Sometime after Kyle Gibson starts for the Twins in their home opener Monday afternoon, the durable young right-hander will connect with perhaps the most important member of his support team this year: his chiropractor.
Gibson is just 28, smack in the prime of his career, but there were times during the second half last season when his lower back started to bark at him. In early August in Toronto, for instance, he was shelled for eight earned runs in just 4 2/3 innings.
In 2014, his first full season in the majors, Gibson saw a chiropractor a few 
times at the recommendation of Twins closer Glen Perkins.
“One of Perk’s guys came in and adjusted me,” recalled Gibson, who threw seven shutout innings at Kansas City his next time out.
Realignment of the spine allows the overtaxed areas of a pitcher’s core to meet the challenge of persistent pounding. “Letting those muscles unflare and then heal and rebuild them back to where they’re supposed to be, that’s what we’re doing.”
“It has made a big difference in my hips and just everything,” said Gibson, who set career highs for starts (32) and innings (194 2/3) last season. “My skeletal system was basically allowing my muscular system to stay tight and not function properly. That caused some nerve irritation.”
“It’s good,” Gibson said, “to feel good again.”
