Many of you are currently finishing the summer sports season or thinking about the upcoming winter sports activities. Injuries often occur at the beginning and end of season due to either fatigue (season end) or using different muscle groups (season beginning).
Many professional sports teams have a team Chiropractor because they know the benefit of Chiropractic care. Chiropractic care can help not only decrease the chance of injury, but also improve performance. You don’t have to compete at the top level to benefit from Chiropractic care.
What do Chiropractors do?
Chiropractors bring the musculoskeletal structure of the spine, into proper alignment; in doing this Chiropractic care removes the stress to the central nervous system. When the central nervous system is functioning to its fullest potential, your body can most effectively send messages to and from the brain, this free flow if information is vital in all forms of sports activities.
Benefits for Athletes
1. Undo the punishment the body takes in sports
Many athletes swear by the positive effects of chiropractic when talking about their personal successes. Athletic performance is affected by a combination of strength, flexibility, speed and coordination. Participating in sports is encouraged because of the many benefits. Not only is a person getting exercise when playing, but they are also developing fine motor skills, learning about teamwork and fair play and of course building friendships. But their bodies are also taking impacts no matter what sport they are playing.
When the spine exhibits imperfections in movement and/or alignment, the resulting vertebral subluxations can create focal areas of irritation in the nervous system, which subsequently interfere with the optimum functions of all other systems. As a result, athletic performance suffers. When athletes are adjusted regularly, they will often attribute their success to regular chiropractic care.
2. Chiropractic care helps a variety of sports injuries
Athletes can experience many different benefits from receiving chiropractic care. Not only can adjustments help when treating injuries from high-impact sports such as wrestling, football, and hockey, but they offer other benefits as well. It’s been shown that high-impact sports can place the same amount of strain on the body as an auto collision. Athletes getting routine adjustments may notice improved athletic performance, improved range of motion (especially in endurance athletes), better flexibility, increased blood flow, and may suffer from fewer injuries. Because spinal adjustments will reduce the irritation of the nerve roots between the vertebrae, the healing time from minor injuries can be shortened, improving performance.
3. Non-invasive/drug free treatment
While seeking chiropractic care for back and neck pain caused by injuries suffered in sports like football and rugby is normal, injuries to other parts of the body can also benefit from a visit to the Chiropractor. In fact, many studies have shown that chiropractic treatment helps athletes recover from injuries without the need for painkillers or invasive surgery.
4. Injury Prevention/Performance Enhancement
Any chiropractor treating athletes should be prepared to treat the whole person, and tailor a comprehensive program aimed at injury avoidance. Initial evaluations should include not only traditional orthopedic tests, neurological examinations, and consideration to supplement physical exam findings with any additional diagnostic evaluations, if appropriate or a referral if indicated. Numerous studies support the fact that chiropractic care helps athletes achieve an optimal level of performance. A Canadian research team included chiropractic care in the rehabilitation program of 16 injured female long-distance runners. The runners recovered quickly; seven of them actually scored “personal best” performances while under chiropractic care, although there may be other contributing factors.
5. To Decrease Pain
The spine is an important physical structure that contains many pain-sensitive tissues: Most notably, joints, muscles, nerves, discs and ligaments. If there are any abnormal alignment patterns in the spinal column, this can place an abnormal amount of stress and strain on any one of these tissues. In a recent article reviewing the effectiveness of spinal manipulation, chiropractic adjustments were consistently better than other medical options in reducing the intensity of acute low back pain, plus restoring normal function, both for short and long-term effects.
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