CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR ATHLETES
Have you ever been injured playing sports? Did you ever stop to think, why did I get injured? Was it just bad luck or could the injury been prevented? At the Vitalign Spine Clinic these are the questions that we consider with our athletes. Most of the time, people consider their injuries a result of bad luck. However, a split-second reaction or slight change in body position could make all the difference in the world. Most athletes are what we call “structurally imbalanced”. Meaning that due to the wear and tear on their bodies from training or competition, the bones of the spine are not properly aligned which causes significant stress on the nerve system, health and ability to compete at the highest levels.
We work closely with physical therapists, functional movement specialists, massage therapists, sports performance coaches, strength coaches, athletic trainers and medical doctors to co-manage care depending on the specific needs of the athlete. All other treatments work better when the athlete is in align and the structural imbalances of the spine are removed.
HOW WOULD BEING “STRUCTURALLY IMBALANCED” AFFECT ME?
- Loss of proprioception - Proprioception is your brain’s ability to know where your body is in space. For example, close your eyes. Extend your right hand, move it in small circles. Now take your left hand and grab your right hand without opening your eyes. You were able to locate your right hand without seeing it because of nerves called proprioceptors were telling your brain what your right hand was doing. That example is pretty easy for your brain even if you have a loss of proprioception. A more subtle example would be if you were running down a basketball court, you stop suddenly, your knee buckles and all of a sudden you have a torn ACL in your knee. Because of the loss of proprioception your brain did not get the information from and back to the muscles in the knee to contract and protect the joint as you were making a sudden stop. These injuries are called non-contact injuries and they can happen when no one even touches you but your body does not respond to a normal movement.
- Loss of Focus - Training and competition require a lot of mental focus. Our spine protects our nervous system. If we are structurally imbalanced there will most likely be pressure on our nerves. Regardless of if we have pain or not, our brains recognize this pressure and does NOT like it. The pressure on our nervous system causes the brain and body to have poor communication which in turn is overwhelming to the brain. For example, think about how you feel if you don’t get clear answers from your spouse, your boss, your kids or coaches. It makes it difficult to move forward and know what to do next, this can be overwhelming and cause anger. The brain is no different and this loss of communication from structural imbalances causes us problems and we start losing focus of other things like studying, training or even during competition.
- Difficulty Recovering - When we train or compete our bodies need time to rest and recover. If you are structurally imbalanced there can be altered movement patterns (you are not moving normally) which puts additional stress on our muscles and joints. This additional stress takes longer for the body to heal or recover. Also, people who are structurally imbalanced have a much more difficult time falling or staying asleep and often wake up in the morning NOT feeling that they are well rested. Sleep is vital for athletes’ success because sleep is the time when the body is recovering and regenerating.
- Injuries or pain primarily on one side of the body - For example, maybe you or someone you know always gets hurt on the left side of their body, this can be a result of a structural imbalance in the spine. Structural imbalances in the spine will cause postural imbalances, which cause abnormal movement patterns, which increase stress or tension to muscles and joints, which can lead to pain or injuries. Being more prone to pain or injuries on one side of the body is simply evidence that this could be happening.
If you are an athlete or a parent of an athlete and you are noticing signs of being structurally imbalanced, want to improve performance, heal faster or stop taking daily medication just to manage pain. Please give us a call for a complimentary consultation so we can help you perform at your best!