Chiropractor off to Games

JONATHAN CAMERON/Manawatu Standard

TAKING A BREAK: Greg Oke leaves his Palmerston North chiropractic business next month to help athletes bound for the Olympics in Beijing.

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Palmerston North's chiropractor to the Olympic athletes Greg Oke has shipped his treatment table off to Beijing and packs his medical bag and Crocs next month to join the team.

Chiropractic has been a core part of New Zealand's Olympic medical team since Seoul in 1988, when gold medal-winning kayakers Ian Ferguson and Paul MacDonald made it part of their performance enhancement regime.

Dr Oke first picked up the role for Athens in 2004. He went to Melbourne with the Commonwealth athletes in 2006, and has been invited back for Beijing.

Along with two physiotherapists, two massage therapists, four doctors and Massey University sports psychologist Gary Hermansson, Dr Oke will be part of what's developed into a close knit team responding to the athletes' requests for help.

"It's very much athlete driven. They determine, alongside their coaches, what their needs are."

Dr Oke said injuries remained a key part of his practice, but he was able to offer to help athletes with neurology, with muscle patterns and balance in ways that many found could boost their performance.

"I've worked with triathletes, cyclists, swimmers, and basketballers," Dr Oke said.

But he's not telling which particular athletes are using chiropractic care to help, that all being part of the privacy and confidentiality code.

The medical team expects to work from 7am until 9pm most days and be on call during the night, not allowing a lot of time to escape the village and join the audiences.

But there will be times, especially toward the end of the Games, when he expects a bit more freedom to relax and soak up the atmosphere.

- © Fairfax NZ News