2011 US Open Winner Novak Djokovic gets a Chiropractic Adjustment:
Just minutes before actually going on to WIN the 2011 US Open Tennis Mens Championship, Serbian player Novak Djokovic brought in his secret weapon. After hours of extremely physical and fast paced tennis with many rallies going from 21 to 27 well placed and powerful shots and single points lasting up to 17 minutes at times, Djokovic had been holding and rubbing his left lumbar and thoracic spine obviously in pain from so much intense activity and repetitive motion. Recognizing his condition he called a "medical time-out" - we may as well call it a "Back to Basics" or "Chiropractic" time out since the therapy he received on the sideline was very similar to the effective treatments rendered by the Chiropractors and Massage Therapists at Back to Basics Health and Wellness in Newport Beach. When watching the YouTube video (unfortunately no longer available), initially Novak takes in some fluids and most likely a protein snack (@ 1:15), followed by some deep tissue massage therapy (@2:30 to 4:30), and finishes up with a chiropractic adjustment and thoracolumbar mobilization (@4:47 to 5:33) before getting back up renewed and refreshed and ready to finish strong - ultimately winning the US Open!! As a chiropractor, I was impressed to see that such an elite level athlete was able to stop and recognize that his body was no longer performing at the optimal level, and that in order to win against such strong competition as Rafael Nadal, he (Djokovic) needed to regain his ability to deliver precise and powerful strokes and he would not be able to do this with a back in spasm and joints misaligned. The game lasted about 4 hours and ten minutes and was one of the most exciting I have ever watched. Perhaps in the next Grand Slam final, Rafael Nadal will learn from this and recognize the benefit he can get from a massage and an adjustment!! Djokovic was quoted as saying: "In big matches, the winner is decided by small margins, a couple points . . . I guess the winner is the one who believes in victory more." I believe the winner is the one who recognizes when they are not performing at 110% and takes action to restore motion, optimize neural function and gets adjusted!
Dr. Tom Hewitt, DC, CSCS
P.S. If you feel your body is not performing in a way that you can win a Grand Slam title, give us a call at Back to Basics!
NOTE: the embedded YouTube video is from a european coverage of the final so commentators are not speaking english.