Our Doctors

Dr. Kris Birkeland has been an athlete his entire life. Growing up there was not a sport he didn’t want to try and be good at. In high school he played football, basketball and baseball at Marcos de Niza in Tempe. After receiving an academic scholarship to attend Arizona State University and suffering a knee injury his senior year in baseball, Dr. Birkeland decided it was time for a new approach to sports. He began training and competing in mountain biking endurance events. These events allowed him to compete with new competition – his mind and his body.

Dr. Birkeland pushed himself through 24 hour solo mountain bike races and the Soul Ride (a 100 mile mountain bike race with 15,000 feet of climbing) to mention a couple. He became captivated by the concept of how far he could push his body and endure the grind of these long events. As you would guess being on a bike for 24 hours means that you are going to be sore when you get off. Dr. Birkeland met new friends and began to learn about different approaches to keeping himself pain free beyond Ibuprofen. This path led him to commit to earning his Doctorate of Chiropractic from Palmer College of Chiropractic West in San Jose, CA. There he became very active in the school’s nationally recognized sports council and also graduated Valedictorian of his class. Late in 2008, Dr. Birkeland was appointed the National Student Liaison to the American Chiropractic Association Sports Council. As a member of their board he worked side by side Olympic Chiropractors to help create new opportunities for chiropractors in athletics. He now lives in Ahwatukee with his beautiful wife of 1 year, Coltlee and their 2 rambunctious dogs, Ruby and Cash. Dr. Birkeland and his wife are avid runners, cyclists, hikers, campers, and all other things outdoors!

Professional Awards/Accomplishments
• Vice President of Palmer West Sports Council
• President of Palmer West Motion Palpation Club
• President of Palmer West Sports Council
• National Student Liaison to American Chiropractic Association Sports Council
• Valedictorian of 109th Graduating Class of Palmer College of Chiropractic West
• Clinic Excellence Award of 109th Graduating Class of Palmer College of Chiropractic West

Certifications
• Certified Kinesiotaping Practioner
• Certified Trigenics Practioner
• Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (pending)

Associations
• American Chiropractic Association
• American Chiropractic Association Sports Council
• National Strength and Condition Association

Sporting Events Worked
• Sea Otter Classic, Monterey, CA
• Kaiser Half Marathon, San Francisco, CA
• Santa Cruz Beach Volleyball, Santa Cruz, CA
• Cal Bear Triathlon, Berkeley, CA
• 24 Hours of Adrenalin, Monterey, CA
• NAMI Walk, San Francisco, CA
• Muddy Buddy, San Jose, CA
• Escape from Alcatraz, San Francisco, CA
• US Half Marathon, San Francisco, CA
• North Face Endurance Challenge, San Francisco, CA
• International Children’s Games, San Francisco, CA