Chiropractic Care Helping Disabled War Veterans Realize Their Potential In Triathlon Series

An article in the September 4, 2008 Market Watch by the The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress reported on how chiropractic care was helping disabled war veterans competing in the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon Series. The group of disabled veterans, known as “Team Semper Fi,” came forward to validate the value of chiropractic care in improving their ability to compete against able-bodied athletes. The event involved swimming against the fierce currents from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco; biking 18 miles; and running eight miles in a triathlon.

The article notes that Team Semper Fi is a sports program designed to help rehabilitate injured Marines and Sailors. Each month, team members compete in triathlons, venture races, marathons, and 10k races. They compete against a variety of professional athletes, amateurs, and beginners, both disabled and able-bodied athletes.

Iraq war veteran, Eric Frazier, the team’s leading hand cyclist who suffered a paralyzing injury to the spinal cord and now uses his hands and arms to propel his cycle, commented, “Competing in these events has actually made my life ten times better and has given me tremendous self-worth. After any race, my upper body is in pain because I do it all with my hands and arms. Following chiropractic care, I find that I perform better.”

Dan Lasko, who lost his left leg below the knee in two IED (Improvised Exploding Device) roadside explosions while serving in the U.S. armed forces during the war on terror in Afghanistan, added, “With my injury and a prosthetic leg, my back is always in pain. But when it comes to triathlons, chiropractic has helped out tremendously, I see my chiropractor before the event and a few days later, it just makes me a better athlete overall.”

Dr. Morgan, a chiropractor who cares for these athletes and is the staff chiropractor for the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, and affiliate chiropractor at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, showed his respect by saying, “I salute the brave fighters who have overcome so much to compete in these athletic events. I can think of no greater honor than to provide care for those injured while in the service of their country.”