SPORTS INJURY AND CHIROPRACTIC CARE
We often hear about professional athletes suffering a traumatic, possibly career-ending, injury. Athletes often seek chiropractic care for various injuries. Apart from taking care of injuries chiropractors also provide preventative services, such as when your body feels stiff or sore or your range of movement is often limited.
Many athletes work against their physical discomfort because they don’t want to let down their teammates or disappoint coaches. The spirit of being a team player when your body isn’t in the best condition increases your risk of injury.
Chiropractic treatment not just focuses on the site of the injury, but on the whole body. Such as, a spinal adjustment treats back pain as well as correct irregularities in your gait, and even helps with recurring headaches.
HOW DO SPORTS INJURY HAPPEN?
Sports and exercise help to keep our body healthy, but there are often risks involved. Sometimes, excessive training, inappropriate training methods, or risky exercise equipment can lead to injury. But, structural abnormalities and muscle imbalances or weakness can also be lead to injury, such as injury to the ankles, knees, elbows, shoulder, or spine, including:
- Back pain is caused by subluxations, herniated discs, or fractures.
- Neck pain caused by harsh impacts.
- Shin splints.
- Torn ACL injuries.
- Bursitis.
- Tennis elbow.
- Concussions.
- Runner’s knee.
- Heel spurs, also known as plantar fasciitis.
- Dislocations.
Sports injuries are commonly caused due to traumatic force to a joint in motion causing hyperextension or hyperflexion. The sport-related injuries, and others, may cause significant pain and debilitation taking you away from the sports that you enjoy. Chiropractors, who are experts in handling injuries of the spine, muscle, and nervous system, can help prevent and manage sports-related injuries.
The main reasons athletes suffer from sports injuries are due to forceful impacts, repetitive motions, over-training, and failure to warm up properly. Chiropractors help athletes by relieving their pain and healing faster after an injury. Regular visits to the chiropractor will promote quicker recovery after sports practice and training as well as better balance and overall performance.
Chiropractors take care of various sports treatment services including:
- Spinal Adjustment
- Sports Physical Therapy
- Soft Tissue Massage / Graston Massage
- Spinal Decompression
- Nutritional Counseling
- Rehabilitation / Exercises
- Personal Injury
IMPORTANCE OF CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT FOR ATHLETES
An experienced chiropractor is able to help athletes in various ways. Sports massages are beneficial in alleviating the pain and swelling incurred in an injury as well as helping in optimizing performance by stimulating healthy blood flow and warming up muscles. Hydromassage is also performed by chiropractors to athletic health.
There are various other benefits of chiropractic care for sports injuries, such as:
Chiropractic treatment leads to an improved range of motion:
This is one of the biggest benefits of regular chiropractic treatment that improves the range of motion. Sports training exerts a lot of pressure on an athlete’s body, and physically intense activities can create problems with spinal alignment and movement.
An athlete can easily end up with stiffness and pain in their joints due to the regular pressure. Spinal alignment issues may reduce the range of motion, thereby inhibiting their overall athletic performance. Getting the appropriate chiropractic care can help reverse the damage as well as prevent injuries before they occur along with promoting pain-free movement.
Receiving chiropractic treatment can reduce pain:
The athletes can suffer from back pain, particularly in the lower back due to the trauma of a sports injury. The athletes will still have weeks or even months of painful recovery before they are back at a top level of performance. Instead of relying on pain medications that have many side effects, chiropractic care is beneficial in reducing pain. So, in addition to restoring function, chiropractors can recommend treatments that will reduce all types of pain both in the short term and in the long run. Chiropractic care will also allow your body to recover and cope with pain more effectively.
Fewer prescription drugs for treatment:
Injuries and aches can be treated with pain medications, cortisone shots, and other drugs that provide short-term relief. Chiropractic care gives athletes a drug-free alternative to reduce, or even eliminate, their pain. This also reduces the side effects or dependencies for the athletes that commonly arise from the use of prescription medication.
Chiropractic care involves non-invasive treatment:
Chiropractic care is usually non-invasive and provides relief from injuries throughout the body. The treatment is not just limited to neck and back injuries. Chiropractic care may even serve as a possible alternative to invasive procedures including, surgeries that would keep athletes sidelined during a long recovery period. The treatment methods used by chiropractors include electrical muscle stimulation, functional dry needling, the Graston Technique, and the Active Release Technique. These techniques can be used to care for athletes suffering from a variety of injuries.
Reduce Recovery time:
A chiropractic physician may use soft tissue techniques like massage or instrument-assisted soft tissue techniques to make the tissue easy to move as well as relax, decrease lactic acid, and improve blood flow. Chiropractors also utilize physiotherapy equipment such as an ultrasound or cold laser to help with areas that have exceptionally high inflammation. These adjustments are also beneficial in providing improvement in joint mobility along with quick recovery.
Chiropractic treatments lead to optimal wellness:
Athletes focus on body awareness, health, and optimal function all year. A chiropractic physician provides the athlete with proper diet and nutrition, sleep guidelines, and proper training strategies for overall wellness and reducing the risk of injuries. Proper spinal and extremity alignment through adjustments, body mechanic evaluation, and gait analysis assist with muscular patterns and development that are essential in body development. Athletes can keep their bodies in the healthiest form, train more efficiently and effectively all year round with help of chiropractic care.
Improvement in performance:
Athletes after recovering fully from their injury, will most likely notice increased flexibility and reduced pressure in the problem area. They may also experience a quicker muscle response and increased range of motion. All of these benefits occur as the spine is in line and functioning in accordance with the nervous system. A healthy spine is a key to a healthy nervous system, and a healthy nervous system combined with diet and training will improve performance in any sport.
OUTLOOK
An athlete in accordance with chiropractic care is able to maintain physical strength and range of motion, along with recovery from an injury without the use of prescription drugs and invasive treatments. Our expert chiropractors are experienced in treating any sports-related injuries.
If you or anyone you know is suffering from sports-related injuries, our expert providers at Zenith Injury Relief & Wellness Clinic will take care of your health and help you recover.
Call us on 972-210-0033 to book an appointment with our specialists, and begin living your life pain-free.