Chiropractor to Support Team USA at Paralympics in Paris
Jordan Knowlton-Key, DC, is one of several doctors of chiropractic providing care at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics this month with Team USA, part of an elite healthcare team that helps athletes compete on one of the biggest stages in the sports world. Dr. Knowlton-Key is one of four chiropractors employed by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and the only chiropractor based at the Lake Placid Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in New York.
Paralympians are athletes who have bodily differences and different types of disabilities. The Paralympic Games got their official start in 1960 following the Olympic Games in Rome. The Paralympics, which feature 22 summer sports, kick off on Aug. 28.
The Hands Down Better blog caught up with Dr. Knowlton-Key to ask him about his trip to Paris.
Will this be your first Olympic Games?
Dr. Knowlton-Key: It is, yes. I’ll be going to the Paralympics. This is my first Games supporting Team USA.
In Paris, will you be focusing on a specific team or sport?
Dr. Knowlton-Key: I will be going on behalf of the USOPC, and I will be at the High Performance Center. I don’t recall all the teams that will be using the Center, but they will include para-archery, wheelchair rugby, and some of the para-track-and-field disciplines. A lot of the National Governing Boards [which promote and develop specific sports] will be using the facility too, and I will be at our integrated sports medicine clinic within that facility.
What was the process like to become an Olympic chiropractor?
Dr. Knowlton-Key: I was working as the integrated sports care coordinator at Northwestern Health Sciences University (Minneapolis, Minn.), where I went to school. I had the job search for the USOPC on my Google calendar, and every Sunday or every other Sunday, I would pull it up to see what was there. This role came up, and I decided I needed to apply. There were a lot of strong candidates. We went through an interview process, and three candidates were selected to come to Lake Placid for in-person interviews. I did a series of in-person interview questions with practical components, and then I was offered the position. USOPC positions don’t come up often, so I was lucky that it came up when I was in a good place to apply.
How closely will you be working with other healthcare providers in Paris?
Dr. Knowlton-Key: We have an integrated model at Lake Placid where we have a physical therapist, two athletic trainers, a massage therapist, a sports psychologist, and we work underneath an orthopedist. We also work closely with strength, conditioning and performance staff, sports dieticians, and sport-specific coaches. It will be the same set up in Paris, along with several psychological services and providers. It will be a very integrated model, just like at the training center.
What can you do as a chiropractor to help Paralympians achieve peak performance?
Dr. Knowlton-Key: Athletes are athletes, and everyone is trying to perform at their best. Some are differently abled athletes. With all the Paralympians, there are still many musculoskeletal components from training at that level of intensity. I think that’s where sports chiropractic is different than other subsets of chiropractic. We are doing a lot of manual therapy and adjusting, rehabilitation, taping, and any other techniques that will help our patients achieve their best.
What advice have other Olympic chiropractors given you?
Dr. Knowlton-Key: They’ve advised me on how to treat and work with differences. Especially from a more para-athlete view; their systems respond differently. Everyone can be slightly differently abled, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help them. I was also advised to work hard. There is a lot of glamour around the Games, but usually there are long days [at the Olympics]. It’s setting up the clinic, tearing down the clinic, whatever needs to be done. There is no task too small. You just do what you need to do to support Team USA.
What are you looking forward to most?
Dr. Knowlton-Key: I’m just excited to be going and working with the Paralympics because I don’t get to work with these athletes normally. Everyone says they are fantastic and awesome. I love working with new sports and athletes and learning how to best support them. Of course, everyone is excited for French pastries and coffee, and I am addicted to all those things, but I’m just super pumped to be going to the Paralympics! 