COVER STORY / The Patient-Centred Team
ROBERT BUREN’S
ARM-POWERED
COMPETITIONS
NORTH AMERICA
Buckhorn
Niagara
Caledon
Collingwood
Wasaga Beach
Oakville
Hamilton
Ottawa
Toronto
New York, NY
Welland
1st
Los Angeles, CA
Oceanside, CA
Bermuda
Toronto, ON
Conquer Cancer Ride
(Toronto to Niagara)
June 2009
June 2010
Ottawa, ON
Fall Colours Half Marathon
(45:10)
October 2009
Bermuda
Bermuda Triangle Challenge
January 2010
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Marathon (2:50)
March 2010
Oakvile, ON
Mercedes Benz 10k (35:24)
April 2010
Buckhorn, ON
Zoot Sandy Lake 2k Swim
May 2010
12
SPRING/SUMMER 2013
Caledon, ON
24 Hour Summer Solstice Team
Mountain Bike Race
Niagara, ON
Subaru Niagara Duathlon (1:42)
August 2010
Wasaga Beach, ON
Wasaga Olympic Distance
Triathlon (3:08)
September 2010
Hamilton, ON
Around The Bay Road Race,
Hamilton (2:03)
March 2011
Binbrook Sprint Distance
Triathlon (2:01)
June 2012
Oakville, ON
160km Bike Ride (Oakville to
Welland to Oakville)
September 2011
200 km Bike Ride (Oakville to
Niagara Falls to Oakville)
October 2012
New York City, NY
New York City Half Marathon
(1:09)
March 2012
Welland, ON (First Place)
Welland Half Ironman
Distance Triathlon (5:22)
June 2012
Ottawa, ON
National Capital Sprint
Distance Triathlon (1:26)
August 2012
Collingwood, ON
Centurion Cycling C25 (25 miles)
Cycling Race (1:16)
September 2012
Oceanside, CA
Oceanside California Ironman
70.3 (6:05)
March 2013
of athletes known as the “functional”
approach. Under this approach,
chiropractors focus on optimizing the
functionality of the kinetic chain most
relevant to an athlete’s particular sport.
For example, knee dysfunction in a
marathoner may be the result of hip or
ankle misalignment or injury. Applying
the functional approach in conjunction
with patient dialogue can be a powerful
therapeutic tool.
RMT Leah Karges is a proponent of
this collaborative and focussed approach.
During most visits to Your Health Wellness
Centre, Robert receives his chiropractic
treatments prior to 90 minutes of massage
therapy. Karges will typically sit in on
Robert’s chiropractic treatments. This
allows her to become familiar with any
changes in Robert’s health history. It is
also common for Dr. Smith to check back
in with Robert and Karges at the end of
their session to determine if any additional
adjustments are necessary.
Open lines of communication also
allow chiropractors to modulate their
treatment based on the competition
schedule of their patients. “When we
are treating our athletic patients close to
their competitions or games we adjust
our treatment accordingly,” Dr. Smith
explained. “For visits that may be just
before a race or competition day we are
not looking to make major changes to
structures. We focus on maintenance
treatments and addressing circulatory
issues.”
Karges agrees with this approach.
“I treat Rob differently depending on the
proximity of the next event as well as the
condition of his body,” she said. “Closer
to the event our treatment goals involve
maintaining tissue health and decreasing
daily pain.”
The flip side of that coin is that