At The World Games held in 2013 Cali, Columbia, there was an 18% utilization of chiropractic care by athletes. The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics further indicates that the 18% registered represented a total of 1463 treatments. Out of the total number of patients attended to by Chiropractors, 86.9% of them reported immediate improvement in their performance and how they were feeling.
Since 2005, there has been a collaboration between the International World Games Association and the International Federation of Sports Chiropractic. The above statistics, as well as the partnership between the IWGA and FICS, is enough indication of how chiropractic care is a necessary form of alternative medicine in sports.
Some of the ways that chiropractic care supports your recovery when playing sports include:
1. Optimized performance
Sports is all about time, agility, and balance. The more an athlete coordinates the trio, the better the chances of boosting performance. The major influencers to balance and coordination are the senses of sight and ears.
Whenever we face any situation, the eyes and ears collect data and send signals to the brain for processing. Upon interpretation of the information, the nervous system transmits signals to the various parts of the body responsible for responses to the prevailing situation.
When the sensory, nervous, and response systems are off-balance in some way, they impede balance and coordination.
To foster performance, chiropractors take athletes through holistic chiropractic care. This type of therapy goes beyond the adjustment of the spine. Apart from the functionalities of the body, holistic chiropractic captures chemical/nutritional and mental/emotional requirements of the body.
With holistic chiropractic care, sportsmen and women enjoy acute coordination of their entire systems. Consequently, their agility and balance are placed at their peaks, thereby optimizing performance.
2. Pain reduction
Sporting activities subject athletes to several forms of injuries. These include:
| Injury | Description |
| Strains and sprains | These are damage to the soft tissues of the body, such as muscles, ligaments, and tendons. |
| Stress fractures | Small cracks on the bone. They are caused by repetitive forces that arise when athletes try new workouts or increase the intensity of their exercise routines. |
| Knee injuries | The knee is one of the most common parts over-relied upon but various sporting activities. The most common types of knee injuries include strains, sprains, dislocation, tears, and meniscus. |
| Shin splints | These develop after physical activity. They are pain experienced along the shin bone. |
| Tendinosis | Refers to a chronic tendon injury caused by the deterioration of the protein structure of the tendon (collagen). |
All the above form of injuries come with their different degrees of pain that range from mild to severe. Chiropractic care such as Bodnar Chiropractic is capable of treating conditions that are strenuous to the body, which results in various injuries. This is not only achieved through spinal manipulation but also therapies administered to other parts of the body.
3. Decreased recovery time
Recovery time is the time span taken by the body to adapt to the various stressing factors encountered during sporting. It is the time that lost energy is restored as the body repairs the damaged tissues.
Extreme sports such as football, rugby, and track events are demanding and hence can present significant levels of injury and strain to the body. Depending on the level of sporting one engages in, it can take at least 48 hours for one to recover from the injuries and strain incurred during play.
Chiropractic therapy can help adjust the muscles and correct other misalignments encountered during sporting. It is through adjustment of various misalignments encountered during sporting that the recovery process is sped up.
4. Injury prevention
Despite chiropractic treatment focusing on fixing injuries, it is also applicable to preventing injuries encountered during sporting activities. This takes us back to holistic chiropractic care, responsible for the overall well being of the body. Holistic chiropractic therapy takes advantage of multiple diagnostics assessments to detect whether every part of the body is in good condition.
To ensure that athletes are less at risk of facing injuries, chiropractors can consistently monitor their bodies to detect the smallest injuries, among other stressors on the body. Proactive care structural, chemical, and emotional components of the body, thus minimizes the possibilities of the body encountering injuries during sporting routines.
In summa
As time unfolds, chiropractic treatment is becoming a critical part in ensuring the overall well being of both professional and leisure athletes. Therefore, on top of observing the procedures of a sporting activity designed to keep you safe, you can always include chiropractic care into your sporting routine.
