Chiropractic can play an important role in sports performance, prevention of injuries and recovery. Whether you are a “beginner”, “gym-junkie”, “weekend warrior”, or professional athlete, your body is susceptible to stress, strain, pain, and injuries. Chiropractic care is becoming increasingly more popular in helping athletes enhance their performance, prevent sports-related injuries, and assist in rehabilitation and injury recovery.
A 2011 study on Musculoskeletal Disorders, published in Bio Med Central journal, examined two groups of semi-elite Australian Football League (AFL) players. One group utilized chiropractic care as part of their treatment of lower limb muscle strains, and for injury prevention, in comparison to their counterparts who didn’t. Results suggested that athletes who participate in chiropractic care have the upper hand.
How does Chiropractic Care Benefit Athletes?
Athletes of all ages, and of various levels of ability, can benefit from chiropractic care.
Achieve Peak Performance
Chiropractic can play a vital role in an athlete’s training in order to achieve peak performance. Optimal performance in any given exercise requires endurance, strength, and form, which encompasses cardiovascular fitness, and a healthy spine and nervous system. Many athletes, however, do not maintain a consistent balance between these three components.
In most sports and physical activities, a weak body structure and core can lead to back pain, incorrect muscle movement or discomfort. In time, these imbalances can have a negative effect on a person’s athletic ability.
Improve Balance, Coordination, Reaction Time, and Performance
Chiropractic adjustments are a natural, holistic way to assess and treat an athlete’s neuromusculoskeletal system. It also works in a preventative and rehabilitative manner.
Athletes who include chiropractic in their healthcare ensure proper motion of their spine and body, which leads to better sensory-motor integration and improves balance, coordination, reaction time, and overall performance of the body.
Connect Chiropractic offer a range of sports chiropractic treatments that focus on correct alignment and function, which help our patients achieve improved performance in their activity.
Minimize Injury Risk
Whilst chiropractic care can assist athletes improve their performance, it is important to understand it also minimizes the risk for injuries that may occur as a result of poor function.
Asymmetry, and its involvement within the body and movement, is a common factor involved in sporting injuries. Defined as a lack of equality or equivalence between parts, asymmetry can be seen as a relative difference in muscle strength, motion, flexibility, balance, and mechanics between the different sides of the body. Asymmetry is quite common in most individuals and is often thought to result in an increased susceptibility to injuries.
Chiropractors study and are extensively trained in the proper alignment, function, and biomechanics of the body. Through chiropractic care, asymmetry is assessed, the body’s natural balance is restored, and excess stress that can cause injuries to athletes is relieved.
Treat Pain and Injury
Chiropractic care can also be useful in the treatment of injuries and management of associated pain. It allows injured muscles and tissues to relax, relieves pain and inflammation, and can assist in speeding up recovery and healing time.
A safe and natural pain management solution, chiropractic focuses on treating the injury at the root cause of the problem rather than simply treating the symptoms.
Any individual who is regularly involved in sport, dance, or physical activity at any level will greatly benefit from our chiropractic care. At Connect Chiropractic, we have thorough knowledge and experience in sports-related injuries. Our chiropractors take a consistent multidisciplinary approach to assist patients to manage their pain, promote their healing and maximise their performance.
If you’re interested to learn more about how our chiropractic care can help in your athletic performance, or seeking help with an injury and recovery, call us on (03) 512 5882 to arrange an appointment.
