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Passions & Pursuits

Dr. Stacey Conrad
By Amy Selby

Premier Sports Chiropractic of Indiana PC

On Feb. 4 Stacey Conrad, D.C., CCSP, CCEP, achieved one of the greatest goals of his life. After 12 years of working with the Indianapolis Colts, Conrad held the famous Vince Lombardi Trophy in his own hands. The Colts had just won the 2007 Super Bowl. As confetti rained down and athletes shouted plans to go to Disney World, Conrad began thinking about what else he could dream up for himself.

Conrad spoke with Today’s Chiropractic LifeStyle to share his journey in sports chiropractic all the way to Super Bowl XLI.

Q
Tell our readers about your practice.
A
We have a sports and family wellness practice. The practice has evolved from a one doctor and one CA office in the early ’90s to one that currently has five doctors and eight support staff. It would be difficult to work with a professional sports team and run a private practice. I began hiring associate doctors in 1992 so I could pursue working with sports teams. In 1999 Dr. Mike Wasserstrom joined me as an associate and today we are partners in Premier Sports Chiropractic. We have three associates and looking to hire more. We have doctors who specialize in sports, extremity adjusting, pediatrics and ART technique.

Q
How did you develop such a passion for sports and chiropractic?
A
I developed my passion for sports from my parents. I played football and basketball and had my share of injuries and started seeing a chiropractor at age 13. Realizing that my sports career wouldn’t last forever along with my family chiropractor talking to me about pursuing a career in chiropractic lead me to enroll at the National College of Chiropractic in 1978 after college.

My career began in 1981 as an associate in my home town of Robinson, Ill. A year later I established a private practice in Paris, Ill., a small rural community. It was during the ’80s that I began to set goals of becoming more involved with sports. In 1989 I sold the Paris practice and relocated to Carmel, Ind., and opened the current practice. I completed the Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician (CCSP) program at National and also improved my extremity adjusting skills thru Dr. Kevin Hearon’s extremity certification program (CCEP).

Q
When did you break into the professional sports scene?
A
After 10 years of practice experience and hundreds of hours of extra training I felt like all I needed was an opportunity. Doors finally started to open for me in 1992 when I worked for two seasons with the Indianapolis ice hockey team of the then IHL, at that time they were the farm club for the Chicago Black Hawks. I also got certified to work with professional rodeo athletes thru Wrangler Sports Chiropractic/Prosport Chiropractic.

I worked nine seasons covering professional rodeos for Illinois and Indiana and that training and experience was invaluable to learn how to provide care in a “health care team” environment and work with other health care professionals. During the spring of 1994 several Colts players began coming to my office for chiropractic care. In 1995 I began my first year working with players and staff at the team facility.

Q
How does administering care in the office compare to caring for a professional sports team?
A
There is not really much difference when it comes to providing care. The difference is that you are working with a lot of other highly trained health care professionals and you have to stick to your specialty. It’s a team environment and you don’t want to overstep your boundaries. Communication with all those involved is important. It is a transition from private practice, you have to check your ego and let people do their specialty.

Q
During each sports season your schedule had to be taxing. How did you make it work.
A
When I first started working with athletes and traveling for events, I often worked six or seven days a week. I remember once working two rodeos in Illinois on a Saturday, driving back to Indiana at 1 a.m. to work a football game Sunday, then driving back to Illinois to work another rodeo on Labor Day Monday and back to Indiana so I could be in the office Tuesday morning. My patients would ask, “How was your weekend?”

Currently my hours in the office are only about 18 a week to see patients. On the days I’m not seeing patients we are usually meeting with and training our associates and staff. During the football season I spend three days a week with the team at training camp and two days a week during the regular season. I am with the team for every game. During the off season my time with the team is only one day a week for a couple of hours.

Q
With such a grueling schedule, what are the rewards?
A
The relationships you develop with the athletes, coaches and the team’s personnel are what I enjoy most. I love being part of the team and helping in any way I can. I think growing up as an athlete you enjoy the camaraderie of everyone trying to achieve the same goal. That is the main reason I wanted to work with athletes so I could still feel like part of a team. Today our practice staff is a team, so I have two teams I really enjoy.

Q
How is chiropractic perceived in the sports arena?
A
The biggest obstacle in the sports environment is having the time to educate all those involved about chiropractic. Team personnel are so busy with the business of sports that you only have a few minutes with them. Educating them in that environment is difficult. In our office we spend nearly two hours over two visits with a patient to evaluate and inform them about their health before we start to deliver care. The acceptance of chiropractic is growing more every year but there is still a lack of education regarding the profession. It’s still thought of as a back pain treatment. I don’t view it that way at all. I view it from a wellness and performance enhancement perspective.

Q
?What's your proudest moment you've experienced with a professional sports team?
A
Definitely winning the Super Bowl! Growing up in Illinois, I was a huge Bears fan. After I moved to Indiana and started working with the Colts, I always said that the ultimate Super Bowl for me would be the Bears and the Colts. I certainly got my wish and for the game to turn out the way it did, it was amazing. When I got to hold the Lombardi Trophy, it was a dream come true for me.

Winning the game was awesome, but when we returned home to Indianapolis and had the parade thru downtown, that’s when I began to realize how great this was for the city. We entered the RCA Dome and it was packed with fans to welcome the team home, what an incredible moment. I was really happy for Mr. Irsay, the owner, Mr. Polian, the team president and especially for Peyton and the rest of the players.

Q
So what is next for you?
A
My partner and I would like to hire more associates and open more clinics. Personally, I want to continue to provide care for athletes, and I also need a new dream!