Boxer Roy Jones Tries Pittsburgh Chiropractor

Boxer Roy Jones Uses Chiropractic

McCANDLESS, Pa. -- Former world champion Roy Jones Jr. won titles in four weight classes during a 21-year boxing career. Now, at age 42, he's finding that those belts came with a heavy price.

"I started having to work to keep my balance, and I wasn't liking it all," Jones said Wednesday. "So for the last four or five years, I had been looking for something or somebody that could work on reversing the effects that the punches had on my brain."

Jones' journey brought him to the North Hills chiropractic practice of Dr. Charles Simkovich.

"Any blow to the head can cause damage to the way the brain is functioning, or the cumulative affect of small blows to the head," Simkovich said.

Simkovich said the cranium is a series of bones, and the effects of a concussion can be reversed with proper treatment.

"If this is rehabilitated -- the cranial bone movement -- the brain can actually heal," Simkovich said. "And that's why I'm getting all these retired NFL players and boxers in here who are experiencing different issues, which are now correctable."

Another patient is Todd Kalis, who played eight seasons in the NFL from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s, including one year with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"I started to see some improvements in the first few visits in more than one area, primarily my focus and my vision," Kalis said.

"Before long, people started saying, 'Wow, you look younger -- something about your eyes,'" Jones said. "I'd say, 'What is it?' (and they'd say,) 'It's just something about your eyes, you look younger.'"

Simkovich said his technique involving cranial brain movement dates back to research done in 1986.

His patients suggest that their treatment could also help current athletes, such as Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who has been sidelined with a concussion since early January.

"You could definitely improve, I think, your performance when you improve your sight and your focus and your retention of information. That's a benefit for anybody," Kalis said.