Dr. Matthew Murrin of ChiropracticUSA knows an athlete’s pain.
From the age of 12, his athleticism and fascination with the physiology of the human body predicted his education and occupational trajectory. Becoming the youngest certified personal trainer in Canada’s history at the age of 16, Dr. Murrin’s next goals were to conquer pre-med, with a specialty in physiology, at the University of New Brunswick and move on to medical school.
However, a critical sports-related injury during his college basketball career changed Dr. Murrin’s path and belief in the power of chiropractic medicine.
“The short version is that I was injured playing basketball, and it was a pretty severe injury. My coach had contacts with some big dogs who worked with professional athletes. Their resolute opinions were that I required surgery and that I was lucky I wasn’t in a wheelchair. I went to four other doctors of sports medicine for evaluations, and they said the same thing: “You need surgery. There is no other option.”
Despondent, Dr. Murrin shared the news with a teammate who suggested that he give one more doctor a try: his own.
“I didn’t really believe in chiropractic at the time, and my teammate knew that. Convinced that his chiropractor could help, though, he sort of tricked me. He said ‘Hey. You gotta come check out my doc,’ and, as it turned out, that doctor was a chiropractor.”
Resistant to the idea that chiropractic medicine would be a viable solution to his injury but averse to the suggested surgical solutions, Dr. Murrin agreed to open his mind to chiropractic medicine. However, he had questions – lots of them.
“I was still a punk kid who knew a lot about the body. I questioned him and academically challenged him over and over. But he had great answers for everything. He really did. I was impressed.”
Then, the chiropractor said one thing that grabbed Dr. Murrin’s attention.
“He told me that he could get me running again, that I could play ball again. Now, keep in mind that I’d just talked to one of the biggest doctors for Canada’s Olympic team, and he’d told me that surgery was my only option.”
“This chiropractor said ‘No. You don’t need surgery and I’ll get you back to normal.’ So I put all my cards on the table. I decided to trust him, and he literally changed my entire life.”
Not only did chiropractic medicine cure Dr. Murrin’s original back injury, it resolved other issues, such as sports induced migraines, gastrointestinal issues and stress-induced illnesses.
“During games, I would randomly get these brutal migraines. I also got sick around every midterm and final. I’m super competitive, and I just thought those issues came with the territory. After several months of seeing this chiropractor, all of these issues were gone. Gone. And that blew my mind.”
As Dr. Murrin’s physical health improved, his natural curiosity about how the human body functions begged the question: How is chiropractic changing my whole world?
“I went to him for back pain and was just hopeful that he was going to fix it and he did, but the effect on my other issues didn’t make sense to me. So I invited him to lunch and grilled him on chiropractic medicine. As we discussed the nervous system, which is what I was teaching at the time as I worked on my master’s, I had this “ah-ha” moment of the body functioning as a whole, rather than broken down into parts.”
This revelation changed Dr. Murrin’s path to healing.
“I left medical school and decided to take up chiropractic medicine,” he said.
Dr. Murrin’s qualifications are impressive: a bachelor’s in kinesiology and a master’s in exercise science from the University of New Brunswick; and graduating magna cum laude from Palmer College of Chiropractic. He is a certified fitness consultant, a professional fitness and lifestyle consultant, a certified exercise physiologist and has a resume and work history replete with illustrious sports teams and athletes across both Canada and the United States. He now calls Mount Pleasant home.
“I’ve been living the dream of helping people heal without medication or surgery ever since,” Dr. Murrin said.
Treating a wide range of patients, from an infant with digestive issues to a 98-year-old man with mobility problems, Dr. Murrin’s deep, abiding affinity for the athlete remains.
“Bodybuilders, powerlifters, scholastic and recreational weekend athletes are normal people –they just tend to have different injuries. I often resonate well with athletes because I’ve been there. It’s what led me here: pain and the desire to remain an athlete despite it,” he concluded.
For more information on how Dr. Murrin’s experience and ChiropracticUSA can help you, visit chiropracticusasc.com or call 843-881-0046.
By Amy Gesell
