Chiropractor Directory

Benefits Of Chiropractic Care For Athletes

Over the last few decades, the value of chiropractic care has become increasingly clear as more patients suffer the results of spinal subluxations. Adjusting the vertebral column has relieved tension and pain for millions of people. For some, their newfound comfort has allowed them to return to their jobs without the pain they once endured. For others, relief has meant they can enjoy the active lifestyles that were becoming more difficult due to back and neck problems. Still others are athletes. For them, chiropractic care has not only provided comfort, but also improved their athletic performance.

In this article, we’ll explain why spinal adjustments are important for athletes, and describe the benefits they offer. You’ll learn how the vertebral column influences much of an athlete’s performance on the field, golf course, and in the water.

Improving Athletic Performance Through Routine Adjustments

Some sports are high-impact, and place a significant level of stress on the spine. For example, hockey, wrestling, and football can place as much stress on the body as an auto collision. This creates trauma on the spine, and can move vertebrae out of alignment. The misalignments can interrupt nerve transmissions that branch out from between the vertebrae. The results of these subluxations include a limited range of motion, headaches, inflammation and soreness, and slower recovery following minor injuries. These and other side effects impair an athlete’s performance.

A trained chiropractor can adjust vertebral misalignments, and restore the spinal column’s natural position. In doing so, he or she can minimize – and in many cases, eliminate – physical ailments due to the subluxations. Because high-contact sports produce frequent misalignments, ongoing chiropractic care can be a valuable tool for athletes.

Even those who participate in low-contact sports, such as golf, tennis, and bowling, place great strain upon their bodies. For this reason, they, too, can benefit from regular spinal adjustments.

Improved Range Of Motion For Endurance Athletes

Endurance athletes put their bodies through intense strain, and thus cope with unique physical challenges. For instance, it is not uncommon for marathon runners to experience knee pain, tendonitis, and back and neck pain. Much of this discomfort stems from a loss of flexibility in the vertebral column. Disruptions of the nerve transmissions emanating from the spinal cord coincide with irritation of the nerve roots. This irritation can contribute to joint pain and other dysfunctions throughout the body.

When professional chiropractic treatment is given to endurance athletes, the pathways along which nerve transmissions flow are cleared. Therapy minimizes irritation of the nerve roots. This, in turn, minimizes dysfunctions that lead to an impaired range of motion. By restoring the athlete’s spinal mobility, a trained chiropractor can improve his or her joint flexibility. This results in increased endurance and fewer longstanding injuries.

Additional Benefits For Athletes

Besides improved endurance, better flexibility, and fewer injuries, chiropractic care can offer additional benefits to those who regularly participate in sports. It will help improve the patient’s posture, lessening the likelihood of future spinal misalignments. It can also increase blood circulation, which helps deliver oxygen to organs and tissues throughout the body.

It is also worth noting that minor injuries are common in many sports, and thus recovery time must be minimized in order to improve performance. Because spinal adjustments reduce irritation of the nerve roots between the vertebrae, and minimize dysfunctions related to the muscles, recovery time can be shortened. Moreover, the risk of injury is diminished in the first place.

Chiropractic Care Is Not Only For Injuries

Up to this point, we have presented the benefits of chiropractic therapy mostly in the context of treating and avoiding sports injuries. But the value of therapy extends much further. Even those who do not actively participate in sports place constant stress upon their spines during the course of a typical day. This causes the vertebrae to gradually become misaligned. As a result, you may experience chronic back and neck pain as well as many other impairments. A professional chiropractor can adjust your spinal column, and restore your body’s natural processes.

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Treating Whiplash With Professional Chiropractic Care

Many people suffer from whiplash without recognizing the root source of the pain. Too many assume the discomfort will simply disappear with time. So, they wait. This is the reason many neglect to pursue therapy after suffering whiplash (for example, following a car accident). Others realize the pain is due to an event-specific problem with their spine, yet mistakenly think treatment will not be covered by their insurance companies.

First, injuries sustained as a result of whipping your head back and forth will persist unless they are directly addressed. They will not simply disappear over time. Second, such injuries are much easier to detect with current diagnostic technology. Insurance companies are thus more likely to cover therapy once the condition has been diagnosed.

In this article, we’ll explain how whiplash occurs, and describe the symptoms you may experience. We’ll then explore how professional chiropractic treatment can resolve the underlying problem.

What Causes The Pain?

While the event can happen in a variety of circumstances, most cases of whiplash occur as the result of a back-end auto collision. The rear impact causes a person’s head to be thrown back before it is quickly whipped forward. During this process, the muscles are extended beyond their typical range. This can result in muscle tears, bulging or rupturing discs, and forced movement of vertebrae. The nerves in the neck may become overstretched, which causes inflammation.

While your head whips back and forth, the muscles contract and tighten. They do so as a reflex to prevent further damage. The problem is, these muscles often overcorrect, and cause more injury in the process. With the muscles torn, discs ruptured, and vertebrae out of position, pain results.

Typical Symptoms Associated With Whiplash

The most common sign of whiplash is neck pain. The cervical spine experiences trauma, which manifests as pain within hours of the event. In some cases, it may take up to two or three days to present pain.

Nearly as prevalent in diagnosed cases is headaches. The patient may feel them on one side or throughout the head. The headaches may come and go, or persist for long periods. They’re typically due to the contracted neck muscles. Shoulder pain originating in the neck and extending downward may also present.

Other signs include numbness, a tingling sensation, nausea, and even vision problems. These and other symptoms can usually be addressed through chiropractic care.

Chiropractic Therapy For Whiplash Victims

Every injury that results from whiplash is unique, and thus requires a specialized, targeted approach. Depending on the specific disorder (e.g. ruptured disc, misaligned vertebrae, etc.), your chiropractor can apply a number of techniques. For example, because joint or vertebral misalignment is common following whiplash, a spinal adjustment might be performed. This usually involves mild thrusting of the affected joint in the direction movement is restricted.

Also, because the muscles in the neck typically suffer trauma when the head whips back and forth, therapy may focus on relaxing them. This is done by gently stretching them in order to relieve stiffness. If your chiropractor identifies muscles in which movement is restricted, he or she may use exercises to stimulate them. Stimulation will help them regain their normal function.

If whiplash has resulted in bulging or impacted discs, you may experience pain that extends into your back. In such cases, chiropractic care might include exercises associated with the McKenzie Method. These exercises focus in part on resolving vertebral misalignments that have resulted in disc instability.

Lastly, your chiropractor will offer suggestions for minimizing the stress placed on your neck and back during the course of a typical day. This includes making changes to the way you perform tasks in the workplace, and activities at home. Here, the purpose is to remove any obstacles that may slow your recovery.

Pain resulting from whiplash should be addressed directly. While medications can reduce your level of discomfort, professional chiropractic care will help resolve its root cause.

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How A Chiropractor Can Help Resolve Neck-Related Pain

Neck pain can stem from an endless list of causes. For example, you might sleep in the wrong position, and wake up with a cramp in your neck; you might be involved in an auto accident, and experience discomfort characteristic of whiplash; or you may go dancing with friends, and experience a spasm that causes pain if you move a certain way. These and many other circumstances can lead to neck-related pain. Most of us will experience it sometime during our lives, though it will present in different ways.

The most common approach most people take to address the issue is to simply ignore the discomfort. It eventually dissipates to the point at which motion becomes less painful. Unfortunately, this fails to resolve the most common underlying problems: spinal misalignments and joint restrictions. Without addressing these root causes, the stage is set for a recurrence of pain in the future.

Below, we’ll explain how a chiropractor diagnoses the catalysts of neck pain, and describe the methods used to treat them. You’ll discover there’s little need to wait for the pain to disappear on its own; chiropractic care offers quicker and longer-lasting relief.

Diagnosing The Causes Of Neck Pain

Experienced chiropractic doctors realize that complaints about cervical discomfort do not necessarily mean the underlying problem is in the neck. The pain may be emanating from the upper, middle, or lower back. For this reason, he or she will conduct a physical exam and full evaluation of your vertebral column to diagnose the issue.

The evaluation typically begins with motion palpation. This is a method in which the chiropractor uses touch to determine whether the joints in your spine are moving properly. The approach is usually combined with x-rays, which provide visualization of your spine, and observing your posture while you walk.

The Flexion-Distraction Technique

Chiropractic care is comprised of several treatment measures; some rely solely upon manual intervention while others employ instruments designed to leverage the force applied on the vertebral column without the need for thrusts. The approach taken by your doctor will depend largely on the underlying cause of your cervical pain. One common approach is known as the flexion-distraction technique.

This is a manual method typically done with the help of a special table. Your chiropractor will use repetitive thrusts to relieve pressure caused by spinal subluxations (i.e. misalignments). While doing so, he or she will correct misaligned vertebrae that may be triggering pain throughout your neck.

Other Approaches To Ease Discomfort

Many chiropractors will combine the flexion-distraction technique with localized massage and instrument-assisted tissue manipulation. The former approach seeks to loosen the joints; the latter approach aims to eliminate restrictions that may be contributing to the pain.

Trigger point therapy is another common form of treatment used by chiropractors. This is a method in which pressure is applied directly to muscles that are taut. The goal is to relieve tension that might be causing chronic discomfort throughout the neck.

Your chiropractic doctor may also use ultrasound to stimulate blood flow, and inferential electro-therapy to stimulate muscle activity. Both approaches are designed to ease inflammation in your muscles, which helps reduce chronic neck pain.

Cervical discomfort is usually related to vertebral subluxations, joint restrictions, and taut muscles that have accumulated tension for myriad reasons. The aches and soreness may be due to strains, sprains, or injuries suffered in the past, which have then steadily worsened over time. Chronic pain can also be caused by degenerative diseases that affect the joints, and restrict their motion.

When circumstances do not require surgery, chiropractic care offers an ideal solution. It is noninvasive, and precludes the use of medications. Rather than addressing symptoms (as modern medicine often does), a chiropractor targets the underlying factors triggering the cervical pain. In doing so, he or she can restore your vertebral column, and relieve the neck-related aches that impact your daily life.

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