1. Dr Lawson, you are a proud old boy from St Johns. What made you choose Chiropractics?

Coming from a mainstream, traditional private school and studying the slightly less mainstream, less traditional profession of Chiropractic at Wits Technikon is a pretty unlikely story but in all honesty, Chiropractic chose me! I love sport and everything about it - always have. I just wanted to be the guy running onto the field every weekend treating our sportsmen and women. So, I was looking at doing Physiotherapy. Turns out, there was another plan for me. 

I sustained a pars fracture from bowling at the age of 15. In those days, you were put in a metal corset and not allowed to play sport for a year!!

I recovered and got back to playing cricket, hockey and running cross country and ended up getting a sports scholarship to do my A-levels at a school in the UK. I played top level school and county hockey in the first term as well as running cross country for the school and county. Term two was the cricket term and after a couple of hours in the nets at the first practice, I was in trouble with my back again. I was stuck to the dormitory floor for two weeks, having seen the school Doctor, Physio and the Orthopaedic spinal specialist at the local hospital. They could all identify the original injury but couldn’t explain why I was in the state I was. Out of desperation and fear that he had lost his opening bowler and mid-order batsman, the cricket master insisted that he take me to a friend of his who was a Chiropractor down the road - he would “fix” me. Not having a clue what a Chiropractor is/was and only having heard how they can kill you, I was faced with a seemingly impossible choice. Somehow, spending the rest of my life on the dormitory floor seemed a far worse prospect than death. So, I agreed.

The Cricket coach made me an appointment, drove me to the practice, carried me into the treatment room and lay me on the bed. The Chiropractor had one look at my Xray and said: “Ahh, we’ll have you fixed in no time!”

I’m not sure I was at all convinced at that stage but he saw me three times that week. I wasn’t able to play in Saturday’s game but I had a three hour net session with no ill effect. I thought, this stuff must actually work! 

Three weeks later, I was on the phone with my parents when my mother mentioned that she had been chatting to a guy who was busy setting up a Chiropractic program at what was Wits Technikon in those days. He was looking for students for his second intake and would I be interested.....? The rest, I guess, is history.......

2. What and where did you study in the UK?

Shortly after graduating from Chiropractic School in Johannesburg, I took up the offer to go to the UK to complete the British Chiropractic Association’s post graduate diploma which essentially was their internship. They offered this as a gesture of good will to the South African students as they had been integrally involved in the set up of the Chiropractic program in South Africa. There was obviously no accreditation for us at that stage so it seemed a sensible option to go to the UK for a year, complete the post graduate diploma and then return to SA to start practicing. 

As the best plans always pan out, one thing led to the next and I ended up staying in the UK for 7 years. The access to post graduate training both for Chiropractic and musculoskeletal modalities and techniques delivered by the top professors and professionals in these fields was incredible. I lapped it up, and  was literally on a course every weekend for the first three years I lived there.

I always had a yearning and passion for sports medicine and always dreamed of being a Sports Physician. With a degree in Chiropractic, ones options to study Sports Medicine are pretty limited however, I was extremely fortunate to be endorsed by a leading Sports Physician in the UK to apply to study an MSc in Sports & Exercise Medicine at Nottingham University working out of Queen’s Medical Centre - that was a dream come true! What a life changing experience on so many levels.

3. You spend a lot of time growing the profession of Chiropractics in SA. On what boards do you sit? 

I spent over 10 years on the Chiropractic Association of South Africa’s (CASA) council and was fortunate enough to serve two terms as its President. I was so passionate about Chiropractic, Sport and Sports Medicine that I founded Chirosport SA and spent 10 years growing and developing it into a sustainable organisation. 

These days, I think I’m considered an “elder” which amuses me no end. I believe that leadership is about sustainability. If the work that I did on these committees and/or councils continues and grows further under the passionate leadership of the next generation, I’ll be a very happy man. Life’s “slightly more manageable” these days with two little kids running around. Any spare time is spent as 

the chair of the International Sporting Federations Commission on our International Sports Chiropractic Federation (FICS) which is a position I am thoroughly enjoying as we secure relationships with International Sporting Federations to provide sports Chiropractors from around the world to work at their World Championship events and Multi-Sport events across the globe. 

4. What is the normal chat over dinner with the Lawson sons? Both being in the medical field.

Hahaha, there was a time that my treatment bed was the first port of call after rugby or cricket but these days, in the interests of civility and “happy family’s” there’s definitely no shop talk at the dinner table😂

5. 2020 has been a year to remember regarding the COVID_19 Pandemic. How has the pandemic effected you positivity?

It really has forced people to take their foot off the gas and take some stock. I’ve realised how fragile everything in this life is and how grateful we should be for everything we have. It’s afforded precious time with my little family. As hard as it has been at times, I believe there are many more lessons to be learnt and hopefully many positive, new beginnings to follow.