Dr. David Levine has been a chiropractic physician for more than two decades. His emphasis is chronic and severe pain. Dr. Levine has treated more than 100 former and active pro athletes including NBA Hall of Famers Earl Monroe and Rick Barry, World Champion Boxers Leon Spinks and Zab Judah and current and former NFL players and military personnel.
Dr. Levine joined SportsJam with Doug Doyle to share some of his best stories about working with legendary players. He got the opportunity to help one of his sports heroes, former New York Knicks great Earl "The Pearl" Monroe.
"As a child growing up, I used to practice his spin move in my driveway. Monroe and Walt Frazier were my two idols. I used to revere the Knicks. I watched the two 1970's championships. They really epitomized New York. They were the ultimate cool."
When the opportunity came to help Monroe and other former NBA players deal with some pain issues, Dr. Levine was more than happy to do so, especially if it meant coming to the rescue of one of the greatest NBA players of all-time.
"I was so in awe of Earl Monroe. He was having some pain issues. I told him I'm so honored to be here and so honored to meet you. He said thanks you that means so much to me. Earl came to see me because I got one of his friends, former Chicago Bulls great Bob Love, out of pain, Love went to Earl Monroe and told him how I eliminated his pain within 15 minutes."
Dr. Levine admits when he was a high school freshman playing basketball, his teammates laughed at him because he was so nervous bringing the ball up the court. So when Golden State Warriors legend Rick Barry told a bus, filled with former NBA players headed to a charity event, that the seat next to him was reserved for Dr. Levine, those memories came rushing back.
"Barry sits next to me because he has all this pain stuff going on and he wants to talk to me. All I'm thinking is that I couldn't even get the ball up the court when I was a freshman because I was shaking so much and was being laughed at, and how ironic is this and what an interesting turn of events that I'm sitting with one of the top players in NBA history and he wants to sit next to me so I could help him."
The chiropractic physician's work has been featured in the Huffington Post, NY Jets Pregame Show, ESPN and various boxing publications. Levine says his treatment can also significantly reduce an athlete’s mental and emotional game day stress, resulting in improved mental clarity, focus, and ultimately, enhanced performance.
World Champion Boxer Zab Judah calls Dr. Levine “Miracle Hands” in a video on Dr. Levine's website.
In addition, Dr Levine also donates his time and expertise to US Military who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with post war injuries, as well as individuals in homeless shelters enduring chronic pain.
"I love what I do. I think what's unique about what I do is the speed at which my treatment works, which basically treats head to toe pain. It's non-invasive, it's non-drug and it's very fast-acting. It provides hope. Many of these chronic pain patients have lost hope. So my mission and purpose in life is to help alleviate pain and suffering. This is the vehicle I'm able to do that and I'm really grateful and proud of what I'm able to do."
One of Levine's other passions is music. He's a contemporary jazz vocalist who will soon be releasing his debut album I Will Wait For You.
"It's basically a jazz standards album and I'm singing the same songs that I sang when I was 18-years old."
Levine began singing and playing drums in the Catskills as a teenager and got to see some of the biggest stars that were coming through the region. Those stars included Sammy Davis, Jr., Tony Bennett and Wayne Newton.
You can SEE the entire SportsJam interview with Dr. David Levine here.
