Chiropractic Treatment for Sports Injury

Whether a professional athlete, amateur runner, or a dedicated week-end warrior avoiding sports injuries can be as difficult as walking in between raid drops in order not to get wet.

There are a number of conditions that can result from playing sports. A variety of muscles, joints and ligaments are used when involved in active play, all of which can be affected by strain from overuse, trauma, or not being properly warmed and cooled down.  A huge proportion of sports related injuries are what those in the medical profession identify as repetitive motion injuries. Almost all sports involve some sort of repetitive motion. Golfers repetitively swing a club. Tennis players repetitively swing a racquet. Baseball players repetitively throw the ball. A wide variety of sports and physical exercise require repetitive running and/or squatting movements. These repetitive motions often result in reduced and/or painful range of motion, inflammation, as well as problems caused by calcium deposits and the formation of scar tissue.

Common impairment caused by repetitive motion affects the shoulders, elbows, hands, wrists, knees, ankles, and feet. A chiropractor treats these injuries with joint mobilization therapy. A proper course of mobilization therapy can often restore normal range of motion as well as reduce scar tissue and improve blood circulation – all of which both treat the injury, as well as assist in preventing future injury.  Sports injuries are generally in the form of soft tissue injuries, which refers to any damage to the soft tissues of the body, such as ligaments, muscles, tendons, nerves, joints and connective tissue.

There are a number of ways in which a soft tissue sports injury can occur:

The Chiropractors at Fitness Chiropractic specialise in the non-drug treatment of musculoskeletal problems, including joint sprains and disk injuries. Often, when a muscle or joint is injured, the body naturally compensates, attempting to maintain balance and protect itself by tightening other muscles and joints. For example, the persistent pain in your shoulder could be the result of a direct injury to the shoulder; it could also reflect your body's compensation for spinal-joint movement restrictions in your neck.

Many athletes are being sidelined with injuries that could be avoided, or sitting out on the bench because their injury is not responding to ordinary treatment. Others still are playing, but at less than peak efficiency, simply because their structural system is not balanced. During many sports, body contact, fast stops and starts, and positioning place an unusual amount of strain on the spine and structural system. As a result, chiropractic gives special attention to the spine, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves of the athlete. In fact, many high level athletes visit a Chiropractor for a 'tune-up' before a game to help prepare joints and muscles and reduce the risk of injury.

Chiropractic adjustments help restore the natural balance that was present before the injury. Treatment of sports injuries at Fitness Chiropractic includes widely used physical therapies such as ice for swelling and inflammation and heat and electronic muscle stimulation for muscle strains and sprains. These techniques help athletes return to training and perform at their peak level sooner.

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