How to Use Chiropractic Care to Increase Sports Performance
Posted January 1, 1970
Abby Drexler is a contributing writer and media specialist on behalf of ScripHessco. She was a graduate of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Chiropractic care is increasingly being associated with improvements in sports performance.
Interestingly, many sports teams now include chiropractic care as part of their team wellness resources.
A case in point is the Arkansas Razorbacks. According to the Chiropractic Economics, the team has had a chiropractic professional on staff and on call for the past two decades.
In this article, learn about key ways that you can use chiropractic care to enhance your own sports performance for general purposes and after a physical injury.
- Chiropractic care can improve range of motion and hand/eye coordination.
The neck area is like command central for so many of your body’s communication and movement needs. Neck injuries can cause chronic pain, stiffness, movement inhibition and foggy thinking.
The respected PloS One research journal has linked spinal manipulation to reduced recovery time after neck injuries and improved overall range of motion and hand/eye coordination.
- Chiropractic care can boost reaction time even in the absence of injury.
A study published through the National Library of Medicine clinical trials stated that military personnel who received chiropractic treatments outperformed the control group in overall reaction time.
Most interestingly, the study participants – both treatment and control group – were chosen in part because they were reporting little to no pain or physical disturbance. And the treatment group showed improved reaction times after only a single treatment.
- Chiropractic care can lead to decreased recovery time to get you back into the game.
A research study published through the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics took a closer look at how chiropractic is used by professional football trainers to reduce player recovery after a variety of sports injuries.
Nearly one-third of professional football team trainers have a full-time chiropractor on staff. More than three-quarters of team trainers refer players to chiropractors regularly.
Neck pain and low back pain were the two most common reasons trainers recommended chiropractic treatments to their players.
- Chiropractic care can reduce the need for medications with unwanted side effects.
With widespread concern about the use of addictive prescription drugs on the rise, many professional athletes are keen to avoid resorting to medications for pain management and inflammation reduction.
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) stated that chiropractic treatment can reduce pain and thus the need to use prescription (or over-the-counter) pain medications.
Formerly, the choice was to remain sidelined or take medications and deal with the unwanted side effects.
Now, chiropractic offers a third option: avoid medications and get back to your favorite sport in less time with no side effects.
- Chiropractic care also offers non-invasive assistive care to athletes.
According to the National University of Health Sciences, modern chiropractic care for athletes goes beyond spinal manipulation.
Today’s chiropractor also frequently provides support through soft tissue manipulation to break up adhesions and improve circulation.
Kinesiology (sports) tape, ultrasound, TENS treatment, cold therapy, occupational and physical therapy and other treatments are often on the menu as well.
- Chiropractic care factors in the whole athlete – mind and body are treated together.
Increasingly, traditional Western medicine is being forced to recognize the direct link between physical function and cognition. When the body feels good and functions well, the mind tends to follow.
Chiropractic care can address immediate injuries but is designed to serve the greater function of optimized wellness for mind and body.
Because chiropractors understand the relationship between the injured area and the greater physical machine, treatment targets the source as well as the symptoms.
Frequently, athletes discover they make improvements beyond less pain and decreased recovery time because of this.
As the JAMA Network journal points out, chiropractic was first formally developed in 1895.
This treatment option has been with us for more than a century and is worth considering to boost sports performance and overall health and wellness for athletes.