Wellness and Recovery in Sports: Kate Dennis's Testimonial

In this episode of the ICA Sports and Fitness Science podcast, Dr. Brant Hulsebus, a board member of the ICA Sports and Fitness Science Council, interviews Kate Dennis, a senior Division 1 basketball player from Ohio University. They discuss Kate's long-standing relationship with chiropractic care, including her family's deep roots in the practice and how it has contributed to her wellness and injury prevention throughout her athletic career. They also touch on the importance of having a reliable chiropractor for athletes and efforts to build a supportive chiropractic network for sports professionals. Kate shares personal anecdotes about how chiropractic care has positively impacted her life and career, and they conclude with information on how to follow her journey post-graduation.

Transcript

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Hello. Thank you for tuning into another ICA Sports and Fitness Science podcast. I always try my hardest to say that name correctly. Everyone knows I struggle with it, but I'm Dr. Brant Hulsebus. I'm on the board of the ICA Sports and Fitness Science. Council. And today we do different podcasts where we talk about different scientists, we talk to different chiropractors, we talk to different coaches, and sometimes we talk to players who have benefited from chiropractic. And I wanna introduce you to my friend Kate. Dennis. Kate, you wanna say hi and tell us where you are and what your sport is and how we know it. You know, little bit about yourself. Absolutely. Thank you. Hi everyone. My name is Kate Dennis. I am a senior at Ohio University. I play division one basketball here. I guess now that I'm a senior, I am finished. So I play basketball at the division one level for four years. Currently I'm in Athens, Ohio where. I attending school. Yeah. And Dr. Brant and I have known each other for many, many years, so I'm very happy to be on this episode with you. Thank you for having me. I think I first met you when you were just starting to play basketball back that far. I know. I feel like I've known you my whole life. It's, we sure go away back for sure. So Kayla Kate's been a patient in my office for a long time and got to watch her grow up and I got to watch her few different levels of basketball, even watching her thousand point in high school basketball. And she's been adjusted for wellness and maintenance her whole life and she's been bored. And Kai's been big in your family, correct? Yes, absolutely. I believe that my grandmother's father attended chiropractic school in. Many, many years ago. So it has been in our family for forever. I have been going for as long as I can remember. Whenever something feels like it's off or something happens, it's always let's go see Dr. Brandt. And I, I really owe it all to you and chiropractic for keeping me healthy all of these years. I. Now that I have finished playing college basketball, I so blessed to say that I never experienced a severe injury and I really do owe that to and going about it the way that we have all these years. So I'm very grateful. But yes, I have been going for as long as I remember and. I truly talk about it to everybody that I can. Whenever somebody mentions chiropractic, I mention Dr. Branstein and try to put them in contact with you because truly nobody does it better. So Well, that was one of the fun things is when you went to Ohio, one of our challenges was trying to find you a chiropractor there that. And that's a little bit of what this council does. We're hoping more chiropractors wanna get involved in taking care of athletes. And we build a database so when people like you move away and go to college, I can easily find you somebody to continue your care. Yes. I got to watch you play several times. I saw you play at Fall State and a couple other places, and it's fun for us because you actually come. Really close to us once a most of the time and play in the town just south of us, south of us at Northern, which is kind of funny. Mm-hmm. but we got to see one of your games and something happened to you during that game. You wanna tell us what happened during that game? Yeah, so like you had mentioned, we played at Northern a few months ago and I was out on the court and had a collision with this one girl and kind of I. I don't know if it was like whiplash of my neck or we kinda collided neck and neck and it immediately felt super off. I was nervous in the moment because I was like, oh my gosh, you know, head injuries and neck stuff was nothing to be messed with. so. up was feeling a little bit off and I believe my grandma came over and was like, brand, like, we need you to get down there to help Kate. And so I believe that they had something to my coach and we're like, listen, we need her to come over here, see Dr. Brand. You fixed me right up. I was feeling a little bit. Dizzy when after the hit and felt a little bit off and some pain attention in my neck. But after you had adjusted me, I felt so much better and was able to play the rest of that game. And so I was super grateful for that because who knows if that was anywhere else, you know what it could have been. I could have. You know, had to sit out maybe that game and wait till I got to see a chiropractor in Athens, you know? So super grateful that that was the, the case for that. But you're able to fix me right up very quickly, so, Well, what's funny about that is your grandmother had come over and ask me, your grandmother came over and told me that I would be, yeah. Get up and get over there and get her adjusted. And it was funny because your, your, your grandmother's dad was a chiropractor and his parents were chiropractors and their mother graduated chiropractic school in like 1926. We did all that research. And your, your grandmother's always been important that you get adjusted your entire life. And she came right over to me. She's like, I bet that girl that hit Kate didn't know that her chiropractor was sitting here and that her grandpa was a chiropractor. And I just remember saying, yes, Mrs. Dennis, I'm sure that girl had no idea that I was sitting here. No, she definitely did. But yes, I know like whenever I talk about it with my dad, he always can give me like the exact dates and rundown of my great-grandmother and her great whatever went to, to chiropractic school. And so he knows all the specifics. And like you had mentioned, he is definitely talked about it with you before. So I can just envision it going down that way. I. Mess up the words a little bit, but I, I know that she definitely did direct you to come down and, and very appreciative of it, One of the things we ran into that game. Now, first of all, for those of you listening, this happened in my home state where I'm licensed. So there was no laws broken, nothing like that. But initially. Your trainer was a little, seemed a little apprehensive about me coming over and I, and I understand a little bit 'cause your, your father ran right over to her and said, Hey, carpenter's here to take care of her. Don't worry, don't her forever. And your dad, one word I would never use to describe your father is sky. He was very blunt and said, this is what's gonna happen. So. But I remember you got up and you came over there and, and, and this is, we get a lot of these chiropractors, when the trainers don't really know what to understand. What we're doing is she was really watching you to make sure I wasn't gonna do nothing that could injure you. And, but I remember the most of, after I got your neck adjusted, you got up and you were sitting there and you were trying to like little dizzy, trying to catch your breath. And she thought I did something to maybe injure you. And I just said, no, she's outta breath. She's just been running up and down the court. Right? I just remember you pointing at me what he said, what he said. Yes. Listen to him. Yes. No, it And you, like you said, she was definitely a little bit whatever, and I'm just, been with him forever. He knows what he is talking about, promise with. and now your, your father, he was in the office too. He likes to bring up the fact that you had some of your best numbers of your career, that same game, and I was able to be there and see you. So I he's never shy to brag about that. I know. Maybe we'll give that credit to you. That's why I had So, game ever. Great. but, so as an, as an NCAA division one player, when you traveled city to city, I gotta imagine it was far and few in between where you had access to a chiropractor, unless you're on your own to find him. Is that correct? I. Correct. Yes. Yeah, so that's why we're trying to help build up this council and this, this committee that we're working on Mm-hmm. that way you can just go to our website, you can find someone that's already been pre-approved or pre-educated by our council. Mm-hmm. have to go through the struggle of, Hey, can you find me somebody in Cincinnati real quick?'cause it's never really quick. So you can imagine that would be a great tool for not only you but your trainer. Correct. Oh, absolutely. I remember coming here could very well be telling this story incorrectly, so please interrupt me if I'm not saying the right thing. But when I got here, I do remember wanting to look for a chiropractor immediately because. It's just been my lifestyle forever. In doing so, so I remember that we had maybe a few in the area that we were looking at and we were able to help us and decide kind of who would have similar techniques or their similar styles to how you go about chiropractic. And so that was incredibly beneficial for you to, to help kinda navigate that and make sure that I was in good hands, but. Yeah, definitely. It's not the easiest to find a chiropractor, especially one that you really trust.'cause I, like I said, I know that there's different techniques nowadays and I just wanted to be in good hands with somebody, so I was very happy that you were able to help navigate that. But I do remember it being a little bit challenging in the beginning. Just trying to figure out who would be best for me. You know, who would be the most comfortable? Because like I had said before, I've gone to new my whole life, so I didn't know any different. I wanted to make sure that I was just in good hands. So it was a challenge. So I really appreciate what you guys are doing. It sounds awesome. Well, it's been a lot of fun watching you since watching you play at the church where you got to come watch my daughters play and in the church gymnasium and then watching you finish your college career. So what I'm gonna do here at the end, because you are pursuing a career in, in sports management, correct. Mm-hmm. Track. So I'm gonna put your, your, your Instagram and your handles on this podcast. So if anybody wants to follow up with you, they can. And then I'm also going to I always give my guests the final word. So do you have any final words you'd like to share with us? Truly. My final words, I guess, are the chiropractic has changed my life. Like I had mentioned earlier, I. Completely owe it to you. And the holistic health way of things how healthy I have been my entire career. I have experience, I've been with a lot of teammates you know, with girls coming in and out every season. I've been on so many teams throughout high school, middle school, even in the Peewee leagues. I. Have been just so much healthier than everybody else that I've been around. You know, when there have been small things like a, an ankle old twist or whatever I believe that we've gone about it in the complete right way and I have been able to heal from it so much master, you know, with your care and with the care of a chiropractor, and I am just so grateful that now transitioning into. Adult life and what this new retired life is. You know, I don't have to deal with any of the you know, the from an injury or, you know, people that have to torn their CL trying to, you know, move your body. And it's getting stiff now that I'm not working out as much, you know? So I am just so grateful that. I was able to get through and not have any serious injuries. And like, I just, I would just love to reiterate over and over and over again that I owe that so much to you and your care and the care of chiropractors. So I'm so grateful and I really love what you're doing. I hope that this, this helps somebody and, you know, my shoes or an athlete in the future, whatever that is, I hope that it helps somebody. So well, thank you for joining us and we're gonna wrap this up. And Teva, if you like what you hear, make sure you like and subscribe and catch more later, I'll have Kate's handles, I think they're called on the end of this, so you can follow up with her if you have any questions for her. All right, thanks everybody. Bye-bye.