Persistence pays off: DC joins the UW-Madison team

Journal of the American Chiropractic Association, Sep 2002

One of Dr. Jeffrey Mackey's recent patients a decathlete - was in pain. But this University of Wisconsin-Madison student athlete wasn't complaining about sore muscles or exhaustion - which would have been understandable, given his strenuous workouts. Something else was going on. While competing in 10 track-and-field events (which include sprinting 1,500 meters and throwing the discus, javelin, and shot put), he was suffering from severe pain in his pelvis and lower legs. Even after conducting an exhaustive battery of diagnostic tests, including an MRI and ultrasound, the athletic training staff was getting nowhere.

Then, Dr. Mackey, a doctor of chiropractic who joined the UW-Madison athletic medical staff at the beginning of last season, looked at the student's xrays. "We found a misalignment in the pelvis, which is something most chiropractors would pick up on," he says. Two or three days after he adjusted and corrected the mechanical imbalance, the athlete returned to competing - pain free.

Dr. Mackey admits he's lucky. It's unusual to find a DC on the athletic training staff of a large university that includes a medical school. Majoring in pre-chiropractic studies at the University of Wisconsin, he went on to graduate from Palmer College. That same year, he returned to Madison and partnered with the Luedtke-Storm Chiropractic Clinics. He completed his post-graduate training in chiropractic orthopedics through the National College of Chiropractic in Lombard, IL, and was board certified in 1986.

Currently, there are eight Luedtke-Storm-Mackey (LSM) Chiropractic Clinic offices throughout the Madison area, staffed by 14 chiropractic doctors. With such a strong presence in the area, a steady stream of student athletes started coming through the LSM doors, especially to the clinic located within a short distance of the UW campus.

"In the past, student athletes were pretty much on their own when it came to chiropractic care," says Mackey. "Over the years, they would come to our office, and we always followed up with the athletic training staff or primary caregiver regarding their treatment." Thus, an invaluable relationship began that linked student athletes, their trainers, and the LSM DCs.

At a university with an athletic program like UW's, the trainers triage all the athletes' medical care. Trainers refer injured athletes to appropriate physicians. If a physician wants to see athletes, it's vital to have the trainers' confidence, according to Dr. Mackey. And while coaches come and go, athletic training staffs remain. "I compare them to the Secret Service," says Dr. Mackey. "We change presidents every four or eight years, but the Secret Service stays on. The same is true at these large universities."

It took many years for Dr. Mackey to cement a professional bond with the UW Badger athletic staff because of the many cultural differences that existed between the team physicians and the DCs. But gradually, Dr. Mackey and his colleagues earned the respect and trust of the Badger medical staff.

About 10 years ago, Dr. Mackey treated a star on the women's basketball team who was having severe back problems. She was a world-class athlete, but her injuries were keeping her from practicing and playing. After exhausting various medical treatments, she came to Dr. Mackey's clinic, where her injuries were identified. "She did so well under our care that she went on to become an All-American, and was the only undergraduate invited to Olympic tryouts that year," says Dr. Mackey. "That really seemed to open the door."

Another experience that helped break down the barriers between doctors of chiropractic and team physiclans was when Dr. Mackey founded the Wisconsin Back Society almost seven years ago. Modeled after the American Back Society, the organization conducts educational forums and hosts lectures on spine disorders such as lower-back pain and whiplash. All health providers that treat spine ailments are invited to participate, and Dr. Mackey says that membership includes surgeons, physicians, athletic trainers, and physical therapists. "As we began to have annual meetings, we found that we didn't have the differences we thought we did," says Dr. Mackey. "We found our similarities are greater than our differences.

But it was the football players' desire for on-site chiropractic care that led to Dr. Mackey joining the Badger medical staff. During a 2001 pre-season meeting, the captains told Coach Barry Alvarez (who has led the nationally ranked team to three Rose Bowl victories) that they wanted a chiropractor to join the athletic training corps. With a solid reputation in athlete care and in working with other physicians, Dr. Mackey was the obvious choice. "Just as the athletes are part of a team, I am part of a team," says Mackey. "I'm not there to usurp the authority of the athletic training staff or show up the orthopedist. We're all there to work cooperatively."

Because he's at a large university, Mackey has access to the latest in medical technology used to evaluate athletic injuries. But sometimes technology can cause doctors to miss obvious spinal disorders, according to Dr. Mackey. "Chiropractic really shines in an athletic setting because it recognizes the relationship between structure and function in the body," he says.