NORTH BRUNSWICK — One of the best moments of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February was when Shaun White won a gold medal for snowboarding.

However, East Brunswick chiropractor Blasé Toto, a member of the United States medical team, did not get to see it, but his 11- , 9- and 7-year-old children did.

The whole experience “was awesome,” Toto said, explaining that he was working during most events.

Toto spoke to a group of sixth-graders at Linwood Middle School in North Brunswick on March 25, after learning that they had studied the Olympics for a school project.

“They were long days but were very rewarding,” Toto said of his 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. schedule from Feb. 3 to March 1. “We all worked hand in hand for the betterment of the athletes.”

Toto, a former East Brunswick High School football player who now operates Toto Chiropractic & Total Rehabilitation on Rues Lane, was one of only 15 chiropractors who have served in the last 30 years. He said one of the qualifications for the position was to have at least five years’ experience working with a sports team, and he had been a trainer and chiropractor for a high school football team and other sports teams.

Since an internship was also required, Toto applied to the U.S. Olympic Committee and was selected for a 15-day internship in 1995. He was invited back for another one in 2009.

Yet despite his extensive medical background, the students were basically interested in one thing: if Toto had met Shaun White. Although they were in two different areas for most of the Games, Toto did get to watch White’s medal ceremony from just a few feet away.Working with mostly ice dancers, speed skaters and hockey players, Toto had a chance to examine New Jersey Devils hockey player Zach Parise and received a signed copy of his article from Sports Illustrated that read “To thank you for all of your help, Zach Parise, No. 9.”

Toto also helped out Chad Hedrick, a long-track speed skater who had a back problem and wasn’t able to race at his top speeds. Once Toto applied chiropractic techniques such as joint manipulation, he said Hedrick was able to come off his pain medication and skate the fastest times he had all year.

“I don’t think chiropractic care can improve performance, but it helps [athletes] compete at their top level,” he said.

Hedrick won five medals and retired after winning the silver.

Toto also got to watch speed skater J.R. Celski, who had fallen and cut his thigh with his own skate during the Olympic trials in September. The first time he competed after the injury was during the Olympics, and he won two bronze medals.

Another story Toto recalled was having breakfast with the U.S. women’s short-track speedskating team, which received the bronze medal after first-place South Korea was disqualified.

“The next day … they were all depressed and disappointed because they felt they didn’t deserve the medal. They felt they did poorly,” he said.

However, the doctor told the women that one day they will wake up and see their medal there, and realize its impact nonetheless.

He said they finally started smiling.

“The thing about Olympians is that they view everything as a bump in the road … but they never think that they’re done,” he said.

Toto said all of his medical efforts were done on a volunteer basis, though his airfare and room and board were paid for in full. He also showed the students the Olympic medal and $4,000 worth of Olympic clothing he received.

Contact Jennifer Amato at

jamato@gmnews.com.