Rexburg chiropractor treats international athletes at World Sports Games
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REXBURG — A Rexburg chiropractor spent the past week in Spain treating international athletes at the World Sports Games in Tortosa.
The CSIT World Sports Games is an international event held every two years for amateur athletes. Men and women of all ages compete in competitive and non-competitive sports.
Dr. Kimball Arritt of Summit Spine and Sport Chiropractic represented Idaho while abroad. He was selected to go out of many applicants by FICS (International Federation of Sports Chiropractic).
Arritt was one of 24 chiropractors from Colorado, New Jersey, Montana, Paris, Denmark and other parts of the world.
“Getting an opportunity to compare my knowledge with the knowledge of the other doctors here – you kind of get to talk shop about sports chiropractic, how to take care of athletes, emergency care – it’s been a lot of fun,” Arritt tells EastIdahoNews.com.
Arritt arrived June 30 and the games ran from July 1 through July 6. He says they worked in conjunction with EMTs and physical therapists.
“We’ve split the events. There are 14 venues – 9 of them are covered by chiropractors,” Arritt says.
Arritt treated athletes involved in sports like swimming, track and field, beach volleyball, beach wrestling, indoor wrestling, volleyball, basketball, wheel gymnastics, pole gymnastics, mamanet and American football.
“Bloody noses, stubbed toes, rolled ankle…whatever it is, they come to us first and then we coordinate care as needed to the other levels,” Arritt says. “We’re the first line of care for everybody.”
Arritt says this has been an opportunity for him to better his work as a chiropractor and bring that care back to eastern Idaho. He says he’s learned to tackle language barriers and help those who may not have been familiar with chiropractic care.
“I treated a few guys from Iran. There are no chiropractors in Iran,” Arritt says. “I can (also) take the techniques and different things that I pick up from these other doctors and bring them back with me.”
Arritt says it was great to see the need for chiropractors on a universal level.
“It validates, and shows to southeast Idaho, that we can take care of you in a natural way, and we can do it without drugs or therapy,” Arritt says. “We can help you restore and maintain proper health.”
Arritt says he wants locals to know the World Sports Games is an opportunity for amateur athletes to progress in their sport and have a cultural experience.
“They used to be called the workers’ games because it was put together for the working class people, not the high-level athletes,” Arritt says. “Not everybody’s going to go to the Olympics, but there’s an opportunity for them.”