Fourteen years ago, Dr. Nick Athens of San Carlos, California, adjusted popular quarterback Joe Montana on the field during the Superbowl. The adjustment was caught on camera, shown on the evening news and Athens made history. |

Today, there are chiropractors on the staff of several NFL teams, but their official acceptance into pro-football has not been easy even though the services a chiropractor provides is unique and cannot be provided by any other member of the medical team.

Many players have been and are under chiropractic care on their own, but when one professional athlete of a certain stature claims that chiropractic has helped him to get where he is and keep him there, it is still news. Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys is one such athlete. On his way to the record books as the NFL's leading rusher, Smith credits his longevity in pro football not to his own ability but to his chiropractor, Dr. Rob Parker.

The New York Times, Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star- Telegram have all reported on Emmitt Smith's feelings about his chiropractor and what chiropractic does for him. The lead paragraph in the New York Times by Thomas George stated: "Two days before Emmitt Smith hoped to make his most memorable run, the one that would push him past Walter Peyton as the National Football League's career rushing leader, Smith lay flat on his back. It is a position Smith assumes on most Friday afternoons, with Dr. Rob Parker kneading the knots out of his body…"

An article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram explains it all started after the 1994 season when Smith endured a lot of hamstring problems and he began to ask himself some tough questions. "Do I need to get more rest? Do I need to eat better? Do I need a little more training? How can I take care of my body better? Do I need to find a chiropractor? It was time for me to invest in me," Smith said. "I found a specialist that's really good in balancing out my body to make sure my hips are rotated right, and my body is functioning properly. I remember somebody telling me that what I put myself in during the games is like having a car wreck every Sunday. It's against the norm. You can find yourself in awkward positions. That stuff takes its toll. But if you take advantage of the health care, balance your body back out, put it back where it's supposed to be, you function better, and you recover faster."

Dr. Rob Parker comes from a line of well-known chiropractors. He is the grandson of chiropractic icon Dr. Jim Parker, founder and former president of Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas and the world-famous Parker Seminars, and son of Dr. Karl Parker of the Karl Parker Seminars. He and his wife Kellie, who is also a chiropractor, have practiced chiropractic for 12 years in the Dallas area.

Smith has long praised Dr. Parker for playing a major role in his outstanding football career. The Dallas Morning News wrote: "Anyone who suspects Smith is exaggerating Parker's role in his career need only look at the 33-year-old running back's eyes when he talks about him." To the sceptics out there, Smith remarks, "…if you traveled where I've traveled, done what I've done and seen the results that I've been getting, then you'd understand where I'm coming from…

It is obvious that Dr. Parker has not only helped keep Smith's body "balanced" with regular care, but what is even more important is that he has made this super athlete understand the philosophy underlying the care