I not X-ray his son, and he was a chiropractor. He eventually agreed, and upon X-ray, we found an avulsion fracture of the young boy’s right ischial tuberosity. His symptoms were a tight hamstring. No profession out there can interpret the biomechanical findings of standing X-rays other than the chiropractic profession. With the ongoing training I get horn lecturing with Dr.
Terry Yochum over the past seven years (45 lectures together), there is a massive amount of information found on every X-ray, and we teach it in this program. It’s visual and highly predictable as to what types of injuries a young athlete might suffer from if these biomechanical imbalances are not addressed. And who is the only one who can address these imbalances effectively?
A chiropractor.
Our biggest challenge is that the entire healthcare industry, including most chiropractic colleges, are de-emphasizing the importance of imaging. This is so wrong, and practicing chiropractors should fight to change this ignorant attitude. My goal is to encourage docs to dust off their X-ray machines, quit worrying that insurance might not cover them, and show how to make the standing X-ray a critical part of each and every exam performed on young athletes. We need to become leaders and quit being followers.
■ "The network concept began way back then, and I believe now is the right time, as young athletes have never had such a great need for this type of care, and never has chiropractic been so advanced to give this care. 5 5
TAC: What is the response to this approach in your community?
TM: We have now seen athletes from over 25 high schools in my area. Some are 60 miles away. The dynamics between a parent and child is probably the most incredible dynamic we’ll see in practice. Parents will take a bullet for their child.
So, when they find someone who performs high-tech evaluations with logical and in-depth explanations, parents are ecstatic. Keep in mind, this is in comparison to the pediatrician who can only refer to the orthopedist or the orthopedist who can only tell the athlete to take two weeks off or refer to a physical therapist, or a physical therapist who can’t read X-rays or order MRIs and can only treat the symptoms until insurance runs out. Essentially, we have no competition in this market. So, parents absolutely love the care and expertise we provide.
TAC: Have you had support from any companies in our profession?
TM: Foot Levelers is the only company that truly sees my vision with me. Together, we believe we can unify the profession, bring us to where we rightfully deserve to be in the food chain of healthcare providers, and turn practices into lucrative ventures again. Sports are huge in this country, and together we believe we will change the paradigm of what sports docs do. Foot Fevelers is going above
and beyond anything I could have ever hoped for in the support of getting my message and program out there. Together, we believe we are going to change the landscape of both sports and health care as we know it.
TAC: What made you decide to start a network?
TM: Twenty years ago, I began writing a running and triathlon column in many magazines around the country. It was a monthly column called “The Running Dr.” I immediately began getting e-mails asking who can do what I’m writing about in their area. The network concept began way back then, and I believe now is the right time, as young athletes have never had such a great need for this type of care, and never has chiropractic been so advanced to give this care. I also believe our profession has suffered economically, and it might even be getting worse for many. That’s the reason we’re making it no charge to join our program.
TAC: What’s your vision for this network?
TM: I see this network growing into thousands of members once chiropractors see the success using what we’ve learned over the years. The network allows all docs to still use their techniques, their physical therapy modalities, their supplement company, but gives significant structure and logic to what they’re doing. It also unifies our message, and we all know there is power in numbers.
Once membership reaches a certain level, I have a full-time social media department that will dedicate all of their efforts to inform parents, coaches, and young athletes around the country of this program we have available and inform them there may be a member doc in their community. We will be responsible for driving new patients to member docs offices. They just need to be up to speed on the protocols that work. I see this network producing change in the industry comparable to what Steve Jobs did, what Phil Knight did, and what Elon Musk is currently
doing. Not to mention the fact that many, many chiropractors desperately need this.
Needless to say, I’m excited.
There is no charge to become a member of the Concerned Parents of Young Athletes Provider Network. This is open to every chiropractor in the world, and all graduating chiropractors. To become a member, visit CPOYA.com to register. Once signed up, a doctor will receive a password allowing full access to the Library.
The Library
• Fourteen Training Modules
° The New Model for Sports Medicine
° Maggs’ Law (the Law of Tissue Tolerance)
° Bone Marrow Edema (Stress Reactions and Stress Fractures)
° The CPOYA Program
° Acute Injuries (Cold Laser Therapy, Kinesiotaping, the Stick)
° The Structural Fingerprint Exam ° Biomechanical X-rays ° Digital Scanning and Custom Orthotics ° Report of Findings ° One-Year Programs
° Re-exams, Re-reports, and Rehab ° The Maggs Muscle Management Program ° Building the High School Athlete Practice ° Building the Spinal Decompression Practice
• PowerPoint Presentation to Educate Parents, Coaches, and Young Athletes
• Necessary Forms
• Marketing Flyers
• Introduction to Social Media
• Weekly Social Media Tips
• Social Media Consulting
• Advanced Product Information from Partnering Sponsors
• Weekly Live Webinars
• Weekly Case Histories
• Support in Gaining Entry to Local High Schools
• Use of Registered Trademarks—Structural Fingerprint® and Structural Management®
• Premier Listing on CPOYA.com Provider Network Website Directory. KÜ9
Dr. Tim Maggs has been in private practice for 35 years. You can contact Dr. Tim Maggs at (518) 393-6566 (practice number) or runningdrYipol.com.
