I grew up a pretty typical, active Southern Californian—I spent my summers in the water and my winters on the slopes. It was after I graduated from UC Irvine that I discovered my ability to run long distances. Quickly I progressed from a casual fitness runner to a serious, 80+ mile-per-week runner trying to win local races. Soon I was swimming daily and riding 300-400 miles per week, too. With all of those miles, I was injured….a LOT!!
During one of those100 mile running weeks, I developed hip bursitis. The antiinflammatories from my general practitioner only gave temporary relief, and physical therapy and massage hadn’t helped at all. Relucantly, I drove up to Los Angeles to be treated by a chiropractor—I had never even met a chiropractor before. After treating me twice that first day, the pain was gone. In the course of a few hours I went from being in too much pain to stand to being able to play a pickup game of basketball.
Over the years of competing, I had a chiropractor that I would see when I was in L.A., one for San Diego county, one for the Big Island and one for Colorado. Those doctors taught me enough about my own body that I took the next logical step and enrolled in chiropractic college. While at Southern California University of Health Sciences, I made the Dean’s List every term and graduated cum laude.
Nowadays, I try to do what that first doctor did for me: help people to get out of pain quickly and teach them a little bit about how their body works.
Even though I no longer have a chance to win races, I still compete around town in any race I can find—running, mountain biking, triathlons, paddleboarding, open water swims. My competitive instinct may have dulled a bit, but now I get to enjoy being active with my family. If you don’t see me in the office, look for me paddleboarding or running with my wife and sons.
Scott Neubauer, DC CSCS
Photos from a few races over my athletic career:
