Q&A with Dr. Jennifer Kocour of Ogden Wellness Center

We were thrilled to have the support of Ogden Wellness Center at this weekend's annual SheShreds Jamboree.   In addition to their sponsorship, Dr. Jen's skills and passion for keeping us healthy really shone at the event, where she provided chiropractic care as needed, especially to those participants who were feeling stiff and sore from long hours of travel to get to the Jamboree!  Her passion for caring for those of us who love to shred really shone through. 

We took some time to interview Dr. Jen to learn more: 

1. Explain what the Ogden Wellness Center does as well as your role.

Ogden Wellness Center is an integrated office that is here to help the Ogden Community increase their function and improve their ability to move, play and enjoy all the activities, indoor and outdoor, that Ogden has to offer.  Our team and providers evaluate each person that enters that office for help so we can individualize a plan that guides each person meet their goals.  This may include chiropractic care, rehab exercises, trigger point or dry needling session, weight loss consults and if necessary we refer our more difficult cases to other providers in the area.  I enjoy two roles in the office as Executive Director of the clinic as well as providing chiropractic care and developing the rehab programs for our clients.

2. Describe the importance of chiropractic adjustments for extreme-sport athletes.  

Chiropractic is extremely important for everyone but especially those that do extreme sports. There are multiple reasons for this.  First being that chiropractic specifically works with the nervous system.  The nervous system controls every aspect of how the body works and moves through life. So with chiropractic adjustments your body is able to optimize its performance of muscle strength, endurance, and reaction time. Chiropractic also works well in the recovery phase to help your body heal faster, sleep better, and process the nutrients that you received from your food better as well.  It is especially important for extreme athletes because the medical field often doesn't always have options for pain relief that doesn't include opiates or other banned substances.  Chiropractic helps reduce pain and decrease healing time without drugs or prescriptions that may prevent you from performing at high levels.

3. What do you love about the outdoors?

What I love most about the outdoors is the cleansing power of the fresh air and open spaces.  The time that I spend outside allows me to feel at peace and helps me center myself.  Often times even though I may be home alone there is always something that is pressing and I feel like I need, or should, be doing. But when I'm outside, it allows me to feel at peace,  and centering takes place that I can't experience anywhere else.

4. Which female athlete inspires you most? Why?

So the female athlete that inspires me the most is a super hard question for me.  This question is like asking which child is my favorite.  The athlete that inspires me the most are the ones that overcome their fears, their self-doubt, the ones that have pushed themselves to improve and keep trying.  But to me, this is the definition of an athlete. 

5. Do you have any advice on athletes keeping their bodies "young"?

The best advice that I can give an athlete on keeping her body's young is to keep playing.  People in general, have a tendency to get into a routine and this routine can manifest in overuse injuries, boredom, and withdrawal as well as obsessive behaviors.  Often times, especially as we get older, we tend to stop playing, getting on the ground, laughing with friends, chasing after kites whatever it may be, we just stop playing. The best way to keep young is to keep moving.

6. Tell us about Ogden Wellness Center's partnership with the SheShreds Jamboree. 

Ogden Wellness Center has worked with SheShreds for several years and our team loves working with the girls and women that this company works with.  SheShreds is a high integrity company that works hard to promote strength, self-confidence, and a community that encourages girls of all ages to be the center of their day.  What I mean by this, is that when you work on you and are confident and who you are and what you can accomplish, you get to choose the people that you have in your life or those that you need to remove from it.  SheShreds is a company that has strong values that honor women which matches our values.

A big thanks to Dr. Jen from all of us who were able to ski snowboard a little harder this weekend thanks to her help!