This article appeared in the Jan. 1, 2004 Jewish Advocate.
Running, biking and swimming for yiddishkeit
By Susie Davidson
Advocate Correspondent
Quincy chiropractor Dr. Joshua C. Dubin ran his first race in the 1996 Massachusetts Triathlon in his native town of Sharon. Since then, he has gone the distance and then some in varied competitions, as both a participant and advisor.
Dubin, who has treated elite triathletes for over nine years as the sole New England member of Team USA Triathlon’s medical staff, has run half and full Ironmen, the Boston Marathon, regularly completed the Pan Mass Challenge, traveled to Switzerland with Team USA, and, as part of his Injury Management update series, just published a paper on ankle sprains.
Triathlons are no easy feats, consisting of swimming, bicycling, and running in varying distances. Races can be sprints, Olympic distance, half-ironman or full ironman distances. In 86 degree heat this past Oct. 25, Dubin finished the Great Floridian Ironman in 14 hours and 12 minutes, realizing a longtime goal and earning respect from his patients and colleagues. This “ironman distance triathlon” consisted of a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride and culminating in a 26.2-mile marathon.
In April, Dubin ran the Boston Marathon as part of the American Liver Foundation fundraising team. In August, he participated in his ninth Pan Mass Challenge, a two-day bike ride from Sturbridge, Mass. to Provincetown, totaling 196 miles, which benefits Dana-Farber and The Jimmy Fund.
“The swim training I did on my own at the Striar Jewish Community Center with helpful hints from local professional triathletes Candy Angle and Andy Noble of Weymouth,” said Dubin, a long-time member of the JCC who generously contributes to the annual road race as both a sponsor and a volunteer. Dubin traveled to Florida with Rosie Leonard of Quincy and Tim Snow of Brockton, who both competed in the half-ironman race of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run.
In August, Dubin took time off from training to travel with Team USA Triathlon; this year, he treated athletes at the Duathlon (a run, bike, and run) World Championship in Switzerland. In the past five years, Dubin has compiled a book which details 13 common sport-related injuries and includes detailed artwork, in order to aid patients in understanding both treatment techniques and injury prevention. In November, Dubin wrote a paper on ankle sprains as part of his Injury Management Update series.
“I’m involved with charities and non-profits like the JCC because my parents instilled a strong sense of family and Jewish community,” explained Dubin, who belonged to Sharon’s Temple Sinai. In high school he belonged to and served as chapter president of AZA. Both he and his family have been longtime members and donors at the Striar JCC. Dubin has been an active sponsor and volunteer at the JCC’s annual Road Race for many years; in the past he also played in several of the JCC basketball leagues.
“He has a true dedication to education, tzedek (charity), and chesed,” said friend and fellow athlete Rachel Appel. “His devotion to Judaism and his career greatly help others.”
“I love working with people and am fascinated with human anatomy and physiology,” Dubin explained, adding that he enjoys helping people feel better and enabling them to improve their quality of life.
The Quincy Sun
Thursday, October 17, 2002
“Spotlight on Health and Fitness”
Dr. Joshua Dubin: Member of Team USA Medical Staff
by Chris Poisson
Dr. Joshua Dubin almost didn’t get to participate in the recent ITU-Duathlon Long Distance World Championship.
That’s because the event, held in Weyer, Austria, was taking place around the same time Europe had its biggest flood of the century.
“Weyer was flooded the day before we arrived,” said Dubin, who noted the town had 1,400 participants among its own 2,500 people and 3,500 cows. “They spent 24-7 cleaning and getting the course ready.”
Dubin did not compete as an athlete; rather, he participated as a member of the Team USA Medical Staff for the sixth time in the past seven years. He has also taken part in the world championships held in Italy (1996), Spain (’97), Sweden (’99), Denmark (’00), and France (’01).
“I love it,” Dubin said. “I enjoy training with the athletes and it’s fun helping them get better from their injuries. It’s like a hobby.”
Indeed, Dubin’s full-time job is as a licensed chiropractor. He has an office, Dubin Chiropractic, located at 1250 Hancock St., Quincy, where he specializes in the management of musculoskeletal disorders as well as sports and work0related injuries. He’s also a certified strength conditioning specialist and a certified chiropractic sports physician.
“I compete personally,” he added. “Two years ago I qualified for the national team at the Marlboro Duathlon in the Clydesdale Division. But these are pro elites at the world championships.”
In other athletic endeavors, Dubin has run the Boston Marathon twice (1995-96) and cycled in the Pan-Mass Challenge for the past six years, raising a combined $14,000 for cancer research.
At the Duathlon World Championship, Dubin arrived a week before to train with the athletes and wound up working with about 50 of the 120 U.S. athletes every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
And one athlete he worked with was personally gratifying. Two days before the event, Andrea Ratkovic of Oklahoma had an injured hamstring near her pelvis, which caused extreme pain while running.
Ratkovic sough out Dubin, who performed his magic, and in just 48 hours, she was pain-free and set to take on the hilly course. Ratkovic, who won her second U.S. title a month earlier in the 2002 Dannon Duathlon in California, placed fifth overall among women.
Dubin, who resides in Quincy, graduated magna cum laude from Palmer College of Chiropractics in 1995. In 1999 he published a paper on the treatment of low back injuries in Dynamic Chiropractic.
Quincy chiropractor selected for Team USA medical staff at ITU World Championship in Sweden
Quincy resident Joshua Dubin had the opportunity of a lifetime recently, helping treat the world’s “elite” athletes in a triathlon held in Sater, Sweden, during July 1999. Many of the athletes who participated in this event will compete for a spot in the 2000 Olympics.
Doctor Dubin was selected to participate as a member of the Team USA Medical staff for this pre-Olympic event, in which participants tested their skills with a 2.5 mile swim, an 80 mile bike ride, and an 18.2 mile run.
On race day, he recalls it was 88 degrees, one of the hottest days in Sater. Although Dr. Dubin has participated in a number of athetic events, his mission this time was very different–to spend the eight days preceding the qualifying event treating the athletes who became injured while training for the event, as well as providing some “fine tuning” techniques for athletes which included examining bio-mechanics and helping them to keep their ability to compete at 100%.
More than 70 athletes from the United States traveled to Sweden to participate in this event, as well as 100 more from around the world. Places including Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Australia, the United States, Brazil, Japan, South Africa, Italy, Greece, Czechoslovakia, and Great Britain were represented. In all, Dr. Dubin treated more than 40 athletes during their pre-event training.
The sponsoring organization, the ITU, was founded in 1989 and has raised awareness of the sport so that it is now recognized as a full-medal Olympic sport.
Previous competitions have been held in San Diego, CA; Orlando, Florida, Mar De Plata, Argentina; and St. Petersburg, Russia. The sport has gained in popularity to the point where it will be included in the Olympic program at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia.
Only chiropractor on the medical team; assisted in prevention and treatment for athletes
Dr. Joshua Dubin was the only chiropractor on the medical team for this event, and he assisted runners and bikers in both treatment of injuries and preventive measures prior to and during the ten-day event. Selection for the medical team is determined by a committee review, in which applicants are selected on the basis of their experience and training.
He is a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician, a Certified Strength Conditioning Specialist, and was the first chiropractor in Massachusetts to be credentialed in the special, deep-tissue technique known as ART (Active Release Technique). In fact, he noted, both United States and Australian athletes were well-versed in the ART treatment.
“The training for an event like this is extremely intense,” he said. “Runner, bikers and swimmers frequently encounter problems with their upper necks, mid-backs, shoulders, hips and ankles. Treatment during training before the event often helps the athletes stay functioning at their optimum level, and can make the difference between success and failure.”
Served as sports physician for Ironman Competition in Hawaii
Previously, he served as a member of the American Chiropractic Association’s Sports Physician Team Ironman Competition in Kona, Hawaii (1995).(see pictures)
He served as a chiropractic physician in the Pan-Mass Challenge in 1995 and 1996, and participated in the event as a rider in 1997 and 1998; the event sponsors bicycling from central Massachusetts to the tip of Cape Cod to raise money for the Jimmy Fund.
In addition, he has run the Boston Marathon twice; the first time, he raised funds for cancer research and the second year for the American Liver Foundation.
Dr. Dubin expects to be a member of the Team USA Medical Staff in next years ITU World Triathalon. He hopes to have the chance to help other athletes go on to Olympic competition with the use of his preventive techniques.
Dec. 3, 1999 in The Sharon Advocate
Joshua Dubin on triahlon medical staff
Last year Dr. Joshua Dubin was selected to be the only chiropractor on the team USA Tiathlon Medical Staff in Sater, Sweden.
Dr. Dubin was once again selected to be on the Team USA Medical Staff for the long course triathlon in Nice, France
Not only was he a doctor selected to be on the Team USA Medcial Staff, but he also came in third place in a US qualifying event and as a result earned a spot on the USA duathlon team at Huntersville North Carolina.
For questions about this event, or others, please contact Dr. Dubin at (617) 471-2444.