Beyond the Adjustment: Marketing, Networking, and Street Cred

In this edition of the ICA Sports and Fitness Science Podcast, Dr. Todd McDougle interviews Dr. Brant, a chiropractor with a wealth of experience working with various sports teams. They discuss the revitalization of the ICA Sports Council, the importance of educating chiropractors in sports chiropractic, and share insights on navigating the industry. Dr. Brant shares his journey from working with AA hockey teams to collegiate leagues, and emphasizes the value of maintaining a standard of care, effective networking, and marketing. They also touch on the non-monetary benefits of being a team chiropractor and the concept of 'street cred' in the profession. The episode concludes with announcements about upcoming webinars and live seminars for further learning and engagement.

Transcript

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Hello, and welcome to another edition of the ICA Sports and Fitness Science Podcast. A lot of you know that about a year ago we relaunched this council the gentleman with me on this call, Dr. Todd McDougle. He was tasked with putting together a team to recreate or re-energize, revitalize the ICA Sports and Science Fitness Council after a brief hiatus. Like many things, COVID took its toll, but we're back like many other things. And part of what we do on these councils and these meetings is we want to educate other chiropractors how to be a sports chiropractor. And so we have a little bit of dialogue at night about some of the things that I've experienced as being a team chiropractor. Dr. McDougle, one of you, join in and say hello to everybody and I'll let you get the questions started when you're ready. Yeah, this is gonna be a little bit of a turnabout, if you will, because I'm gonna ask Brant some questions about his experiences. And so super excited to do this and brand thanks for the opportunity. And thank you for being a part of our our sports council. It's a, it's an honor to have you as part of the team. And of course, with that being said. Teams have you been working with over these last several years? I've been in Rockford, Illinois now since 2002, and since then I'll try to name these teams in chronological order. I was involved with the AA hockey team, the Rockford Ice Hogs, and now I'm happy to stay. They're now a AAA team, but the Blackhawk affiliates, so that's one team but's two teams, if that makes sense. I've also worked with the CBA before there was the NBA Developmental League. There was the CBA we had the Rockford Lightning here, and if any of you were Palmer graduates, you might have heard of the Quad City Thunder. That was our big rival, so I took care of the Rockford Lightning. After that I've also worked with an indoor soccer team. It was just a small local league of players from all over the world. That was really exciting. I've got to work briefly with an indoor football team, and then I also got to work with a collegiate wooden bat league, like the Cape Cod leagues, but it's a Midwest League. And then across town there was another ballpark, and so I got to work with another independent baseball league over there of guys who are still chasing their dream. I would call it maybe single A or. Lowercase a along the way I've also got to work with many MMA athletes. Many athletes have sought me out because of my experiences, different teams that they went on to become division one college basketball and other athletes for some wrestlers that are over in Czech Republic wrestling. And I've also had the benefit of working with the community college here at Town Rock Valley College. They brought me in to be the official preferred chiropractor of their athletic program. That's a lot. That's a lot. Your, in your short career right Now. yes. start when did you graduate from chiropractic college? I started practice in 2002, so I'm 23 years in. Yep. Wow. Does it feel like it's does it feel like it's one of those things that it's been a kind of a blur for you? I thought I just graduated six weeks ago. I still feel like I'm a new graduate and I know I'm not, but I still feel that way. It might be because all the things you're doing and and we're thankful that you put together things like this podcast too as a whole. Which would you say probably is your favorite experience of all these teams? They're so unique and some of 'em are just one-on-one. And it's really fun to work with an MMA fighter from the beginning of their training and work with them all the way up until the big fights. And when they win that fight to they get out of the cage, they'd be one of the, eight or nine people down there when they first come out and get that hug. That, that's probably the most exciting energy I've felt in a sports. Environment was that hug after the fight or the other hug when it doesn't go their way. But there, there's a hug either way. But the last year the IceHogs were in the UHL, they won the championship and the team made sure I got a ring. There was only five extra rings given, but they made sure I was one of the five. That was really special to be recognized. I think that's the thing, isn't it? That you become part of that team and with that now there are other people that may also support that team as well, right? How do you guys do with getting along with those guys? We're a chiropractor and there are sometimes issues that, that arise, that create a little bit of a rift, if you will, behind the scenes. Can you kinda share a little bit on that and maybe even some things to try to try to avoid during Yeah, simple. This is the theme of the Pro Hockey Chiropractic Society. We had this guy back from all the pro hockey chiropractors, from all the different leagues get together, and we had 90 students there. It was a crazy amount of students, and the students just, we were all given the same advice. All of us, no matter if you were single aa, the NHL, no matter who was stay in your lane. You do you. You do the adjustments. Now, if you see something on the ankle, you see something on the shoulder and you think you might be able to help, maybe you can, but don't just jump in and do it. Go get the orthopedic doctor, explain the orthopedic doctor what's going on, and hopefully way before this event ever happened, you've been sharing papers and research with the orthopedic doctor, not obnoxiously, just on the side. Like a lot of times I'll just say, Hey, I read a really cool paper on shoulders and some things chiropractors are doing. Do you mind if I send you a copy of it? And that's all I ever do. I do that every game. We sit next to each other during the games and, but that's, I don't we don't do the whole game. We spend 20 minutes talking about our professions. The other 40 minutes, the game time, talking about the game or our kids or families. You can't just smother them. But yeah, it's, stay in your lane. You be the chiropractor. Don't tape the ankle unless you're asked to let the athletic trainer do that. Don't fix the shoulder unless you'll orthopedic doctor. Ask you to don't look at the gingivitis unless the team dentist asks you to look at the gingivitis. Stay in your lane. No, I think that's really good advice. Absolutely. Now, a lot of young doctors are looking into, becoming a sports practitioner, if you will, and, there are many, programs that are available within the chiropractic college itself. Some people actually even get either a bachelor's and or a master's degree adding in the. The presentation that they themselves can be, skilled as a sports practitioner. Do you have any advice for those doctors that, I it's one of those things. Is it worth getting like your CCSP or your diplomat or that master's degree does it really help? It's, I would be hypocritical to say you have to have those since I don't. But I do. I. you do spend time with other people, right? But I, I do not, when I take continuing education hours, I remember feeling chiropractic took one about how to help golfers with their swings. So I took that one. I go to conferences where other sports chiropractors are talking, and I've created a separate resume of myself. Of the various sports councils, the various seminars I've gone to, the speakers I've heard and the things I've learned, the people I've had to have lunch with that are in the sports chiropractic. I've been blessed being able to have lunch with Ted Kerick who does the concussion protocol stuff. I got to know Michael Longyear at the ICA conference. He's doing massive concussion stuff. Scott Rosa sought me out one time. Another great concussion guy. Hey chiropractors, we do really good with concussions. But I've been able to. Interact with these people, meet with these people and I had 'em do my resume and then I'd put 'em all his contacts and stuff like that. And when they see the resume, they're not gonna fact check you. They're not gonna go through and say, does this guy did this and that. This one is see the chiropractor of the most impressive resume and those resumes. This might be a seminar here, a seminar there. I spoke at Palmer College two weeks ago to the student ICA group. I told 'em to put down this talk as part of your resume that you met with a member of the ICA Sports and Fitness Science Council and start building your resume. No, that's awesome. Now the question that after all of that everyone wants to know is, do you make lots of money being the chiropractor to the IceHogs, for example? Yeah. So when it goes to compensation, I always talk about Dr. Stu. Dr. Stu is the Black Hawks chiropractor. He's the, he's an a Hhl. I'm an a HL. Why aren't I in the Black Hawks Chiropractor? I live, I don't live in Chicago, so that's number one reason. I'm not gonna be the Las Vegas regular chiropractor living where I. But no he takes care of the Black Hawks, the Bulls, and the bears, and he still has a private practice to pay the bills. So if you think you're gonna go out there and get all these big major league contracts, think you're not gonna do it. Even your orthopedic doctor for the Black Hawks still works at Rush Hospital every other day. You don't do this for the money. You do this for marketing, we, I get a big marketing package, but how I came up with the fee in the marketing package, I thought about, okay, each game I go, I adjust, about 10 players. I'm there two hours before the game. I'm there an hour after the game. I see three or four more players after the game. How many patients did I lead behind in my office? How many people did I see there? And then you come up with a number and then you sit down with them. You say, I deserve a marketing package worth.$22,000. And that's what I'm giving up. So I have dasher boards during the game. They do the adjustment of the game when they sit down with a coach talking about how they're gonna change the strategy. But it's called the adjustment of the game presented by me. I, and also huge requirement. I have to be on their website. I have to be on there because their website has massive SEO Google Poll. So when people search for me being on their website's, huge.'cause you pop up so much higher, their website's gonna be more active than any most chiropractor's websites I've been on for that purposes. And lastly, the biggest thing I think you get when you take care of these teams. I call it street cred. Somebody goes, you should go to my chiropractor. Who's your chiropractor? He thinks care of the hockey team. You should see my chiropractor. Why should I see your chiropractor? He takes care of all the strong men. Are you kidding me? You gotta go see my guy. So I feel like that gives us like instant validation. That's street cred with the public. That we must be a good chiropractor if they're using us. And I think people seek us out because of that. But if you're gonna do it, 'cause you're, they're gonna get to buy a new boat. You're not gonna get no new boat. But you're doing it because you want that validation. You want that to be that person in the, in your community's eye, and that I just, I love sports, right? I was told if you get adjusted your whole life, you should become a supreme athlete. And those of you don't know me, my grandpa, my dad, and. Both of his brothers, my uncles, were all chiropractors. I thought for sure I'd be playing for the Bears at some point and it never happened. Like I said earlier, I got a championship ring. I'm drinking out of the the cup. I've been there, but I don't have any bruises or anything from it. I just would have to be the team chiropractor. No, that's awesome. And those broken bones are overrated, that's for sure. that's great. I tell you what brand I'm just, thankful to have you as part of our crew and I'm excited to hear, what you're doing for the ICA Sports Council. I know that, you're our man behind the scenes getting all this internet stuff all squared away stuff that I have no idea how to do, but you're doing it with such ease and and I think a lot of it's probably just your work ethic and that work ethic shows through not just, what you do with the athletes, but also at the same time what you're doing for the International Chiropractors Association. And I just wanna say thank you so very much for doing those things. Is there anything else that you'd like to add in today's. Podcasts that we have. I'm gonna end with one piece of advice I give to every chiropractor. Define your standard of care. A patient becomes the patient in your office, you have a certain level of care that patient's gonna get. Whoever comes in your office, whether it's an athlete, whether it's someone's grandma, whether it's a newborn baby, you have a standard of care. That's an exam. Maybe that's an X-ray, I don't know what that is. It's your standard of care. But then take that to the players. Make the players follow the same standard of care.'cause at the end of the day, that's how they're gonna judge you is by your standard of care. Through every player that comes, I take care of every team I take care of. We x-ray them all first before the season starts, we establish baselines. That's the way I do my practice. I'm not, you don't have to do it the way I do it, but you have to do it the way you do it, and you have to stay consistent no matter who comes in your door, whether it's an auto accident victim, whether it's a public aid patient, to find your standard of care and then make the athletes follow your standard of care so you can be the chiropractor, you know you can be for every single person. You bet. And performance is the end result, but data collection makes all the difference, doesn't it? Absolutely. And you know what? I've been involved in some over 23 years, 21 seasons in interesting. In situations with lawyers and other things evolved and I was very grateful. I do my little bit of paperwork at every event, really let I keep records and really let I have my standard of care. And for me, one of the trainer was against me taking x-rays began the season. The players groped about it. They got mad about it, but here in Illinois, the malpractice lawsuits are ridiculous. The players try to sue the team for back injuries. However, I had x-rays of the players before the season started. They showed their spines weren't perfect before and all the lawsuits were thrown out. So the owners want me now to x-ray. All the players, trainers come and go. Coaches come and go. Players definitely come and go, but your owners, those are the people you wanna make happy with you. So get the owners in your side. Yeah, that's totally good advice. Absolutely. I don't know what else that we can go, we've gone, I think the gamut for this evening and and I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to spend time with you tonight. I just wanna add, if you like this podcast, if you're into sports and chiropractic like us, follow us, subscribe to us, keep getting these podcasts. We work really hard to try to find some of the top people in chiropractic, and when we can't find them, you get the two of us. It's been harder to get the message out there and share it with us. Go back, listen, some of my previous episodes, we've interviewed some amazing patients, some amazing neurologists, some amazing, just anybody in the sports and chiropractic world. And we're gonna start having live webinars here coming up real soon where you'll be able to jump on, ask us questions as we're doing it live. You'll be able to interact with us. We're gonna try to do those about once a quarter. That's it's, that's being created as we speak. And additionally that we have finally locked down a location for our first live weekend. Sit down, break bread with some of the top sports chiropractors in the ICA, learn how we do it how we do it business wise, how we do it. Dr. McDougle's technique wise, Dr. Kevin Jackson's Sideline concussion, sub-concussive force protocol. And come learn from us. Come sit down with us. Remember in the seminar, you can watch a live webinar and learn something, but the seminar, when the seminar's over and you're sitting around a table afterwards, having glass of ice water or maybe something else that's really what you learned. So we'd love to have you in person and keep following us. More details are coming here. Dr. McDougle looking at me like I already said too much, but I don't care. I'm gonna do it anyways. But we'd love to have you meet us. Yeah. Have us live in person. So big things are coming here. Really big things are coming here and we're so excited you listen to us. Thank you. And with that we'll say goodnight.