It could be that David Beckham’s three-month loan from LA Galaxy to AC Milan is the best thing that happened to chiropractic this year! Why?

AC Milan, the highly successful Italian football club, has a unique centre for training and managing their players. Milan Lab is staffed by a team of medical doctors, physical therapists, psychologists and trainers headed by a chiropractor, J.P. Meersmann. There they monitor each player’s neurological function (spinal health),fitness levels as well as their ability to relax after every training session (which determines their ability to recover). Of central importance is spinal health and players are checked by a chiropractor daily. By managing players in this way, AC Milan has reduced traumatic injuries by 90%. It has reduced its number of players from 35 to 22 – thereby saving itself a small fortune.

So, the more people that know about this, the more chiropractic will be understood as a tool to improve spinal health and optimise neurological function. Yes, chiropractic can give effective relief for back pain, it can also help to prevent injuries and enhance the performance of athletes. That applies to everyone, not just world-class football players! The same is true for five-a-side footballers in a Sunday league, people training for a 10K race and those preparing for their annual skiing holiday.

With Beckham’s enormous popularity that extends beyond the realms of football supporters, and continuing high profile, there will be many more column inches written about his European sojourn. Look out for the first mention of Milan Lab and the role of chiropractic…