In What Ways Can a Chiropractor Help After Sports Injury?

Are you an athlete? Then you know how challenging it is to take part in sporting activities like jumping, tackling and running. Allowing your body to go through these energy-sapping activities can lead to painful sprains, strains, and tears. But with a chiropractor, you can receive adequate care when you suffered from sports injuries, and even help to prevent them in the future.  

Chiropractors are experts in helping to prevent and treat injuries of the ankle, knee, back, shoulders, and neck. They are professionally trained to perform manual adjustment and realignment of the spine, making sure that bones are balanced and lined up accordingly, as means of relieving body tension. Thus, the body is allowed to function effectively, becoming less prone to injury. The primary goal of the various techniques used by chiropractors is aimed at restoring and enhancing joint functionality, as well as reducing pain and resolving the problems of joint inflammation and minimizing pain. This technique, which is a hands-on therapy is mostly used in the treatment of back and neck injuries. It also relieves muscular and joint aches throughout the entire body.  

The primary reasons why most athletes suffer from sports injuries result from repetitive motions, forceful impact, lack of proper warm-up and over-training. Chiropractors are very helpful in assisting athletes to reduce pains and heal faster when an injury occurs. Quick recovery from injury is tied down to regular visits, which also enhances better performance and overall body balance.    

To begin the healing and recovery process, your chiropractor will put some questions to you. Such questions will relate to your health, and a structural examination of your spine, balance, and posture would be carried out. Also, your chiropractor will examine your back, tendons, extremities, joints, and ligaments. Based on what information that might result from the findings, your doctor would be able to establish the kind of treatment that will best suit you. There are two common types of techniques: spinal mobilization and spinal manipulation.

In the course of performing spinal manipulation, your doctor will have you placed in different positions, and a manual impulse would be performed on a joint that is affected. This process will free pressure on the joints, and as well, aligns, muscles so both can normally work the way they were designed to function. Sometimes, an audible cracking sound might result from the impulse being performed. This sound is known as “cavitation,” which occurs from the release of gas following the opening up of the joint while motion is being restored.

As for spinal mobilization, it is a process used for patients that need a more gentle approach. The process uses simple stretches and tools to free joint pressure.

Other treatment methods can also be utilized by chiropractors to relieve pains. These may include the use of ice, electric or heat simulation. Make sure you discuss all symptoms with your doctor so he or she can carefully choose the best treatment option available for you. 

Apart from treating injuries, chiropractors also help in preventing the occurrence of injuries. It is highly recommended that athletes should get an evaluation from a chiropractor before commencing in active sport or exercise. They can assist you to check your spine and muscles to see if there is an imbalance. They also help in alleviating tension so the body can function in a natural state as against being prone to injuries.   

Although all chiropractors know how to relieve pain resulting from tension, some specialize in sports medicine. To treat chronic and advanced sports injuries, choose a chiropractor who primarily focuses on sports medicine, and who has vast experienced in identifying and treating injuries in athletes. A knowledgeable sports chiropractor may possess unique treatment techniques as well as helping athletes to avoid reoccurring injury. Are you experiencing pain from one or more sports injury? See a chiropractor today. It is also ideal to have regular check-ups to maintain a properly functioning body while preventing damage from occurring.

5 Positive Advantages of Chiropractic care for Athletes

Experts review has estimated that about 90% of every world-class professional athlete use the unique services renders by chiropractors. They use such chiropractic care to improve their performance ability and to prevent injuries. For instance, every team that participates in the National Football League (NFL) rely on DCs in different capacities. It is also estimated that 77% of athletic trainers have directed players to have an evaluation session with a chiropractor. It doesn’t you have to be an athlete before you can benefit from chiropractic care. Here at XXXXX, we treat and take care of patients from all walks of life—from different professions and fitness levels.   

Majority of people wrongly concludes that anyone visiting a chiropractor is doing so because of neck or back problems. But this is not entirely right. A recent study conducted by Dr. Simon French, Melbourne University, Australia, states that most people do visit chiropractors for back and neck related problems. But other findings have shown that a significant number of people are also reaching out to their D.C for problems relating to the muscular-skeletal system. A substantial portion of these patients is young athletes.   

Below are 5 Unique Advantages of Chiropractic Care for Athletes and non-athletes.

1. Undoing the punishment your body takes in sports

Most athletes never hesitate to attest to the positive effects of using chiropractic each time they talk about their success in the field. Barry Bonds and Lance Lance Amstrong, Schwarzenegger and Dan O’Brien are notable names that swear by their chiropractic experiences. All athletic performance is relatively affected and influenced by a combination of flexibility, strength, coordination, and speed. Due to the many benefits associated with sports, taking part in it is highly recommended. When people participate in sports, they are not only exercising their physical well-being but also learning about fair play and teamwork, as well as building mutual friendships. However, when they do this, their body is also taking a toll on the impacts no matter what type of sport they play.    

Once the spine develops imperfect alignment or movements, the vertebral subluxation that results from it is capable of creating focal areas of irritations within the nervous system. This will, in turn, result in interference with the optimum functionality of the system. Due to this predicament, athletes suffer in their performance. But when such athletes are regularly adjusted, they will often tie their success to routine chiropractic care. 

Apart from playing football, other sports like volleyball, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, and wrestling involves much contact. The physical demands and training required by these sports can negatively affect your muscles and spine also. One excellent slug test in NY is cross country track. “From the time you’re out of sight and deep in the wood running the almost endless race, other guys were getting push down and catching elbows in their sides,” says Dr. Jay Tipoff, a member of the Executive Board of the International Chiropractic Association Council on Sports and Fitness Health Science. He established his point by comparing a soccer ball that is traveling at 75mph and getting punched by the legendary Mohammed Ali.     

2. Chiropractic care treats different types of sports injuries

There are various benefits athletes can enjoy chiropractic care. Apart from the frequently adjust help in treating injuries resulting from high-contact sports like football, wrestling, hockey, etc., there are other benefits as well. Findings have shown that high-contact sports have the potential of placing the same level of strain much strain on the same body way as an auto collision. For athletes who are receiving routine adjustments will find out that there are improvements to their performance, better flexibility, improved range of motion, increase in blood circulation and reducing the level at which they become prone to injuries. Since spinal adjustments reduce irritation of the nerve roots lying in the vertebral, the time it takes for minor injuries to heal can be shortened, which further improves performance.         

Athletes taking parts in low-impact and high-impact sports have a lot to benefit from regular spinal adjustments. For those athletes who take part in high-impact sports, it improves flexibility and performance while lowering the risks of injury. For low-impact athletes like goffers, bowlers and tennis players, routine adjustment can help in relieving the strain that's put on the body. Chiropractic care provides a natural way to prevent and to treat various ailments affecting athletes.   

Headaches – Presently, there is an ongoing focus on neck and head injuries in sports. It is noteworthy that a recent study conducted by Duke University in 2001 states "the use of spinal manipulations yielded almost instantaneous relief for problems of headaches that result from neck pain." About 60 to 90% of headaches result in neck joint pains, which make chiropractic treatment an ideal choice that offers significant relief.

Shoulder pain – Findings from research conducted by the British Medicine Journal and the Annals of Internal Medicine shows that when shoulder manipulation is included to traditional rehab techniques, it brings about significant improvement while reducing pain that accompanies most shoulder injuries.  

Ankle injuries – A combined study from the Physiological Therapeutics and the JMPT discovered that chiropractic handling of ankle problems helped in lessening pain, increasing motion and provide improve ankle function.   

Prevention of injuries – A study conducted in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorder in Australia confirmed that Australian football players using a regimen of chiropractic care has a few levels of injuries compared to those who did not.

3. Non-invasive/ drug-free treatment

While it is good to seek chiropractic treatment for neck and back pain to handle injuries from high-impact sports like rugby and football, other injured parts of the body can also benefit from chiropractic care. Recent studies have shown clearly that chiropractic treatment enables athletes to be healed from their injuries, and they don't require invasive surgery or painkillers.  

There are many types of treatment options available for chiropractors when treating patients with sports injuries. In a US News and World report, Ellen Sonnino discussed four unique methods used by chiropractors in handling cases of sports injuries.

• Grasten technique which makes use of stainless steel tool in breaking down scar tissue.
• Active Release Technique that involves a combination of stretching and massage together with moving of the affected joint through a range of motion
• Use of Electrical Muscle Stimulation: that helps in releasing tension towards the muscle's surface using an electricity-created contraction
• Functional/active dry needling which involves focusing on deep trigger points for releasing muscle tension through effective stimulation.        

It is not every athlete that seek chiropractic care only after sustaining an injury. Athletes like Tom Brady, quarterback for the New England team, discover that it also impact positively on the performance while improving their health. "Chiropractic gives you a better feeling," stated Tom. From the moment that I walk out of the clinic, it seems like I have added three inches to my height, and everything seems normal again. And as I continue to see the chiropractor, I have the feeling that I'm always a step ahead of the game."    

4. Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention

Any chiropractor who is skilled in the treatment of athletes’ injuries should be ready to treat the entire personality of the patient. The chiropractic must be able to customize a comprehensive program aimed at avoiding injury. Early evaluations should constitute not only neurological examinations, traditional orthopedic tests, but also to consider supplementing physical examination findings together with added and appropriate diagnostic assessment, or an indicated referral. A lot of studies have confirmed the efficacy of chiropractic care in helping athletes to achieve the best level of performance. A research team in Canada added chiropractic care to the treatment program of 16 injured athletes that are taking part in long-distance running. Amazingly, the affected runners recovered dramatically. Not only that they recovered in time, but 7 of them achieved "personal best" in their performances at when they were undergoing chiropractic treatment, even though some other factors might have also contributed.     

5. To Minimize Pain

The Human spine is a critical structure containing numerous tissues that are highly sensitive to pain. The most notable ones are the disc, ligaments, joints, and nerves. Any form of abnormal alignment settings in the spinal column is capable of placing unprecedented level of strain and stress on any one of the tissues mentioned earlier. There was a recent article that reviews the efficiency of spinal manipulation, and it was discovered that adjustment associated with chiropractic care was consistent and better than other medical options used in reducing the degree of acute low back pain. It also helps in restoring normal function, both for the short and long-term results.     

Ways to Prevent Sports Injuries

Whether you are playing sports for a fitness competition, the last thing you would want is to be sidelined by a nasty injury.  Staying off the beautiful game is something you don't to happen to you. Of course, it is impossible to prevent every injury, but research findings put forward by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeonsentails that the rate of injuries among athletes can be reduced by 25% if appropriate and adequate preventive measures are taken. Whatever sport you are participating in, make sure you used these general injury prevention rules. 

Six Rules You Can Use to Prevent Sports Injuries

• Always be in the right condition before playing a sport

Bear in mind the warriors that play during the weekend has high injury rate. Make your train adequately for any sport before taking part in it. Never expect that the sport on its own will get in the right shape. That would be a costly mistake. If you can follow a regular conditional program of exercise designed for your sport, you can avoid many injuries.

• Know the rules and abide by them
• Use appropriate protective gear and equipment
• Rest
• Always warm-up your body before playing
• Avoid the temptation to carry on when tired or in pain

Every sport has a rule, and they are designed to keep everyone safe. You need to learn and master the rules so you can play safe and enjoy the game. Give maximum respect to the rules, fight for them, and insist that referees, umpires, and judges enforce them against all sorts of illegal practices. This way, you and your fellow athletes would remain healthy during and after the game.

These include mouth guards, protective pads, gloves, helmet, and such other equipment. This equipment and gears and not for people who take part in weak or low-impact sporting activities. They are for the strong who participate in high-impact sports like baseball, football, soccer, boxing, and so on. They will help you to protect your eyes, teeth, chin, ankle, skull, mouth, ears, and more. Don’t ever take part in any healthy sport without your gear or equipment.

Make sure you are taking your rest after a prolong days of training. Athletes who fail to rest are always susceptible to injuries. Don't buy into the misconception that the more you train, the better you play. Rest in itself is a weapon. It is a vital component of right and proper training. Even God rested after creating the world. You also must rest to prevent fatigue, poor judgment and injuries while becoming stronger and more calculative.  

Warming your muscles and joints makes you less exposed to injuries. Adequate warm-up is essential is critical to injury prevention. Ensure that your warm-up is related to your nature of the sport. You can start by practicing specific stretches or starting your enjoyment slowly. You can also do a mental rehearsal, though this will depend on the nature of your sport. 

Are tired, worn out or feeling discomfort? Quit the game or ask to be replaced if necessary. You will only be setting up yourself for aggravated injury if you fail to pain attention to warning signs in your body. 

Two Critical Factors that Increase Your Sports Injury Risk

Findings have exposed us to some of the factors responsible for all sports injuries. Though they are many, two significant factors beat the rest when it comes to foretelling a possible sports injury. These are:

A history of injury. Athletes with the unenviable record of previous injuries to a joint, muscles, is likely to metamorphose into a chronic problem. It is very important that you warm up and stretch areas that you previously injured.  

A prolong length of continuous training. The days of recovery helps in reducing the rate of injuries by giving muscles, joints and connecting tissues a chance to repair and heal between training sessions.