A sports injury can be a major setback. Whether you play professionally or just in your spare time, an injury can sideline you for a while.
Chiropractors are skilled at manipulating joints, reducing pain and promoting healing. They work on the spine, which carries nerve signals from the brain to all other parts of the body.
Acute Care
Chiropractor Fawkner are trained to conduct manual manipulations of the spine and bodily systems that restore balance. This helps to decrease inflammation and improve the flow of nutrients, oxygenated blood and water to the injured area – speeding up your body’s natural healing processes. This can also relieve pressure on nerves and joints in the affected areas – reducing pain and stiffness.
Most injuries to the muscles, ligaments and tendons occur in sports where a sudden load or trauma causes the muscle/tissue to pull or twist overly tight or short. This can cause pain, swelling and reduced range of motion. Treatments focus on the reduction of acute inflammation through manipulation, soft tissue work and rehabilitative exercises.
Increasing the amount of blood and water flowing to the affected areas will reduce inflammation, loosen tissues and promote a faster recovery. A chiropractor can also treat your symptoms by reactivating the brain’s natural pain control system by boosting production of endorphins and serotonin. This can be an excellent alternative to using over-the-counter or prescription pain medication, which is often addictive and has adverse side effects.
Chiropractors can treat the long-term aches and pains that result from chronic injuries, such as tennis elbow or runner’s knee. They can also help prevent injuries from recurring by correcting the underlying biomechanical problems that caused the injury in the first place.
Ongoing Care
Athletes often suffer from pulled muscles, strained ligaments, or sore joints. They often push through the pain and discomfort to keep training or competing because they don’t want to let down their teammates or coaches, but this type of behavior can lead to long-term injuries.
Sports chiropractors can help with ongoing care for sports injuries. This may include soft tissue therapy to ease spasms and tension, joint manipulation, massage, kinesio taping, rehabilitative exercises, hot or cold treatments, and diet and weight loss counseling.
The most common sports injuries include sprains and strains, which are the stretching or tear of a ligament or muscle. These types of injuries are common in running, jumping, and contact sports, so it’s important to have a treatment plan in place to prevent them from occurring.
Sports chiropractic treatment can reduce pain and inflammation, enhance mobility and flexibility, and improve athletic performance. It can also help athletes develop strength and endurance, which will decrease the likelihood of injury. Chiropractors can also offer preventative care by helping athletes improve their mechanics and proper warm-up and cool down routines. They can recommend exercise programs that will strengthen muscles, improve balance and coordination, and encourage a healthy lifestyle. This will all reduce the likelihood of injury and allow athletes to continue performing at their best.
Rehabilitation
Unlike pain medications that mask the symptoms of an injury, chiropractic finds and heals the cause. This allows athletes to perform at peak performance and return to the game more quickly.
Chiropractors can also help prevent injuries by educating athletes on proper warm-up and stretching techniques. This reduces the risk of strains and sprains by strengthening the muscles and increasing range of motion.
Treatments for common sports injuries include spinal manipulation, soft tissue manipulation and therapeutic exercises to strengthen the area. This accelerates recovery by allowing the body to heal itself more quickly and without scarring.
Spinal Misalignment
A chiropractor can correct the alignment of the spine, reducing the likelihood of further injury. For example, spinal adjustments and soft tissue manipulation can restore the mobility of joints in the shoulder to alleviate rotator cuff issues. They can also relieve back pain and improve neck range of motion by relieving nerve compression.
Even small musculoskeletal misalignments can throw off your balance, encouraging injury. Chiropractors are trained to identify and treat these problems with a combination of manual manipulation and physical therapy. For instance, ankle and knee adjustments can bring the joints back into their proper alignment, while a spinal adjustment can take the pinch off compressed nerves. In addition, treatment for neck and back injuries includes therapeutic decompression, stretches and exercise to strengthen the injured area.
Prevention
The goal of sports chiropractic is to help athletes heal and recover faster, as well as return to their sport with better performance. This is accomplished through spinal adjustments, soft tissue therapy, and rehabilitation exercises that promote proper biomechanics.
Athletes can suffer from a wide range of injuries, from simple sprains and strains to more complex issues such as tendonitis and ligament tears. Regardless of the type of injury, sports chiropractors can provide treatment that will restore joint mobility and decrease pain.
In addition, they can also teach patients stretching and strengthening techniques that will improve their overall athletic performance and reduce the risk of future injuries. These techniques can be used to reduce pain and swelling, as well as to prevent the buildup of scar tissue in the injured area.
Lastly, sports chiropractors can also offer nutritional advice and stress reduction techniques that will further improve the athlete’s recovery process and ability to perform at peak levels. This comprehensive approach to sports injury treatment has helped many athletes return to their favorite activities sooner and with less pain and discomfort.
Athletes that regularly visit their local sports chiropractor can also benefit from reduced reliance on pain medication. Over-the-counter and prescription painkillers have the potential to cause addiction, so many athletes prefer holistic alternatives like sports chiropractic treatments that can address pain and inflammation naturally.
