Two Old Bridge chiropractors have been selected to help treat athletes at the 2011 Pan-American Games this month in Gaudalajara, Mexico.
Dr. Ira Shapiro, director of Plaza Chiropractic Center, and Dr. Anthony J. DeLuca, director of DeLuca Family Chiropractic, were among the 12 chiropractors chosen by the International Federation of Sports Chiropractic froma pool of several hundred applicants to work at the games.
The Pan Am Games will be held Oct. 14-30 and will include about 6,000 athletes from 42 nations. In all, there will be 360- plus events in 36 different sports. Several events will serve as trials for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games set for London.
Shapiro and DeLuca will work at the POLY Clinic, which is the on-site medical facility for the games. They will reside in the same village as the athletes. The International Federation of Sports Chiropractic, which selected the chiropractic medical team for the PanAm Games, received hundreds of applications for the 12 available positions. Both men were particularly proud because this marks the first time that sports chiropractors will be able to treat athletes in an official capacity at the games. They also noted that two other members of the New Jersey Chiropractic Sports Council, Drs. Len Ershow of Princeton and Dr. Bill Bonsall of Westfield, were among those selected.
For Shapiro the Pan-Am games are another highlight on a lengthy résumé that includes four Olympic Games, two of which he spent dedicated to treating members of the U.S. team. He has also served as an attending physician for myriad other events, including the United States Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the New Jersey State Triathlon and, locally, the Old Bridge Rebels Pop Warner football team.
DeLuca has been active in treating athletes at major sporting events. He served as team doctor for the Republic of Georgia at theWorld Figure Skating Championships in 2010 and 2006, and was also team doctor for Great Britain in 2006 and for Israel at the World Ice Dancing Championships in 2007.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to do two things I really love to do,” said Shapiro, who grew up in Linden and attended Rutgers Prep. “I was always involved with baseball, basketball and rugby, so this was a natural path for me to follow.”
DeLuca is also a sports enthusiast who enjoys helping athletes to perform at their optimal level.
“These are top-notch athleteswho know when something’s not right with their bodies, even if it’s the slightest twinge,” DeLuca said. “So they come to us for treatment because at this level, one-tenth of a second can be the difference between winning or not winning. Most of these athletes have been training for years to get to their particular event.”
In recent years, chiropractic care has become more prevalent in sports as athletes seek out care and many professional and national teams have made chiropractors part of their medical staffs.
“Iwouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t enjoy it, but Dr. Shapiro and I both feel we’re doing something to help our profession,” DeLuca added.
The two will be in Gaudalajara for 10 days each, with DeLuca arriving at the beginning of the games and leaving Oct. 24, and Shapiro starting on Oct. 20 and working through the end of the games.
While this certainly seems like a fun gig, don’t be fooled: the two men will spend most of their time working from the crack of dawn until late into the evening at the clinic treating athletes for a variety of injuries, mainly those caused by over-use.
“Most of the injuries are sprains and strains, and we’re on call all day,” said Shapiro, who has treated two–time Olympic figure skating medal-winner Michelle Kwan and speed skating gold medalist Chad Hedrick, among many others. “They’re very appreciative of what we do, and several of them have kept in touch over the years.”
And they do have some fun that’s not limited to the “war stories” they can tell when they come back home.
“You do get a chance to get away from time to time to watch the events, but we’re really here for the athletes, and that’s our priority” Shapiro said.
Shapiro and DeLuca would have it no other way.