Interview with Dr. Jeff Cubos

This past year, I committed myself to embrace the whole “social media” craze.  I started a facebook page for myself, a facebook page for Optimum Sports Peformance, a youtube page, and a Twitter account.

 

I have to admit, at first I thought it was sort of silly (and sometimes a waste of time); however, I have really enjoyed the process, and it has allowed me to meet other industry professionals and colleagues that I would have otherwise never probably met.

 

One of those individuals is Dr. Jeff Cubos, a chiropractor north of the border (Canada).  Jeff has been really great about posting excellent information on his twitter page, and sharing articles with me via email, thus helping to contribute to my continuing education.

 

So, I decided to interview Dr. Cubos this week, and see what he his ideas were on topics like:

 

-         His well-rounded philosophy on rehabilitation (soft tissue work, ART, manipulation, strength and conditioning/exercise)

-         Continuing education

-         How to find a good chiropractor, and not get roped into long-term deals with lots of strings attached

 

The interview is a great one, and I hope you enjoy it.

 

Patrick

patrick@optimumsportsperformance.com

 

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1) Thank you for taking the time to do this interview, Dr. Cubos.  Since my readers may not be familiar with your background, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

 

Thanks for having me Patrick. Although I am still surprised to have been asked (Who was scheduled this week but bailed?). Anyway, I am a sports specialist chiropractor with a Masters degree in kinesiology. I’ve also been a strength and conditioning coach for just under 10 years and have spent most of my time working with hockey players (I’m Canadian, so you can’t really expect much else).  On a more personal level, I have recently jumped into the sport of triathlon and along with my wife, have a stuffed dog named “Coobs” (much different than the half shepherd – half pit bull we recently dog-sat for 8 months).

 

2) From reading your blog, it looks like you are pretty diverse in your approach to therapy, utilizing things like soft tissue work, ART (Active Release Techniques), exercise, and chiropractic manipulations.  Can you please discuss with us your philosophy on patient/athletic rehabilitation?

 

You hit it bang on. My management approach is truly diverse and I probably wouldn’t say that I have a philosophy just yet. I really don’t want to label myself. However, much of my patient/athletic management approaches do stem from who I have been influenced by. Dating back to my days in University, I was heavily mentored by a sports chiropractor, a sports physician, and a sports massage therapist, all of whom I spent many hours with and looked up to (it also didn’t hurt that they were all part of the Toronto Raptors medical staff at the time). The chiropractor was very ART focused; the physician was as evidence-based as you can be, and the massage therapist took an osteopathic and eastern European approach (he knew about Janda’s work be for Janda did himself!).

 

From there, I spent a lot of time under the guidance of other sports chiros that took a pain-based approach. These guys were and still are leaders in our profession but it wasn’t until I worked alongside Dr. Thomas Lam of FITS Toronto that I truly appreciated the value of exercise programming in the “health care” setting. There we spent a lot of time developing athletes from the grassroots level all the way to national level athletes. Taking that approach to everyday patients really opened my eyes. I come from an Asian background so let me put it this way: ART, Mulligan Mobs, Thrust Manipulations, Trigger Point/Foam Roller work, SpiderTech tape and all the other treatment modalities I use are great (I don’t just want a toolbox, I want a shed!), but the true staple in my practice (the rice on my plate), is exercise! I make my patients feel better but the progressive exercises I prescribe is what I value most.

 

So maybe I DO have a philosophy…MOVEMENT!

 

3) You enjoy reading research and staying current on topics of rehabilitation and general health.  Most clinicians and trainers seem to be very lazy when it comes to increasing their knowledge and skill set.  That being said, what are something’s you are currently reading and is there anything particularly interesting you have learned about or stumbled upon in the past month or two?

 

Funny you bring this up. I agree 100% that many “professionals” do not spend enough time with continuing education. How many of our colleagues are still practicing EXACTLY the way they did the year they graduated?

 

 

I will say, however, that I believe the system needs to be improved. I think the biggest problem is that unless one works in a hospital or university setting, their access to evidence-based resources (journal articles) is limited. Sure there’s organization memberships and Research Review Service, but I don’t think that’s enough. Professionals need to seek out and obtain the literature first hand or else the information can be easily misinterpreted (i.e. barefoot running)

 

 

As for what I’m reading, one of my new years resolutions is to go back to my bookshelf and read all the texts I have started (but not finished) in the last 5 years and read them cover to cover. Some of these texts include: Liebenson’s Rehabilitation of the Spine, Lindsay’s Fascia, Brukner and Kahn’s Clinical Sports Medicine, and Reinold’s The Athlete’s Shoulder.

 

 

Other texts on my shelf that still have bubble wrap on them include: Gambetta’s Athletic Development, Chaitow’s Muscle Energy Techniques, and Vleeming et al’s Movement Stability and Lumbopelvic Pain. I have always taken an “open-minded” approach to learning and therefore have recently been interested in learning more about Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization, Z-health, and anything and everything that has to do with manual therapy.  Oh, and if Athletes Performance is willing to fly me down for their Rehabilitation Specialist mentorship or the NOI group are willing to fly me across the Atlantic, I’d be up for those too!    

 

4) Like any profession, there are good and bad practitioners.  With so many chiropractors out there, can you please tell us what patients should look for in a chiropractor?  What sort of questions should they ask, and what sort of things should they try and shy away from?

 

Good question. While I have specific views on my own profession, let me first say that there is someone/something for everyone. Some patients want pain relief and a quick fix, while others want to live with optimal movement. Then you have everyone in between. Having said that, the first thing I suggest when looking for a chiropractor is integrity, integrity, INTEGRITY! That goes with every profession but one of my pet peeves is when health care professionals choose practice management / wealth building seminars over continuing education. I’m all for having more money, I just don’t think the dollar should influence your patient management decisions as a health care practitioner. Can I get an Amen?

 

 

The first thing patients should do is perform the “sniff” test. If it smells funny, it probably is! Secondly, that first phone call is key. There should be no surprises, ask about costs (evaluation, treatment, reassessment, etc). Last, but not least, health care is not a contract…you should not be paying for 84 treatments up front, on the first visit. Following an injury, it may take 2 weeks to get you better; it may take 6 months. Who knows? But 3 times per week for the rest of your life smells funny!

 

 

Here’s a nice little read to lead athletes in the right direction. “How to select a chiropractor for the management of athletic conditions”.

 

5) It has been a pleasure, Dr. Cubos.  Can you please tell the readers where they can find out more information about you and your clinic.

 

My pleasure Patrick! Thanks for having me. Most information can be found on www.jeffcubos.com, but if you want to meet me in person, you’ll have to zip up your parka, grab your steak knife, and meet me in Spruce Grove, Alberta.  Oh, and if you happen to be in Sweden this summer, I’ll be there too!