Breaking Barriers in the NFL: Dr. Karen Slota, Detroit Lions Chiropractor

Join us on this captivating episode of the Crackin Backs Podcast as we explore the remarkable journey of Dr. Karen Slota, the first female chiropractor contracted by the NFL, working with the Detroit Lions. With a decade of service in the Coast Guard, Dr. Slota's transition into chiropractic care and her trailblazing career in a male-dominated field is nothing short of inspiring.

Dr. Slota shares how her experiences in the Coast Guard shaped her approach to sports chiropractic and paved the way for her groundbreaking role with the Lions. She delves into the significant misconceptions about women working in the NFL and how she has challenged and disproven these stereotypes to earn respect in the locker room.

Listeners will gain insights into the challenges Dr. Slota faced early in her career and the ongoing hurdles she overcomes to establish her authority and credibility in professional sports. She discusses her strategies for educating both the organization and the players on the critical role chiropractors play in performance and injury prevention, moving beyond the outdated stereotype of 'back crackers.'

Dr. Slota also highlights her methods for balancing immediate pain relief with the long-term goal of enhancing athletes' overall performance and joint longevity. Her dedication to redefining sports medicine and paving the way for future generations of women in traditionally male-dominated fields offers valuable lessons and inspiration for all.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in resilience, breaking barriers, and the evolution of sports medicine. Tune in to hear Dr. Karen Slota's powerful story and learn how she continues to make a significant impact in the NFL and beyond.

For more about Dr. Karen Slota and her pioneering work, visit Detroit Lions Chiropractor and FCA Chiropractic​ (The National Chiro)​.

Guardian Grains: https://www.guardiangrains.com/?ref=crackinbackspodcast

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Join us as we talk to some of the greatest minds and discover some of the most incredible gems you can use to maintain a higher level of health. Crackin Backs Podcast

Transcript

Dr. Spencer Baron: 0:00

Welcome to the cracking bags Podcast. Today we have Dr Karen slota, the first female chiropractor in the NFL, being hired by the Detroit Lions. From a decade in the Coast Guard to shattering glass ceilings in a male dominated world, Dr slota reveals the misconceptions about women in the NFL and how she earned her respect in the locker room. Learn her strategies for educating athletes on the vital role of chiropractors beyond just backtrackers, tune in for a powerful story of resilience, breaking barriers and redefining sports medicine. Stay tuned.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 0:45

Finally got you on. I have been wanting to get you on the show since we started. So welcome to show. And full disclosure before the show starts, I have to realize that up until two days ago, I didn't know you were the first chiropractor in the NFL hired as a contractor on the NFL. I knew you worked with the Detroit Lions. I didn't know you were the first female to be on a medical staff, and just recently found out that you're the second female to be an all medical staff, being only beat by Dr gritter, MD, lead internist for the Carolina Panthers. So that is super, super cool, and that's why I kind of want to start off the show with, right off the bat of that's why we want you on the show, because that's that's pretty spectacular. So welcome to the show.

Dr. Karen Slota: 1:37

Well, thank you for having me, and I realize it's been two and a half years since I was first asked, right? So, yeah, good things come to those who wait so but I'm happy. I'm I'm honored to be here. So thank you. Well, and

Dr. Terry Weyman: 1:54

I, and I have to say, behind the scenes, you've been so great with recommending guests and being part of the show. You've always been a part of the show since the beginning, so we're really glad to actually talk to you now, instead of having you being behind the shows. So I want, I want to kind of start off with you served in the Coast Guard for 10 years and before transitioning into chiropractic. So, man, you're just, you're just hitting out of the park with the with powerful things. How did the Coast Guard, or being even in the military, shape your approach to how you view chiropractic and how you've run your your career?

Dr. Karen Slota: 2:31

Well, the Coast Guard to me, well, one, it was my ticket out of Iowa. So I, that was my platform. I, I think I think I was a little bit of an adrenaline junkie, so there was a lot of appeal with the Coast Guard, and wanted to do something fun and exciting, and which I did. So it was 10 years of a lot of fun. But what I did realize is I didn't want to work for somebody, you know, being in the government world, you know, you worked, I was a very hard worker, but somebody always took credit for all the stuff I did. I mean, I'd get some accolades, but, but I did realize that I wasn't going to spend 20 years there. And also realized, I think I really wanted to work for myself. So being going into the chiropractic profession, which my chiropractor, at the time, suggested it to me, which I thought was pretty brilliant, because I hadn't really thought of that and but I was like, Yeah, I can work for myself. And so anyhow, so that was kind of how that happened. So it was perfect. I realized I, I'm I can motivate myself pretty well, and I, I will work hard, but at least I'm reaping my own rewards.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 3:41

Did some of the the military discipline and all that kind of come play into and how did that come into play as far as sports car project getting to be the first female doctorate in NFL? How did that all transpire? Well, you

Dr. Karen Slota: 3:55

know, it was really a series of many events. You know, I grew up, you know, six older brothers, so I do kind of give them some credit. I had two sisters, but they were kind of the top of the food chain. So I grew up with boys. So I was definitely a tomboy, for sure, and played all the sports and and then once I left home, I was really, had always been interested in bodybuilding. So I started training at a gym, you know, got into powerlifting and all that, and then, you know, bodybuilding, so all that gave me kind of that platform to and really, there weren't a lot of women, well, one, there weren't a lot of women in the Coast Guard, and then there weren't a lot of women in the gyms training, there's a handful, there's always a few. So I really kind of had to, I trained with guys. So I really kind of had to, I was really comfortable in that guy setting, you know, I could hold my own. So and being, you know, as a power lifter and all that, I was, you know, pretty muscular, and I was. Is So, you know, I kind of, I had a little bit of that air of, man, don't mess with me, because I could probably hurt you a little bit. And so that was my little another superpower. And so, yeah, so I think that was kind of my foundation that, you know, I just, kind of, it was just another, kind of a segue that didn't really bother me, but, but as far as how I got into the sports side, I, you know, as a competitor, I was in once I got in as a chiropractor. Now, I competed through chiropractic school and coming out of that at my at my first office, and I was dealing with my sports injuries, so as I was getting my stuff treated, I kind of developed different skills. So I thought, well, if it works on me, then I'm going to use this on my patients. And so slowly over time, I just kind of kept adding sports, recovery, sports, different types of therapies, active, release all those sorts of things. So it really kind of opened the door for me to kind of venture into the sports world. And because most of my patients started during that time were very athletic, you know, especially with active release techniques. That was, again, I was probably the first female in Michigan for that also. And then again, series of events of meeting people and different physical therapists that had been referring me patients, because I had a lot of different tools in my toolkit. I had a shockwave and I had a laser, and at that time, nobody really had those and and also during that time, the sports teams, the training rooms then, didn't, aren't state of the art like they are now. So if the athletic trainers who just kind of used, you know, taped and iced and stretched, if they if this wasn't something they could handle, they started, you know, I would get a phone call, or one of the physical therapist I worked with or shared an office with, we'd get the phone calls to take care of these athletes so so that, you know, just kind of snowballed and got my invite into the NFL at that point,

Dr. Terry Weyman: 7:14

which is fascinating. Another thing I find is you're working with the Detroit Lions, and you've had some amazing prior leaders in your life, being brothers to start off with. And then in the military, you had commanders. And now you went from the Detroit Lions, and at first they were the worst team. Nobody even talked about them. And I even think you even left the team at one point, then while I go back. So can you talk about leadership for a second from your point of view, being a woman that has had some very amazing leaders in her life, how the the transformation the locker room of this now is one of my favorite teams to watch how that all happened. And what have you taken away from the leaders, from both your father, your your the men in your life, your boys, your commanders, and now this coach, well,

Dr. Karen Slota: 8:04

I think, Well, growing up, you know, I was all things that always little things that pop into my head is, you know, you can't do that because you're a girl, right? I always that that still sometimes resonates with me, and so that always bothered me. And as far as the Coast Guard, the Coast Guard, I was, oh my gosh, it's funny. I'll still never forget one of the first bosses I had told me that I belong home, pregnant and barefoot the kitchen, and not in the military. That is, like, just burned into my brain, yeah, yeah.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 8:50

I can hear a little coming out of your mouth, yeah.

Dr. Karen Slota: 8:55

Just like, wow, you know, yeah, so, yeah. And then, you know, boy, and then I was told, Oh, I shouldn't be, you know, my company commander, one of my last stations, kind of pulled me aside, because I was a power lifter, power lifting at that point, and I was pretty muscular. He kind of pulled me aside. He's like, Yeah, this is not you don't you kind of lost that girlish figure, you know. So everybody was kind of just, yeah, trying to keep me back in that, in that little role, but, you know, I just let all that stuff roll off me. Because, you know, I never forgot about it, obviously, because I still, you know, 20 some years later, thinking about it. But certainly it just made me realize, I mean, I I never let that stop me to, you know, again, I never wanted to be the chiropractor for the Lions. I It was never on my radar, you know, I turned it down because I, you know, I just felt intimidated by it. I just, I just wasn't sure if I could do it. So I will, you know, full disclosure, it wasn't like I got asked, and I went, I was. Like, Oh my God. I was like, I can't do that. I'm like, Oh my God, no way. I was already treating them in my office. So I felt comfortable because I was in control if they were in my office, going down there in that environment. You know, you hear stories. So anyhow, but luckily, again, I made my way through and everybody that I worked with really treated me well. I never had any problems. And yes, I did. It was a little rough being, you know, with the team, a team that was just, you know, chronic losing seasons, you know, you certainly kind of get callous to that. But I but as far as the staff goes, I mean, when I left at the end of 2022 you know, I was just really worn out my practice. You know, I'm not gonna lie. I mean that really, I'm by myself, solo in my office, so having the lions, I mean, it was really kind of fatiguing my practice a bit. And I just kind of felt like, you know, if I start thinking those thoughts, maybe it's time to go. So, so everybody's very supportive and and, you know, I left had that year to my, you know, on my own, and then they brought in kind of a new regime, and they fired everybody in the training room. And when that new regime came in, you know, they kind of started looking around. They needed to replace, find a chiropractor. And so everybody kind of wondered what happened to me. And so talking about leadership this, this was really impactful for me. What was big part of why I went back is three of the new bosses for the team, like the new Head, head of Player Health and personnel, or health and performance, who's a next guy above the head athletic trainer, called me up and wanted to meet. Asked if, you know, if I'd be interested in meeting with him about coming back. And I thought, well, you know, I would hear it out. I did miss it. Not gonna lie, I did miss it, so we set a time they were I offered to go down to the facility. They said, No, I'll come to your office. And so not only did he show up, but the new head athletic trainer and one of the new head honchos, you know, upstairs, all dealing with contracts, all came to my office. I had no idea. I was really blown away. And and their, what they their big thing is, what can we do? What do we have to do to bring you back? Wow. And I was like, holy, wow. I mean, that blew me away, wow. So, I mean, how could I not? I mean, so, I mean, they offered, like, what could we I said, Well, I still remember it's like, well, could, could I have a, you know, a better table? They're like, you want a table? I mean, you know, you know, they didn't really, I had one of those high lows of physical therapy, high low tables, anyhow, so they're like, What do you need? I So, I could use, you know, a new adjusting table. Like, Fine, great. You know, here's the guy writing the contracts and the money guy. He's like, All right, great. And just a lot of those little things. So that, to me, was, that was, and that is how the organization is now, Brad Holmes, our GM, Dan Campbell, I mean, that's how, I mean, that's, I think that's why that kind of goes from the top down. That's why players want to come in there now, because they they are. It's all about, what can we do for you as a player? And they make people feel wanted, wow, you know. And you can tell that by the contracts that we have just signed. So that's the environment now, and that is definitely a culture shift like I've never seen anything like it, so I've so it's touching for me, but they that's kind of how they treated me in coming back. I

Dr. Terry Weyman: 13:54

think that would make it, that would make anybody feel happy. I mean, that's we. I think all employees want to feel supported, loved. Can you share some more insight of the how the team culture from inside the locker room, the leadership, the respect and to allow you to do your job, and how it's changed over the years and and what you think is the root of all the success?

Dr. Karen Slota: 14:18

Well, certainly the root of success is, I mean, everybody just feels like they're, they're part of the team. Nobody feels left out. You know, it's, it's, what can we do for you? The mentality is, is not what you're going to do for us. But what you know, what can we do for you? So there is definitely an open policy that way for me, you know, they want to know. How you know, what are the hours I want to work? What are the days I can come in that work best for me in my life, not it's not really just all about, you know, what's going to fit in with them. So. They're very supportive of for just me, but, I mean, they're, I remember the years when the players couldn't, they had to, they couldn't wait to get out of the building fast enough, because they were so afraid of something would come up a meeting and, you know, and they were never going to get out there. They got called back in. Now, it's like players don't want to leave. You know, they have sunk so much money into, you know, they're just putting$5 million into our training room right now. I mean, that's what they're doing. So they're building, they're making it a place, a haven, for people, to players, to want to come so that when a player comes in to see, hey, would I like to be with the Detroit Lions, they look around and they've never done that before. They have never really invested into our training facility to make it desirable for people. So now you come in and you know you're just your jaw just kind of drops when you see all the cool stuff that they have, so again, they're so they're putting money in to all the state of the art equipment, the recovery pools, the float tank. I mean, you know, you name it, you know, they've got it down there. And, you know, they've blasted out walls. So they've made the training room bigger, the weight room bigger. So I think that is reflective again. Top down. They want to make the Detroit Lions a place that players, you know, want to come to now. So that's that's, to me, pretty huge. Nobody was willing to open the checkbook before.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 16:39

We would like to thank Guardian grains for sponsoring the Kraken backs podcast. These ancient grains are made to keep your gut happy and healthy. Check the description below for a link to their many food products so you shattered a lot of glass ceilings that oftentimes females place on themselves, even not just administration. What are some of the biggest misconceptions that women seem to have about working in the NFL, and how have you addressed or disproven some of these stereotypes?

Dr. Karen Slota: 17:21

Well, I remember when I first got asked to be take the job, I was treating a coach at the time. This was before I was with the team, so I was treating him and and we had an athletic trainer, switcheroo. So we had a new coach, new head athletic trainer, and that, and the new trainer is the one that asked me to come in. And I asked this coach, I said, Hey, being my situation, female. I said, Is this a good environment for me to be in? And he thought for a minute. He said, with the new trainer now that was in place, he's like, he is amazing. The previous trainer, I would have told you no. And I like, Well, what do you need? And so it's kind of all the things you think, right? It's just, you know, maybe had a little reputation of, you know, being a little, you know, too friendly, you know, probably could have been a lot of awkward situation moments. So, so I think that's kind of some of the little stereotype that I've heard just from again. Now, there's more women down there now, but I've always kind of heard some of those little things too, which is why I didn't want to do it. But anyhow, so I think, and now where I'm at now there, oh my gosh, we have so many women. So it's so yes, for me, I guess I'll speak for myself, you know, I think if you just kind of come in and work hard and, you know, I just kind of people just let me do my thing. And so I don't really, I kind of have free reign to kind of do what I want. I kind of just slide in, you know, work my hours, and I kind of sneak out. So I kind of do a little stealth, like, but so I think if you, if you do a good job, and, yeah, I mean, so I just, for me personally, it's been, it's been a good thing.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 19:18

Well, like down Doctor Alan Sokoloff, our mutual friend always says, you know, you got to play well in the sandbox with all the disciplines. And I know you do that well. You have to, I mean, to be able to triage back and forth and say the right things at the right time to players and the other allied healthcare professionals. So a lot of questions that come up with other females that are chiropractors, that want to break into college, high school, even, or professional sports. They always have this this reservation or this fear of you know, how can little me as a female handle the. These big monster men. Do you have an answer for them?

Dr. Karen Slota: 20:07

Well, yes, I mean, what I've told like when I talk about it. So, I mean, I, you know, I had a background, certainly an athletic background, and being a power lifter and a bodybuilder, certainly, you know, did help but, but it's not always like you don't, you don't, I don't rely on strength to do a lot of things. I, you know, let speed and quickness, you know, being able to, you know, have use your I have things ways of I have to leverage myself. It was the same when I was learning A R T. You know, the founder of A R T is six foot five. I am five foot two. So certainly, your mechanics have to, you have to be able to adapt and change your mechanics based on who you're working on. But, but, yeah, I mean, I, you know, cervical, I mean, you just, you just got to be quick, right? And that's kind of how a lot of those things is with extremities. Now, I'm not going to lie. I mean, having, you know, you know D lineman or alignment on my table, the one, if they're on my table, they're they're low down, but it can be a little challenging. That's why, you know, my new table I'm getting, it will go a little bit lower, but trying to get my center of mass over them. I have, like, one of those aerobic, we were the aerobic steps back in the day, like this one. So I have one of those. I have one, I have one in my office, and they actually have one in the training room down there that they use just for, like, for rehab, you know, doing step ups on the bot. If I have to pull that thing over, I will pull that thing over. So I just because, yeah, I'm, I'm not tall, but I, you know, I use the drop pieces. I use my arthrostim adjuster. I think there's, you know, multiple ways to skin a cat. And I will figure out what is the best tool I can use to to, you know, move what I got to move. So, yeah. So I tell them just really, you know, you got to be speeding, quickness, you have that you can move it.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 22:08

I love the step. I think the first person I really saw use that aerobic step for Justin was my partner, Dr Spencer, because, you know, he's so damn short, yeah, I figured he has, he by the first time I ever saw somebody use a step stool to get on, you know, that reaches table. So, yeah,

Dr. Spencer Baron: 22:28

the one I use still, it says Reebok on it from

Dr. Terry Weyman: 22:32

back, yeah, he's like Spongebob Squarepants. He may be wide, but he's not the tallest tool the sheds. So let's talk your role in chiropractic. Because a lot, like, like, we talked about Alan Sokolov, you have to play nice in the sandbox. I think a lot of people are now starting to look at chiropractors different, because I even though it opens conversation, I'm not a real big chiropractic Tiktok fan, and it's all about the crack. It's all about the pop. Well, in reality, we're biomechanics, neurophysiologists, and I want to know how you educate the rest of staff, new players coming in that were not just back crackers, that you're actually going to increase joint launch activity, you're going to increase satellite performance. How do you have that conversation, and how do you educate this role? How chiropractic fits in to the to the medical staff?

Dr. Karen Slota: 23:30

Well, great question. There's a lot of different avenues to go down. Luckily, I mean what I did mention, or forgot to mention, like, when the when the staff of three came to visit me, then one of the first things they told me is how much they are very pro chiropractic. And, you know, they all go to chiropractors themselves, so they really appreciate the importance and the value of chiropractors on staff. So, so that has been, I never had that in the previous regime. So that was, wow, enlightening. So, so I so those trainers now, and I mean, I have always treated the staff, so they always understand, and they understand the importance of, you know, you got to get that joint movements, you know, so muscles fire properly, all that. So, so they kind of relay that to a lot of the players, especially they're new, to say, hey, you know, they'll bring them over and meet me, because they get in to get their hips aligned. So, so some of the players, I think they, they all, they may not know a whole lot, but they all know that they got to make sure their hips are aligned properly. And so that is, you know, for them, it's kind of an easy fix or easy sell to them, because I can easily tell them, you know, you got to get this, these joints moving properly and things in alignment to help you, you know, be explosive and do what you do the medical staff, you know, they don't, I don't have a ton. Of interact because they're dealing more with full on injury stuff. So if so, I don't really, I mean, for people that have players that have concussions, the medical the training staff will certainly let have the players see me for concussion stuff. But I don't really have to do a lot with the medical like the orthodos and the internists, other than they want treatment. So they they're all on board. So I don't really have to sell what I do to them, you know, they would rather players see me and not have to do, you know, a different kind of intervention. So, and I think that comes from the top down. Also, when the players see me adjusting the head athletic trainer, or, you know, his boss bad, pretty much, they know it's safe, and they know that that's kind of the cool thing to do. And they rely also on the veteran players to they see the veterans that have this routine that they do so so the so the rookies, certainly doesn't take long for them to figure out Yes. And then you got the Tiktok videos. And I, you know, players tell them ask me if I've if I have the y strap and that kind of stuff. And I just go, oh God. You know, some of them had it. You know, they love it. If I take the towel and roll it up tight, you know, traction their neck, they love it when I do that. So, anyhow, so the role of chiropractic has definitely, it's not so taboo, it seems like, at least in our training room. So, yeah, but I will say, though, which I think I've told Spencer this, this regime, I gotta tell you, I have, I have, this is where I'll tell a lot of the chiropractic students now and why they have to be so good at adjusting is, I see the athletic trainers cracking, yeah, they're, they're, they're, They're doing some side posture moves that I go, wow, you know, they I see that that's and if I'm backed up and I can't see a player, they'll walk over and I see them doing it, and I it's like, that was a little shocking to me initially, but, but if I'm not busy, they will send them over to me, because they know I'm Still the expert at it, right?

Dr. Terry Weyman: 27:21

So on that topic, I might cut off Spencer before he gives us the black belt story that he always likes to give us. But I got a question, because a lot of the old regimes, even in medical, are still stuck in medical 2.0 wait for something, break and then fix it. And then chiropractors have always been on the side of, you know, prevention, find the cause, find the why, and try and fix it before it becomes a problem. And now you got books like, outlived by puritila, and all these, these people saying, oh, no, this is prevention. Is the way the game. And these are, like, trying to come in, yeah, it's been a chiropractor philosophy forever. Have you ever How do you look at and how do you educate not only the players but the coaching staff that we're not just adjusting or alignment of the back or the spine. We're actually trying to prevent ACL injuries. We're trying to prevent ankle injuries. We're trying to increase lateral speed. We're trying to increase flow in the in the body. How do you have those conversations to not only educate these young players coming up from college, but also to educate these, these staff stuck in these old paradigms of, wait for it to break?

Dr. Karen Slota: 28:34

Well, I'll have to, I have to tell you this the new our new regime now, with the new staff that has come in. We, we, they bring in some really good movement specialists to to educate everybody in the performance side, the strength conditioning side. So Gary Gray came in earlier this year and did a workshop with us for three days, and it completely changed how the strength, conditioning side, performance side, and how they do a lot of things. So they learned. So for players in this particular position, these are the things that how they should do their warm ups, and these are the better things to do to to enhance their position. These are things that they shouldn't do. So they have really revamped how they do not everything is about how much you can squat, bench and deadlift. Now in the training room that so they have gotten, they got rid of that. So everybody's doing foot drills now, I had never seen anybody do foot drills, the toe yoga. So, so that has really changed a lot. So, so they they are, their biggest concern now is okay. Why are we having all these Achilles injuries? Why are we having, you know, ACL so, why are these hamstrings so tough to rehab? So they're realizing that they have. To change just how they warm up and the important, yeah, so when I first came in, I years ago, through with art, I did a lot of foot stuff, and because their feet are, as you know, they're disasters, they've all had multiple surgeries. And so I do talk about the importance of having, you know, ankle mobility in order to take stress off the knee and, you know, all the kinetic chain all the way up so, so they they get it. That's where I've been. Had been preaching, and same with hip mobility and protecting the low back, and trying to get them to stop cracking their backs and, you know, self cracking, right? And, you know, get them to work on mobility stuff. So, so I'd say we're definitely all our strength conditioning side has definitely flip flopped for what it had been the previous, you know, eight years I've been there definitely. So they're getting it, getting it. Let's

Dr. Spencer Baron: 30:58

go back to the beginning and when you first started with them, and think of some of the things that and again, you're speaking to an audience that's never experienced what you have before. And let's say somebody wants to get involved, what were some of the things that you experienced that were difficult or challenges that you had working with a team, professional team like that, or even a college team, and that maybe some of those things still exist, or new things come up that you deal with in the locker room.

Dr. Karen Slota: 31:28

Well, it is definitely it's gone full circle. So I my first, at least my first year there were only three women on the sidelines, so we had our new dietitian and and one of the ladies that helps with, like, all the travel coordination of all that. And so I think the biggest challenges were a lot of these stadiums were older. There was no place for me to go the bathroom. If I needed to go to the bathroom, I either had to wait for everybody to get out on the field and I would use the bathroom in the locker room, or I would have to go out into the stadium in the concourse and wait in line like everybody else, you know, to go to the bathroom. So that was a big challenge. We didn't have a locker room. They didn't, you know, close, I mean, they didn't like my my sideline, sideline gear was all men's clothes. So everything was super long. I had to get all my stuff tailored because, you know, the polo shirts would go down to my knees and so, so, yeah, so those were little things and and then, you know what? I can't go without telling the story. I i Actually my very first year I got heckled. I'll never forget this line. So I was in Seattle, and the season ticket holder who's down right on the field right by our tunnel, where we go in the locker. And this guy is such a Jew. Oh my gosh. So he, when he so I first time I remember hearing,

Unknown: 33:14

oh, look, the Lions have a waitress on the sidelines. Hey,

Dr. Karen Slota: 33:19

how about you go get via beer. I mean, this was his mantra the whole, whole entire game. Every time I had to walk in to, you know, to go to the bathroom before everybody, anybody else went in there, I had, I stopped going in there. I mean, I could, and if I was even down on that side of the field, if the plays were down, that I'd stay on the other side. This guy was just relentless. And I actually, I actually was, I was so annoyed that I was trying to figure out how I could actually get out into the concourse, you know, get a beer and get it down to him. And I was just throwing at him, right? And I was fantasizing about this. And then at some point, then I realized, after I was visualizing the aftermath, I thought that's going to be, they're going to book me on a flight, a home, and then I'm done. So. So I had to really switch that thought in my head of how I how I approach that. So then by the end of the game, I was like, You know what? I am so happy that he noticed me, so he acknowledged me as a woman on the sidelines. And I was like, I know he, so that's and he's there every game. I actually talked to, you know, Brenda about him. So he's very well known as just being a jerk.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 34:32

So did you still run into when you, when you go to the Seattle?

Dr. Karen Slota: 34:38

Yes, he, I think we've only been there one other time, but now there. I mean, he, he didn't just single me out. He would single anybody else. I mean, he is just taught everybody knew who he was, so it wasn't just me at that point, but, but, yeah, he's still a season ticket holder. He's an attorney. Just like, how do you I don't even enjoy the. Game, if that's all you're doing, is, yeah, yeah, right. So anyhow, so I will be happy to report that as far as facilities, every year, things got a little bit better. As far as you know, we'd add, you know, one or two more females, and now they would have, like, this little shoe closet, you know, that we'd have as a locker room now and then, you know, we'd have a few more people and but then, you know, you get to some of these older stadiums, they just don't have the room for that kind of stuff. But, anyhow, but now I counted in on the lion staff. I think there's 1414, or 16 women that travel. Wow. So that's huge. So we now we kind of joke about, and what about the Packers? The Packers have us always in this little, tiny room, but because they have a hard time expanding. So, yeah, so we, so women, certainly, you know, because now we, you know some of the lines people, you know that women, of course, you know we got officials now, so there is definitely a lot more of us. So, which is really cool. And they got clothes that fit us now. So Nike has clothes, you know, the women's line now, of course, we got Lulu Lemon that does some of our stuff. So, yeah, so it's, it's gotten way better than it was. Kim

Dr. Spencer Baron: 36:19

Joo, could you this probably be the best time? Could you please share that story of an awkward time with a with a player, a well known player, you could probably mention his name too, that you you were treating and you didn't realize that you were stepping on his finger. Oh, god, oh, God, oh

Dr. Karen Slota: 36:44

yeah, jeez, yeah, yeah, he's in the Hall of Fame. Now, I won't mention his name, but yeah, first year, this guy, you know, he's probably six, seven. I don't know, he's up there and laying on my table the first time. So his wingspan, I don't know how long his wingspan is, but so as my table goes all the way down to the ground, his arms. I mean, we're just kind of laying on the floor. I mean, there was no place for his arms, right? And you know, I'm kind of doing my thing and walking around the table and and, and at one point I remember feeling some tug under my foot, and I looked down, and I was, I was stepping by my stepping on his hand, right. And he was so nice, so nice that. And I'm like, Oh, my God, this guy's never going to let me work on him again. And, yeah, so he was so gracious and so nice, and it didn't faze him, and I apologize, and he was back at my table again, but, but that made me really aware of I had to be have a lot more awareness of of my space and his space, and, oh my gosh. So, yeah. So that was pretty mortifying, but that was but another, oh God, another mortifying story. Oh geez, that was last year. I finally, you know, I also kind of have to learn to, I have learning a little more now, but, you know, a lot of guys, when they get on my table, you know, they got, they got shorts on, but they don't have anything on under it, right? So they got these big baggy shorts on, and I'm not aware of like I want, they're on their side, and I'm lifting a leg up, and I'm doing my thing that, you know, it is all wide open, you know, for the whole world to see. And that's like, oh god, yeah. Yeah. So I have to, you know, I'm continuously being better about body positioning and placement and just those little things, right? You know, making sure they have stuff moved around. They're very good about that now, because they know if I got to get on a high hamstring or an adductor, they know they all, they gotta move their junk, stuff around,

Dr. Terry Weyman: 39:05

junk, which is, I mean, on the flip side, if men are working on female, we can get in a lot of trouble for that. You know, so Exactly. So do you find, do you find that there's a the double stare there that you can get away with more than if a man was working with the women's team. Or do you, or in your head, as a doctor, you have to look at the same.

Dr. Karen Slota: 39:29

Well, I, usually, I'm very good about look, this is if I, if somebody is maybe new to what I'm going to do, and I, and I, they've got a, you know, hamstring strain, adductor, whatever it is, I'm going to tell them like, this is kind of where I need to go. I will point to where that is on me and, and my rationale why I need to get in there. So, so I will explain that and, and, you know, and most of the guys they have, they've had that done before, so, yeah, so I, you know. Certainly, if, if. But again, I, you know, being in the A R T world for that long, we're so used to going into some of those delicate areas and but I so, I think, least for my male colleagues that are in A R T, you know, they're always the ones that are really honing in on when we're instructing people you gotta, you know, explain where you're going to go, why, you know, make sure you got permission. Don't just, you know, right, you know, stick your arm up in there. And I'm, you know, I'm very conscientious. I mean, one of the things that I won't do, it depends, like how I do an anterior thoracic move. And I, you know, I pulled Spencer this, so I have to do mine a little differently, you know, across their arms, and I kind of go lean over all away, you know, and I try to, I don't keep my face where their face is. So I had to change how I do, you know, thoracic move, so I'm not all up and close into their space and having people wonder. It's like, Hmm, right message she's sending me here. So, yeah, so I think you just got to communicate all day long. And

Dr. Terry Weyman: 41:12

those are skills that you it takes time to learn. You know, coming in that you don't may not think about, and that's kind of the stuff that I think is good about, like, even the show for women coming in things yet, just it's the little things that can make you or break you, you know, and it's not the big stuff. What's one of the biggest aha moments where you were able to really show an athlete or a coach or a trainer how powerful chiropractic is to where they went? Wow, and they started paying more attention and not just thinking of us as back crackers. Well,

Dr. Karen Slota: 41:44

I, if you know what I always do with anybody, whether it's a patient or a player, is, if they come in, if the complaint I have them show me, okay, what is, what is the painful movement? And, you know, whatever it is, they'll show me. And you know, so I'll treat and I always will go back to, you know, hey, let's, let's recheck, what is that movement. We'll see how that, how that movement is, and as they feel, you know, sometimes it's a certainly, as you guys know, it can be a drastic change where they're just like, like, oh my gosh, wow. That's amazing. You know, I've been trying to crack that myself, and, you know, for two weeks now. So I'm always trying to show them, okay, this, you know, this is painful, do this and this and this and in a recheck. And so if you, if I, you know, they're seeing a pattern of improvement there. So, so I think, you know, they just want, obviously, they want somebody to help them and and I think if I establish that need, whether it's a chiropractic adjustment or it's that with a r t, because to me, i The two are mix. I, I, I don't know kind of one without the other. So to me, it's a r t and chiropractic kind of together. So I'm doing both. I may do this little A R T stuff first, and it always makes them feel good, if I'm in their hip and getting a good stretch, and then, then I can adjust them, and, you know, wow, it makes them just feel a lot better. So they get addicted to that little, you know, they get addicted to the crack sound and but they also, when they get up and, you know, and they can, they can high kick, or they can stretch with and they feel free. I mean, that's just, you know, they're just super happy, yeah, so,

Dr. Terry Weyman: 43:28

so a lot of a lot of athletes may have, depending on where they're from, may have had experience with chiropractors and may not have, how do you balance the immediate need of the athlete for pain relief versus educating them and educating the staff about longevity of the joint, enhancement overall performance, maybe increasing their their 40 time, their vertical leap, all that kind of stuff. How do you balance that pain relief versus longevity of the joint? Yeah,

Dr. Karen Slota: 43:57

I mean, I will always kind of tell them that, especially, like some of these guys, you know, their posture is not great. They're living on their phones, you know, they're gaming, you know, and I and sometimes they just, they want that instant relief. So if they're not getting, you know, if I adjust them and they're still in fill in pain, that's probably where I have to do the most educating is, why is that still painful, right? You know. So I'm, you know, have to kind of educate them that way, that, you know, first thing you know, I get the joint moving, you know. And then once that irritation gets down, obviously the muscles are going to relax and fire more normally, you know, that kind of stuff. So I kind of have to educate them that, hey, this has been going on a week and, or two weeks or since that last game, how maybe that adjustment and some soft tissue work make may make them feel better, but it's not completely gone, right? You know, you have to explain how. You know, getting hit 40 times in a in a game, you know, is going to kind of keep them flared up. So, so, you know, we do educate. That way, but the training staff, if I feel like a player, and sometimes players will tell me things that they don't want the training staff to know, right? So that's a little fine line, you know? So I will, I just have to let them know that. I said, Hey, I think you need to maybe have a little dry needling. You need some cupping. You need to get this treated. You know, you know, I'm only down here twice, right? You this needs treated every, probably every day, you know, some sort of soft tissue work. So you gotta, we gotta let the trainers know you got so I'll have them work with somebody. I'll take them right over to our head, tt, and explain kind of what's going on. So we, so we educate that way. So we're, you know, that's where we're all kind of reciprocating back and forth and same. They do the same to me, you know, they'll tell them, Look, you got to come over and see Karen. She's, she's way better at getting that joint, you know, moving, than I am, right? So, so, yeah. So, you know, it's trying. I think with players, they tend to, they overstretch. They, you know, they hamstrings. I mean, my gosh, they and they just can't stop stretching. So they always feel like they're always trying to stretch themselves out of an injury. And I always kind of have to reel them back in and tell them that, you know, that one you can keep irritating that area, so you just got to let it rest, right? That's probably the biggest obstacle for me, is they get so OCD about stretching and stretching and stretching and stretching, and they just keep aggravating it and aggravating it. So, you know? So I guess that's kind of Hopefully I answered that question.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 46:39

You are looked at as a role model by so many young female well, not just young females, but ones that have never experienced what you have. What advice would you give to a new doctor, female chiropractor or not, that wants to, you know, enter a field that's traditionally dominated by men, particularly in the sports world.

Dr. Karen Slota: 47:06

Well, what I as of late have been telling a lot of the students that I've talked to at the schools. One, I mean, I tell them, just the typical things, I'm a big tool. Have a lot of tools in your toolkit. I mean, I look at chiropractic as the biggest tool in my tool kit. But I also think that it's good to have other skills also, and that's just me, but I tell them one, you know, certainly you got to be the best adjuster that you can be. Because in the physical therapy side of things and the athletic training side of things, they are learning manipulation. So you have to really be a rock star in adjusting and, and. But I tell them also that, you know, you got to have, you got to have a lot of reps. So you got to get into, you know, high schools or colleges and get get some experience that way. And maybe, you know, you do something with soft tissue slowly, kind of build your toolkit. If you want to treat athletes, I think you kind of have to have a couple different tools that you can draw from in that toolkit, right? Because one, one modality isn't going to be enough for everyone. So that's what I have been telling them. And but also, you know, if it's, you know, if it's the NFL, or when it comes up about, you know, you know, my size, I mean, that's where I kind of hone in on speed and quickness, you know, really being able to be good at that, and you can do that. I mean, I think there's nothing that they can do. To be honest,

Dr. Spencer Baron: 48:49

I love it good. So good. So a lot of what healthcare looks at is, you know, in the sports world, is, how fast can we get a human being better or healed up? And some of those things that, you know, it's always been fascinating, some of the things that you see in the training room were taken from veterinary medicine so that they practiced certain things on a on a horse to make it, you know, heal faster. And then all of a sudden, before you know it, they're doing it on our pro athletes, and it's fine and it works. But do you notice any other trends, or anything that's evolving even in even in our world as chiropractors? You know that that you see revolutionizing the way athletes receive care? Well,

Dr. Karen Slota: 49:43

I may still think there's a fair amount of toward all injections that, you know, there is certainly no shortage of some of that stuff that's still going on. Obviously, players want to play, and, you know, I play. Players will still, I think sometimes I'm not gonna say, I think I know sometimes, because players will come to my office and, you know, they are nervous that they're being pushed into potentially, maybe having a surgery that they don't want to have. Right? I've had that happen, and, you know, or or I have players that will, you know, not fake, but will say that they're better certain, you know, symptoms that they've had are gone when they're when they really aren't, but they don't want to not play, you know, so that so I so I feel as though, I think sometimes, you know, they get kind of, you know, in that, that medical system where, okay, these are the things that, if you're having this kind of pain, you're not able to work. And, you know, this is what your MRI shows. And you know, maybe you can go in there and get that disc cleaned up. Or maybe, you know, there are players that just don't want to do that, and I feel like they're getting pressured to do that because you're not playing, you know, then maybe they're going to get cut so, so I've kind of helped to, had to help, you know, a few people kind of behind the scenes, or at least wait till the season was over so they could kind of be able to now go off and do some of these, maybe other alternative treatments, because only place the NFL is going to send you is to some other NFL doctor, some guru. That's the expert in this, and it's all surgical based, right? You know, so players, if they're on their own when the season is over to go off and do some of these non conventional things, whether it's stem cells or whatever. The latest thing is, they're not really going to get any of that kind of stuff. So I think still, some of our internists are, again, when you talk about, like, your the cardiologist that you've had on talking about how bogus some of the blood testing is and how there's better ways of testing things. I mean, our internists still do the stuff from, you know, 1960 and I think that should be better. I mean, that just seems ridiculous to me, that they're still behind that kind of occurred. I know our dietitians and our sports performance people sometimes get roadblocks thrown in front of them when it comes to different type of more advanced testing, whether you know, for for like vitamin D deficiency or any of these kind of things the medical side, don't they don't want to do it. They don't want to be part of that. So I think is kind of sad, yeah,

Dr. Terry Weyman: 52:45

yeah.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 52:46

I'm sure Dr Terry sees that in the university level too, as well. You know, you know, some of the these kids are, they're getting unnecessary surgeries, or, you know, well, that's a whole nother interview right there, but it's, I think we're we're able to provide some education and save some of them from more aggressive things. But all right, so let's see. This is one of my favorite times right now. It's nearing the end of the program, and we do our rapid fire questions. There's five of them. Good lord, I You're gonna love these. Okay? Dr Terry thought of them all. Okay, now we're gonna go through them, and some of them have everything to do with chiropractic, and a couple of them have absolutely nothing to do with what we've talked about. So if you're ready,

Unknown: 53:43

here's question. All right, let's do it ready.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 53:46

Question number one, when you've had a bad game on a Sunday, tired from traveling, what is your best tip to get your mind right for patients on a Monday?

Dr. Karen Slota: 53:56

Oh man,

Dr. Spencer Baron: 54:00

watch the Moses code.

Dr. Karen Slota: 54:03

Yeah, the Moses code. Gosh, I don't work those Mondays. If we have a really bad late Sunday night game, I just don't get it on Monday. So that's when I get crushed the most. So

Dr. Terry Weyman: 54:18

basically, what's keeping you from taking somebody's head off on the day you go back into work after having a bad Sunday and you're tired from traveling.

Dr. Karen Slota: 54:28

Yeah, I probably, you know, I just, I sometimes have to just bite my tongue and just, you know, find all the things to be grateful about, and, and, and with that, that patient too. I get crushed on Mondays after a bad loss, and I have to point out all the positive things, because otherwise, when I hear that day and it well, especially when we were so terrible year after year after year, it was it was got off, we would all just cry together in the office. You know, now, now that we're actually, you know, doing good. I mean, we just got to go, you know, just one game. Come on now, you know, we'll get there, yeah, so I just kind of got to cheer them up, because they're so used to being left at the altar for being a die hard lions fan season after season after season that it's a, it's a, yeah, it's abusive relationship that the Die Hard Lions fans have with their team, definitely. So I have empathy for them.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 55:28

You got a lot of really dedicated fans too, yeah, not like our fly by night bandwagoners in Miami anyway. Question number two, what is your favorite color and why do you want me to answer that question for you?

Dr. Terry Weyman: 55:49

No, no

Dr. Karen Slota: 55:52

favorite color. I mean, I do like some purple. It depends on the shade of purple, but I I do like purple and why? Maybe Prince Purple Rain. Maybe, there I'll go with that. Yeah.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 56:13

Wait, wait, wait, what were you gonna say? Spencer, you know, Pink? Pink? Yes.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 56:24

She loved the Barbie movie. Oh,

Dr. Terry Weyman: 56:26

my

Dr. Karen Slota: 56:31

God, he cried in the Barbie movie. All right,

Dr. Terry Weyman: 56:34

you just lost your man card. I I was like, Shut up right now, I don't even want to hear another word out of your mouth. You lost. You just went down three notches. Go to number three

Dr. Spencer Baron: 56:53

in less than here's another here, challenging question number three in less than three words, or three words or less describe yourself. Is this the first moment she's been speechless during this whole

Dr. Karen Slota: 57:18

resilient,

Dr. Terry Weyman: 57:20

Oh, I love that one. Oh, beautiful.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 57:23

Good comeback. Good job.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 57:25

That was a yes, okay, good, yeah. That was brilliant. You know, thank God you're resilient. Have to go with a guy like Barbie.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 57:41

Question number four, moving right along, what is the one thing on your bucket list you really want to accomplish, personally, a Super Bowl. No,

Dr. Karen Slota: 58:05

well, yeah, that would that's a great question. Geez, you know, probably you said personally or professionally, personally,

Dr. Terry Weyman: 58:25

personally, personally, yeah,

Dr. Karen Slota: 58:32

get over my fear of spiders.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 58:36

Awesome, awesome.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 58:38

We need to put her on Amir's virtual reality.

Dr. Karen Slota: 58:41

I seriously, I I want to do that. Yeah, wow, for you kind of like having something limit me like that, jeez,

Dr. Terry Weyman: 58:49

that's where, like, yeah,

Dr. Spencer Baron: 58:51

there you go. That's good. And our final question number five, well, we know favorite movie that you can watch over and over again. We know it's not the Barbie movie, right?

Dr. Karen Slota: 59:04

I too. I do love some top gun. I've seen that numerous times, actually, like the new the second Top Gun, any and a few the Harry Potter movies, too. I'm a, I'm a definite Harry Potter fan

Dr. Spencer Baron: 59:23

about Top Gun. Well,

Dr. Karen Slota: 59:26

you know, I was in the Coast Guard at the time when that came out. So I was flying around on Lear jets and going to air shows and doing all that kind of stuff. And it is exhilarating to be able to fly and route and do all that kind of stuff. So I just felt like I was kind of in that environment, and it was super exciting. I mean, my first five years was at a Air Station search and rescue on the Oregon coast, and it was just exciting stuff like that, and it was just

Dr. Terry Weyman: 59:56

fun. How do you not get all amped up with those jets take off and. You know, they right. I

Dr. Karen Slota: 1:00:02

know it was really, really cool, yeah.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 1:00:05

I mean, yeah. I mean, when Ed Harris stood at the end of the runway and that jet blasted them, and he didn't move yet, the building did, and that was all real, yeah, you know, they, they, they, they anchored down that, that that structure, and they did not tie him in. I have a step man that was on the show, and they said, when that jet hit, it was a F 16. Is a Blue Angel. The car moved, and it blew the roof off the thing. And Ed Harris, is 73 did not move. And they're like, and he wasn't tied in. I'm like, when you know the behind the scenes, and you're like, that man is badass. And here's his jet that took off and the shockwave blew a car and it didn't move him. I mean, how do you not love that? You know? Gosh, yeah, so, yeah, I'm with you. I mean, that's the stuff you get your blood pumping, not fucking Barbie. I mean, come on.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 1:01:00

Oh man, I just got sucker punch,

Unknown: 1:01:05

and you did it yourself. You're

Dr. Karen Slota: 1:01:07

the one Barbie.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 1:01:09

Oh, I like pink, yo. He is in South Florida, where hot pink is in roller skates. So, I mean,

Dr. Spencer Baron: 1:01:18

yeah,

Dr. Terry Weyman: 1:01:22

and I never have, and I never will. So, you know, yeah, we're

Dr. Spencer Baron: 1:01:29

going, that's the whole part of it. Oh, my

Dr. Terry Weyman: 1:01:32

god, yeah, Karen, yeah, he sure did, yeah. I have, I have so much more respect for you, Karen, now than I that I ever did. You know, give me that be able to kill aspire, but you can hang out with pink boy over there. So yeah, so I gotta say you were fantastic. And yeah, we're gonna, we're gonna wrap this up. But you know to be, I've always been admired. I always love hanging out with with pioneers, people that break down doors. People have done stuff the first one because, you know, we always hear in our society all this energy why we can't do something, yet it takes just as much energy to figure out how to do it. And you didn't fall in this the the old paradigm where women are involved in the NFL, you became the first one that did it. And so I've always, always, always respected you, both as a colleague and as a friend that you broke down the store, and I my respect is so high for you, so to have you on the show and to talk about your story, I can't thank you enough for the bottom of my heart. I hope we did you well, but keep doing what you're doing, inspiring all those people out there.

Dr. Karen Slota: 1:02:46

Thank you. Thanks, Jerry, thanks guys, David, it was nice to see you and meet you. Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I thank you so much. Yes, welcome a great rest of your day.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 1:02:58

Thank you.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 1:03:00

Thank you for listening to today's episode of The cracking backs podcast. We hope you enjoyed it. Make sure you follow us on Instagram at cracking backs podcast. Catch new episodes every Monday. See you next time you.