From Hungary to Guadalajara, Toronto to Oklahoma City, and a few places in between, David Huslig has worked with elite athletes around the world.
“I have trained with Olympic athletes for more than six years now,” said Huslig, who uses his experience to serve as director of sports medicine and physical therapy at Mercy Edmond I-35. “I mainly travel alongside them to World Cup competitions and the Pan American games, which are pre-cursors to the Olympics.”
While Huslig’s work at Mercy typically involves patients and high school athletes, he continues to play a key role in the development of Olympic and elite athletes across the country, most recently with members of the USA Men’s Lightweight Four rowing team, who are currently competing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “With these athletes, I mainly focus on injury prevention, problem solving and identifying exercise to work around injuries,” said Huslig. “Physical therapy is crucial to recovery, whether it’s recovery from an injury, or recovery from fatigue.” Physical therapy and cupping; a form of physical therapy that uses suction cups placed on the body; have received international attention during the Rio games, in part because of noticeable marks on Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps. But Huslig insists that while physical therapy is a critical part of an athlete’s success, there is more to it than that.
“Nutrition is one of the most underrated components to an athlete’s success,” said Huslig. “While extra carbohydrate intake is important, these athletes maintain a clean and balanced diet, with much of the focus on high proteins and fresh vegetables.”
To help ensure the nutritional needs of these athletes are met, Huslig and Mercy help provide anywhere between six and 35 athletes with five healthy meals a week during their training at the Oklahoma City Boathouse.
“The nutritional and dietary support provided by Mercy is a critical feature for these athletes to train and compete at the highest level of international competition,” said Cameron Kiosoglous, head coach for the USA Men’s Lightweight Four rowing team. “It is an invaluable resource to have.”
In addition to training athletes and providing nutritional support, Huslig and his team at Mercy Sports Performance powered by EXOS offer individualized assessments and programs for adults looking to become more active.
“We help give that extra push and encouragement so everyone, whether they consider themselves an athlete or not, can become the healthiest possible version of themselves,” said Huslig.
Mercy Sports Performance powered by EXOS is located at 2017 West I-35 Frontage Road. For more information on all of the services offered, call 405-757-3390.
