An Interview With Dr. Kevin Christie
Noah: What is a chiropractors role in sports medicine?
Dr. Kevin Christie: I graduated from Logan in 2005 and they prepared me with the basics, but if I would have just followed the curriculum I wouldn’t be where I am today. I could probably say that about most schools so my extracurricular activities consisted of Active Release Technique and Motion Palpation Institute, MPI. It gave me information on how to deal with sports injuries. Then I focused on movement screens and Titleist Performance Institute which prepared me for sports.
When I got out I worked as an associate for about a year and a half and learned a lot and then I was given an opportunity to partner with a chiropractic practice inside of the sports training facility.
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I spent three years being his Clinical Director and we were working with to the top NFL players. I probably worked on 300 players in career period of time because we also ran an NFL Combine training. It was a phenomenal experience and I learned a lot. Now I have a huge facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Noah: Luck is a combination of skill and opportunity. You had the skill set that was needed in that environment. Was that skill set the one that you mentioned or was there another skill set that helped you leverage those opportunity’s?
Dr. Kevin Christie: Two things got me that opportunity with Dr. Matt Cooper. One, I was out in the community. I can’t stress that enough. Early on I was a regular at gyms. I was holding workshops on functional assessments and I was doing a lot of things. I would run into Matt at a golf tournament I’d be working. i was always out in the community.
What gave me the opportunity to actually work with the athletes and be a clinical director was the fact that I was full body Active Release Technique certified. This is popular with a lot of the athletes. That was the entry level I needed to work with athletes. It got the door open for me and I built the trust with them.
Noah: Soft tissue seems like an important part of a sports medicine practice. What would you recommend for somebody to do functional movement analysis or functional rehab for athletes?
Dr. Kevin Christie: I like learning from the best. Dr. Greg Rose’s Titleist Performance Institute medical track and Gray Cook’s SFMA and FMS are exceptional.
I don’t need a functional movement screen much anymore because I rely on the trainer’s that I work with. I would say that MPI is really good start for your functional assessments and movements.
Noah: What are you doing with corporate wellness and how did you transition from sports medicine into corporate wellness?
Dr. Kevin Christie: They are different niches. My show Modern Chiropractic Marketing is where I try to help out people. You graduate and know how to be chiropractor, but don’t know how-to run a business. One of the things I talk about is finding that niche. I was able to do that with sports as the guy to go to for sports injury’s.
I was intrigued by the corporate stuff.
I did a running talk and a new patient was a paralegal for an attorney who does auto accidents and that became ten percent of my business. A referral I got from that was the HR person at a huge facility with 800 employees and they were looking for tenants in the company’s corridor with a Starbucks, doctor’s office, massage therapist, salon, etc. So I opened up a satellite office inside there where I’d only treat the employees, but I didn’t have any overhead and it allowed me to start that. Now were in about seven locations and doing ergonomics for companies.
Noah: You are providing some other opportunities for these employees to optimize their health, how do you feel the program that you’re offering is different than what an occupational therapist might be offering?
Dr. Kevin Christie: I think if you really dominate one niche you can then add a second one. I’ve spent a lot of time within the corporate setting. I have a podcast called the Modern Desk Jockey and weekly episodes that tie into what our office ergonomics initiative.
What you typically learn about ergonomics is very cumbersome, very expensive, and includes a full assessment with a lot of time ordering a bunch of equipment.
It’s very expensive and hard to scale. We had a company with six thousand employees all over the world who asked us to a program that can scale. They paid me upfront I developed this platform with the office ergonomics initiative, a learning center for the desk worker, videos, presentations, webinars, articles, and downloads. Everything to educate the desk worker on how to utilize their current set up correctly and stay healthy.
Noah: I see how you’ve you continually upgrade on your strong foundation.
See the full interview here: https://youtu.be/tbhpo9d3txe