Dr. Dustin Emblom, a Past-President of the Minnesota Chiropractic Association, is the Owner of Allied Chiropractic in Saint Cloud, Minnesota.
I’ve been playing golf since I was about seven years old and have been addicted to the sport ever since, pretty much growing up at our local municipal course back home in Little Falls, Minnesota. So naturally I became interested in the Titleist Performance Institute’s (TPI) concepts and philosophies when I traveled to Phoenix, Arizona for Level 1 in 2017.
My business, Allied Chiropractic, dates back about three decades before the initiation of my TPI education. However, I have been in practice since 2009 and have had my clinic in Saint Cloud, Minnesota since July 2010, after taking over an existing facility. Since that time, I have seen patients of all ages and walks of life – from newborns to patients in their 90s – although my primary demographic within the golf world is middle-aged to senior golfers.
With Minnesota being one of the top states in the country in golfers per capita, there are many opportunities to help people enjoy the game as much as I do. My work with golfers has been wide-ranging, as I have helped individuals with acute and chronic lower back pain and others with soft tissue injuries. Lower back pain is a very common condition that I see in golfers and one that could take them out of the game if not treated. In fact, I had a client recently who was seriously considering quitting because of the constant lower back pain he endured when playing golf. Fortunately, we rectified that situation – that was a rewarding case.
I have also had success helping golfers on the performance side. They are generally seeking better mobility and increased power so they can hit the ball farther. As many professionals in our field can attest, I have golfers in my practice who have worked their whole lives to be able to retire so they can play golf with friends and family. They are looking for someone who can help them get better from injury or just improve on the performance side. Helping them get well and stay well for a lifetime is important to me.
I’ve grown my clientele by building connections and sustaining relationships through presentations to local groups and have been aided by patient referrals to local golf professionals. I’ve attained new clients through my relationships with these PGA Professionals who have students who face the various issues already discussed here, whether injury or diminishing abilities.
Of course, since I’ve had my practice, I have had many patients who like golf as much as I do. In those scenarios, there’s an instant connection. I find out what course they typically play, how they’re playing and if they have taken lessons.
I believe that creating a team with local PGA Professionals that is based around the golfer is crucial to the student’s success. As they say, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” With that idea in mind, I have proactively reached out to local PGA Professionals via email and phone to initiate connections and better understand what they do. I have a great relationship with our local country club and its PGA Professional and appreciate the opportunity to conduct presentations at the course on such topics as mobility, power and overspeed training. I have also reached out to local college golf coaches to forge the same types of relationships. You can never rest on your laurels.
So, I continually attend, whether in person or online, TPI seminars, with my latest one being Medical 3 at the USA Lacrosse headquarters near Baltimore, Maryland. My next one will be Power 3 in Oceanside, California at the end of this month. I have also educated myself on overspeed training and been through Superspeed Golf ’s certification course. Helping clients stay well for a lifetime means educating ourselves for just as long.
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