Revisiting sports chiropractic

Two years ago, we featured sports chiropractor Dr. Anton Cancio in this column. He had just returned to Manila after an eventful seven-year practice in San Francisco and was determined to make his mark in his own country.

Dr. Cancio earned a bachelor of science degree at Virginia Tech in 1999 and went on to attend the Palmer College of Chiropractic West in California where he was a cum laude graduate and finished with a doctorate in 2002. Dr. Cancio eventually became a certified chiropractic sports physician.

As he got settled in his Greenhills clinic, news of his expertise spread like wildfire. Athletes sought him out and raved about their treatment. Among the satisfied customers were three-time Southeast Asian wrestling gold medalist Marcus Valda and basketball players Ali Peek, Jai Reyes and Nic Belasco. Ordinary people with extraordinary aches and pains also paid him a visit. As a doctor of chiropractic, he gained a reputation as an expert with the touch to deal with problems like golfer and tennis elbow, rotator cuff tendonitis, postural correction, wellness care prevention of chronic pain syndromes and early spinal degeneration, arthritis pain and stiffness, scoliosis, slipped disc, carpal tunnel syndrome, muscle pain, headache, neck pain and spine injuries.

Dr. Cancio said he finds gratification in treating patients because his prescriptions are drug-free and he avoids invasive surgery. He’s an advocate of a healthy lifestyle with an emphasis on nutrition and exercise. From what Dr. Cancio advises his patients, he’s confident he’s got the formula to beat the aging process.

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“I find a lot of satisfaction in treating athletes or sports enthusiasts of all levels because you can immediately appreciate the results of treatment,” said Dr. Cancio who grew up in the US and was treated by a chiropractor for pelvic imbalance when he was 12. “With athletes, the main focus is really all about what we call Functional Optimization. Allowing them to compete at their highest capacity despite their injuries and pains. These guys train very hard to compete, sometimes sacrificing their bodies as a result. As their chiropractor, my goal is to help them achieve their goals. No athlete wants to be sidelined by an injury after training so hard for game day.”

Dr. Cancio said the majority of athletes he treats are basketball players, golfers, badminton and tennis players and triathletes with injuries ranging from Achilles tendonitis, rotator cuff tendonitis, frozen shoulder, sprains and strains and neck and back pains.

 “I remember this golfer complaining of chronic right hip and lower back pain with leg numbness,” he related. “He came in for treatment on a Friday, worried about his game the coming Sunday. The next day, Monday, he came in and was proud that he’d played one of his best games, shooting +7. His handicap is +12. His treatment was primarily focused on adding mobility to his spine for increased range of motion and stability and spinal decompression for a pre-existing disc herniation.”

Dr. Cancio cited another example of a runner with chronic pain in the left knee whenever she ran. An examination revealed a flat left foot, a condition known as overpronation. “I taped her foot to correct it,” he said. “She ran the following day without knee pain. Here’s an example where understanding biomechanics allows you to look beyond the site of pain. In many injuries, the problem can actually originate some place else.”

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Then, there was a PBA player who knocked on Dr. Cancio’s door. “He came a day before a game, complaining of right upper back pain from weeks of intense training,” said Dr. Cancio. “Raising his arm was painful, so shooting the ball was difficult. He was a shooting guard. His treatment was focused on muscle therapy and chiropractic adjustments to free up joint restrictions in the spine.”

Dr. Cancio said his fascination with sports got him interested in chiropractic.

“Chiropractors have been involved with athletes since the beginning of the profession,” he said. “A lot of athletes turn to chiropractic for two reasons – Functional Optimization and Injury Recovery. In the US, most professional teams have chiropractors in their roster of physicians. Even at the highest level, the Olympic Games, chiropractors have a strong presence in the medical team. One of my clinicians in chiropractic school was one of them. And I was fortunate enough to be around him and learned a lot from him. He would often recount stories of how busy he was during the Olympics, that some days he was the most sought-after doctor in the group. It was his stories and influence that got me interested in pursuing a post-graduate training and certification as a Sports Chiropractor after I got my doctor of chiropractic degree.”

For more information on sports chiropractic, contact Dr. Cancio in his clinic at No. 101 Missouri corner Connecticut Street, Greenhills, San Juan, Tel. Nos. 722-7530, 502-2882 or 0917-580-7530.