Dr. Steven Horwitz is the first and only chiropractor in the state of Texas to be selected by the United States Olympic Committee to be the sole chiropractor on an United States Olympic team medical staff. He was the chiropractor for the entire 1996 Unites States Olympic Team in Atlanta Georgia. He practices in Rowlett and Rockwall Texas. Read about his journey to the Olympic Games below.

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At the 1995 Olympic Festival, weightlifter Thanh Nguyen signed a picture of himself doing a snatch on the front page of The Denver Post like this, 
"To Dr. Steve, 
Thank you for your help on my back. I know that I cannot lift without it. I hope to see you at the Atlanta '96 Games.
-Thanh

I read it and thought, "I would sure like to be there and see you as well."

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On August 14, 1995, I received a letter from the United States Olympic Committee which said,

"On behalf of the United States Olympic Committee's Sports Medicine Committee, I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected as a member of the Medical Staff  for the Games of the XXVIth Olympiad in Atlanta, Georgia."

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My experience at the 1996 Summer Games was certainly the highlight of my career. The U.S. Olympic Team's medical staff is appointed through a series of evaluation performed at the Olympic Training Centers, United States Olympic Festivals and international events. Individuals were evaluated on their clinical skills and ability, efficacy in meeting the demands of elite level athletes, adaptability, and willingness to be part of a team. As the sole chiropractor on the 44 member staff, I was truly surrounded by wonderful people.

I arrived in Atlanta on July 6, 1996 about 6:00p.m. and was met by U.S.O.C. representatives. Once I received my credentials, I boarded a bus with the Slovokian rifle team and U.S. 10m platform diver Patrick Jeffrey and headed toward the village. What normally should have been a 15 minute drive took over two hours. Our bus was denied entry to the village because the driver did not have the proper credentials and the bus was not sanitized, ie; checked for bombs! While waiting, I learned a great deal about 10m platform diving from Patrick Jeffrey. He became my first patient that very night.The Olympic Village was on the campus of Georgia Tech University.

The Village was set up into different zones: Blue, Gold, Purple, Green and Red. Each zone housed different teams. The village was home to over 10,000 athletes and 5000 coaches, medical personnel and staff from 197 countries. Home for next 30 days would be a 8'x8' dorm room with bunk beds in the dormitory of the U.S. Olympic Team. On my first full day, I went through processing. Each member of the U.S. delegation (about 1100 people) was given clothes, luggage, shoes, sneakers and assorted odds and ends from official Olympic sponsors. As one athlete said, "It's Christmas in July!"

The next day, I reported to the U.S. Olympic Team medical clinic which was on the ground floor of the U.S. dormitory building. The hours of our training room were 7:00a.m. until 11:00p.m. with one trainer and one physician on call each night. Each trainer and physician were assigned specific sports while I was responsible for any athlete who needed chiropractic care. We all worked 15 hours or more per day, everyday. We were responsible for approximately 700 U.S. athletes.

The foundation of our care was the hands on approach. This hands on approach was made the focus of an NBC national news story on our clinic. Most of the injuries we treated were from overuse: tendonitis, sprains and strains. I found that many athletes received regular chiropractic care, especially during the heavy training just before the Olympics. They wanted to continue this care during the games because they felt it helped injuries heal and enhanced their performance and feeling of well-being.

Many athletes were introduced to chiropractic care for the first time due to injuries which had not responded to other types of care. Successful results with these injuries caused athletes to tell other athletes; needless to say this kept me busy! Most of my time was occupied treating athletes in our training room. Most of the last few days of the Games I spent with track and field traveling between the warm-up track and the Olympic stadium.

Being at the Olympic Games was like being on I.V. epinephrine for one month. One of the biggest thrills for me was marching in the Opening Ceremonies. About 10 of our medical staff found out one hour before Opening Ceremonies that we were chosen to march in them. The rest of the staff were given tickets to go to the ceremonies. We quickly dressed in the outfit we received at processing and were off to the Olympic Stadium. When I turned the corner and started down the ramp with the rest of the U.S. team, the sight of 85,000 spectators was breathtaking. The crowd was roaring "U.S.A., U.S.A." and the flashbulbs were blazing. The high was incredible.

The dining hall was one of the most interesting areas. An enormous air-conditioned tent was set up to hold 3500 people. To look around and see athletes from 197 countries was fascinating. Each country's athletes would sit together, usually by sport. The multitude of languages made communicating a challenge. Much fun was had with hand gestures and body language.

The events I did see in person were Matt Ghaffari wrestle the Russian Alexander Karelin, Wes Barnett set three American records in 108kg class in weightlifting and Michael Johnson set the world record in the 200m. The entire U.S. delegation went to Closing Ceremonies. Yes, I was one of the thousands of people running around on the stadium field. There were many special athletes and many special moments.

Ed Ryan, ATC, the medical coordinator and John Lehtinen, MD, head physician, did a fantastic job at organizing and running our medical staff. Working with these professionals was an honor and privilege. The physicians on our staff were Mark Adams, Daniel Carr, Craig Ferrell, Sean Hanley, John Lalonde, Lawrence Magee, Bruce Mosely, Herb Paris, Brock Schnebel and Carlan Yates. The trainers were Rufi Alday, William Bandy, Wayne Barger, Kim Barrett, Steve Brace, Rigo Carbajal, Joe Fritz, Kerry Gatch, Ernest Golin, Woody Graham, Tony Harris, Emery Hill, Lisa Jesberg, Gina Konin, Tom Koto, Dawn Kurihara, Chip Ladd, Patty Marchak, Skippy Mattson, Sally Mays, Karen McClellan, Ty McSorley, James Miller, Frank Novakoski, Dave Pawlowski, Barbara Pearson, Margaret Peter, Richard Quincy, Denise Richardson, Marcia Roschke, and Rene Shingles.

Citius, Altius, Fortius!

Also read: Chiropractic Care Supports the Olympic Athletes in MedScape

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