Dr. James Werner knows how to help athletes get back on track after an injury. He has more than a decade of expertise treating and training Olympians, Stanley Cup champions, first-round draft picks, collegiate athletes, and recreational athletes. After working with top medical provides, strength coaches, and the full gamut of athletes, Werner honed his experiences to develop a system called Performance Therapy. His system combines chiropractic care, dry needling, sports performance training, and rehabilitation to achieve lasting results in fewer visits.

“Performance Therapy treatments can benefit anyone that’s ever said, ‘I haven’t been the same since my last injury’ or ‘I can only do that on my good side’ or ‘I’ve had to give up a specific activity since my injury,’” Werner said. “Far too often, the impact of random tweaks or serious injuries go beyond athletic performance and can rob an individual’s livelihood.”

And that’s where Werner comes in. He takes a holistic approach through cutting-edge assessments and treatments, which include the four pillars of health: biochemical, neuromuscular, biomechanical, and psychosocial.

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Individualized treatment plans begin with an assessment of any initial tissue or joint damage. Injuries cause inflammation, which, if left untreated, often prevents muscles from sliding and working efficiently, which then causes long-term compensations and limits optimal sports performance.

Werner’s assessments and treatment plans go as in-depth as patients want. He can examine and treat a specific injury, such as a sprain, and often get a patient feeling better in as little as one or two visits. Or he can create a comprehensive treatment plan, which literally assesses the body from head to toes, for top performance. Full assessments may include nutrition consultations and lab tests, which determine inflammation levels, detox ability, and gut health, as well as hormone, brain, and cellular function. He also provides sports psychology referrals to patients who need to address the emotional trauma around injuries.

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Treatment-wise, dry needling breaks the cycle of pain, activates muscles by creating a rush of new blood to the area, expels metabolic waste, and helps nerves function better. Chiropractic adjustments help joints move properly. While sports performance training and rehabilitation allow people to return to the activities they love, whether it’s in a professional capacity like the NHL or recreational sports.

“I meet people where they are and introduce different ideas to illustrate the path to get them where they want to go,” Werner said.

Werner’s passion for a comprehensive, holistic treatment approach stems from his own experience. A promising career as a hockey player ended after concussions slowed his athletic edge. When he saw how other athletes were cleared to play after injuries, despite not being able to safely perform full strength conditioning exercises due to those injuries, he wanted to bridge that gap.

He studied chiropractic medicine at University of Western States. After graduating, he worked with Crash Conditioning, an elite hockey training facility in Calgary, where, for the last five years, he’s worked with trainers and physicians to take athletes from therapy to high-end performance.

Werner recently moved to Steamboat Springs. His wife grew up in Colorado, and Werner spent time skiing in Steamboat as a kid. Steamboat’s rich history of high-performance athletes made it the perfect fit for him to open Werner Athletics, a one-stop shop for sports performance therapy, injury prevention, and athletic injury recovery. He also travels to patients for mobile treatments.