The Army Black Knights and Navy Midshipmen have been facing off on the gridiron since 1890 in a rivalry iconic enough that it’s traditionally the last regular-season college football game every year. No matter the season record for each squad, the Army-Navy game is watched by a great many military veterans who are also fans of the game. After a 14-year losing streak to the Midshipmen, the tides turned when Jeff Monken was named head coach in 2014. Monken, a strong believer in chiropractic care, added New Paltz sports chiropractor David Ness to the training staff the following year. Ness was reached for comment ahead of this year’s game on Saturday, during which the doctor was to be on hand to treat athletes in the moment.
“I got a call from a chiropractor who has ties to West Point . . . to see if I would be interested in being the team chiropractor,” Ness recalls, and the process that unfolded from there was an intense one. Since the idea of having an official chiropractor was a new one, whoever got the job was going to have to do it free of charge for the first year. “I got a call again in the fall of 2014 and sent in my resume. I was selected for an interview and went to meet the head athletic trainer and the head football trainer in October of 2014. I also had follow-up interviews with the team orthopedic surgeon. I had heard that there was one other finalist for the position, who was a sports chiropractor from Poughkeepsie and a West Point grad.” Ness attributes being selected over that other candidate to a strong background in working with college athletes. It was only after selection that Ness had to undergo detailed training in how to comply with military and hospital protocols, and also be the subject of a background check.
Part of what makes Ness an attractive provider for college athletes generally and West Point cadets in particular is training in what’s called “active release techniques,” which are designed to remove scar tissue — including adhesions, scars that connect body tissue in abnormal ways that can cause pain and hinder performance — from injured muscles, ligaments, tendons and nerves. “ART breaks up scar tissue and inflammation, [and] the players heal faster and can return to practice and playing faster than traditional [with] treatments,” the doctor explained. Since joining the training staff, Ness has been on hand for practices and home games to apply these techniques.
While most games in this storied rivalry have been played in Philadelphia — which is about halfway between the academies at Annapolis and West Point — the 2021 match-up took place at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands Sports Complex instead. That made it easier for Ness to be on hand before and during the game. “The most common injuries I see before, during and after the games are neck and back injuries from contact, commonly called “burners” or “stingers,” to the neck and shoulder area.” Mid-game treatment can be enough to allow an athlete to return to play, and it’s followed by additional chiropractic care afterward, as warranted.
Adding a chiropractor is only one of the changes that Monken has made as head coach, but as Ness has remained on staff long after that freebie season, it’s clear that the head coach believes that this is part of a winning formula. Still, the Midshipmen have the upper hand all-time, with a record of 61-53-7 in their favor. It’s going to take a few more years to even that score, but there’s no question that Dr. David Ness will have their backs.
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