Today I would like to talk about one of our favorite patient populations here at the office; Athletes!
We see young athletes, college athletes, retired athletes, and even professional athletes to get back in the game. Dr. Flaim and I know what is is like to push our body to the limits and train day-in and day-out to perfect and master a skill. That means we also know what is is like to ask our body to do something and experience it saying “NO”! This is not only frustrating, but can often cost an athlete the game, the position they want, the scholarship they could have, or the health of their soft tissue and joints!
As chiropractors we obviously advocate for athletes to get adjustments both in and out of season. However, this is not just because we love the power of the adjustment, but because we know how the body heals through proper movement and how dysfunction is caused by improper movements. Also, athletes with soft tissue and joint injuries heal and respond differently than an individual who has never played a sport. This is due to the strengthening of neuronal networks within certain kinetic chain movements that athletes develop overtime. An athletes body is trained to recover and rewire to perform a practiced movement. Sometimes, this results in athletes injuring themselves and not even knowing it.
Picture this: You’re watching someone play soccer and they roll their ankle. They may stumble and limp for a few steps, but then they seem to “run it off” and go about playing the rest of the game with no injury. In reality, that athlete is full of adrenaline and is able to over ride their body’s warning systems and create a new movement pattern to BYPASS the injury. Muscles in the hip and leg will recruit other movement pathways to change the athletes gait so they can continue running while ignoring the ankle sprain.
The ankle may be sore later, but everything else seems to be moving okay. LIES! When our doctors perform a movement assessment on an athletes we find that they have very clever ways of cheating to complete an action. The ankle doesn’t want to invert? That’s okay, the hip and knee will torque to make up for the lack of inversion. What does this mean? Well, it means that the knee and hip will move more than they are meant to while compensating for the lack of motion at the injured ankle, resulting in a movement dysfunction in the entire leg.
Injuries reported by athletes don’t always have a specific cause. Sometimes an Athlete can remember the exact moment they heard or felt an injury occur, but often the injury has occurred gradually overtime and the result is a frustrated athlete with no answers. X-rays, MRI’s and Ultrasounds can come back normal, but the athlete still has unexplained pain. Many athletes are forced to cease playing the sport they love or often continue hurting themselves overtime by pushing through the injury.
At Dr. Super’s House of Health, we focus in finding and treating the cause of the injury so that we can get athletes back in the game. Here are some fun studies about chiropractic and how adjustments help our athletes:
Chiropractic improve three factors affecting muscle strength; neural factors, muscle factors and biomechanical factors. The benefits of improved neurological flow of information can improve the functional capabilities of both the muscular and cardiovascular systems. (1)
“Numerous studies have reported positive outcomes in chiropractic-treated athletes, including improved musculoskeletal function, reduced pain, and enhanced recovery” (3)
“The preventive and rehabilitative nature of chiropractic can contribute to decreased injury rates and improved long-term health among athletes, thereby promoting career longevity and a higher quality of life after retirement” (4)
A study involving judo athletes found that cervical adjustments led to a significant increase in grip strength (2)
“The recovery and maintenance of an athlete's physical health are also significantly influenced by chiropractic care. By addressing musculoskeletal imbalances and promoting proper biomechanics, chiropractors help athletes recover from training sessions and competitions more efficiently, thereby reducing the risk of overuse injuries and facilitating long-term health and performance” (5)
Chiropractic professionals treat patients with concussion symptoms, such as neck discomfort, headache, brain fog, visual disturbance and dizziness (6)
Whether the athlete suffers from a concussion, shoulder, hip, back, neck, hand, wrist, ankle, or foot injury, we treat them all using the power that drives every athlete; their nervous system. We have the honor of facilitating and observing the healing potential in all of our patients, but very few are as rewarding as watching an athlete heal and return to the game they love.
If you or someone you know is an athlete and would like to see how our office can serve you or your family, send us an email or call to schedule your life changing visit today! We look forward to serving you and helping our community grow strong, competitive athletes.
Feel Well and Do Good,
ADIO
Dr. Super
References:
The benefits of improved neurological flow of information can improve the functional capabilities of both the muscular and cardiovascular systems.
Effect of cervical spine manipulative therapy on judo athletes' grip strength. Botelho MB, Andrade BB. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2012;35:38–44.
Chronic Achilles tendon disorders: tendinopathy and chronic rupture. Maffulli N, Via AG, Oliva F. Clin Sports Med. 2015;34:607–624.
Cervicogenic dysphagia associated with cervical spondylosis: a case report and brief review. Chu EC, Lee LY. J Family Med Prim Care. 2021;10:3490–3493
Chiropractic treatment and the enhancement of sport performance: a narrative literature review. Miners AL. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2989393/ J Can Chiropr Assoc. 2010;54:210–221.
I expected to be pain free: a qualitative study exploring athletes' expectations and experiences of care received by sports chiropractors. Eindhoven E, Lee A, Stilwell P, Mior S. Chiropr Man Therap. 2022;30:21.
