Jensen: Snap, crackle, pop kept Jerry Rice crisp

During his second NFL season, Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice noticed his lower back stiffening up.

Then running back Roger Craig offered a solution: regular visits to a chiropractor.

‘‘The things with a receiver, we have to be able to run full-bore and come to an abrupt stop, so I would have problems,” Rice recalled. ‘‘I started to get adjustments [from a chiropractor], and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh! This is really helping me.’ After that, I was addicted.”

Chiropractic has been criticized by practitioners of more mainstream forms of medicine throughout its history, dating back to the early 1900s. Rice said he visited his sometimes twice a week. He’s now the spokesperson for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to increasing public understanding of the value of chiropractic.

He developed a strong friendship with his chiropractor, Dr. Nick Athens, who is based in San Carlos, Calif.

‘‘He became a close buddy,” Rice said. ‘‘I would go in and get adjusted, sometimes right before the game.”

Ranked No. 1 in NFL Network’s list of Top 100 players, Rice was both dominant and durable. A 13-time Pro Bowl receiver, he owns many NFL records. But he said he might not have lasted 20 NFL seasons without Athens’ help.

‘‘I probably would have played at least five years less because you put your body through so much pain,” Rice said. ‘‘Then, the thing about professional football, you can’t have an excuse.”

Even after his career ended, Rice has continued to see Athens.

‘‘Football is a very violent sport, so your body is going to get out of whack,” Rice said. ‘‘[Regular adjustments] helped me to be my best. Then, after football, I moved onto ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ ”

Rice, the runner-up in the second season of the popular show, said dancing put his body in ‘‘awkward positions.”

Since his official retirement in 2006, he has served as a broadcaster. Meanwhile, he’s been a central part of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, appearing in advertisements in Sports Illustrated, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.