Farmington Chiropractor | Farmington chiropractic care | MN | Barry Bonds, The Most Valuable Player

Barry Bonds, The Most Valuable Player

Mastery of five skills - base running, fielding, throwing, hitting for average and hitting with power - is the standard of greatness in a baseball player, and San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds has reached that mark.

Generally regarded as the best player in the major leagues today, he has proven himself, year after year, by raising his level of play to that of the all-time greats of the game. With a recent contract extension, he is now, befitting his enormous talents, the highest-paid player in baseball.

Bonds is a three-time National League Most Valuable Player, having won the award in 1990 and 1992 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and in 1993 with the Giants. He is one of only eight players in major league history to win three league MVP awards.

TRUSTING IN CHIROPRACTIC

During spring training, Bonds suffered an injury after tripping and falling down a flight of stairs at a rented home in Scottsdale, Arizona. He received chiropractic care, and MRI scans and X-rays of his back and hip proved negative.  For the past two years, he has been a patient of Dr. Nick Athens, a San Carlos, California, chiropractor who provides care to members of the Giants and the San Francisco 49ers football team, and he first sought care after suffering an injury.

"I hurt my back swinging the bat," Bonds recalls. "Mark Letendre, our trainer, recommended that I try chiropractic. At first, I was skeptical, but after seeing a lot of the players on the team using it, I thought I would give it a try. And after Dr. Athens gave me an adjustment on the lower back, I knew I had to get some more of that."
The star outfielder was adjusted at the ballpark.

"I did the exam and everything there, " Athens recalls. "The team medical doctor said to go ahead and work on him and see if I could help him out. He was supposed to be out for that game, and we adjusted him and he responded excellently. He didn't miss the game he was supposed to miss (due to the injury)"

Bonds is convinced of the benefits of chiropractic adjustments.

"I go to see Dr. Athens on a regular basis, because I want to prolong my career as long as possible," he states. "I see him about once a week, in between my training (sessions). By getting an adjustment once a week from him, I feel I can sustain my career a lot longer."

He believes that chiropractic gives him and his teammates an edge in competition, and notes that, at times, ""Dr. Athens is back there adjusting three-quarters of the team. I'm happy that we have chiropractic services at the park, for our team, and I don't think we would ever go without it."

Athens instructs the Giants players on how the body functions and helps them understand the effects of their adjustments. "I wanted to let them know that chiropractic doesn't just help with their back or neck, but that it just helps their body keep in alignment, which helps their body function better and heal better," he says. "And so, in addition, I'll adjust their cervical spine and let them know how important that is, that tautness or pressure on the spinal cord in the neck area would affect the rest of the body, so I clear that area out and start working on the lower back.

"And I adjust the extremities, the ankles, knees and hip, as needed. The trainer, Mark, sends them in to get adjusted to maintain their health, rather than waiting for something to happen. So they get adjusted on a preventative basis."

However, when injuries do occur, chiropractic care can be applied. Last August, while trying to break up a double play during a game, Bonds injured himself, aggravating his left hamstring.

"His hip, his knee and his ankle were all rotated externally, and so I adjusted his ankle through (extremity work)," Athens recalls. "The body is the healer, and he responded excellently."