Global Health, Fitness and Medical Issues

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Chiropractic athletics is a natural treatment focused on athletes and sports injuries. It is a non-surgical, non-drug option that can help individual athletes prevent injury/s from happening, maintain optimal athletic performance, and relives sports musculoskeletal injuries. Athletes of all types can benefit from chiropractic athletics.

 

Sports leagues and professional athletes including Major League Baseball and the National Football League have full-time chiropractors on their teams. Athletes from all over the world utilize chiropractic medicine. With the advancement in sports technology, intense training and superb athleticism come injuries that can turn into game-ending conditions. Because of this, there is a wide variety of treatment needs and is where chiropractic athletics comes in.

 

Commonly athletes are referred to chiropractors for neck, lower back, and extremity conditions. Chiropractic athletics help them get them back into play after an injury faster, with added flexibility and agility. And for those without injuries chiropractic helps athletes prevent injuries by increasing strength and power to help perform at peak level.

 

Chiropractic sports doctors are highly trained with the tools and skills that will optimize the performance of an athlete's musculoskeletal and nervous system. This training is what allows these athletic chiropractors to provide sports therapy/s that is focused on maintaining agility, flexibility, strength, and quick rehabilitation after an injury. Why chiropractic athletics should be essential?

Chiropractic Athletic Importance

Regular chiropractic improves range of motion. Athletes place intense pressure on their bodies when training, weight-lifting, and playing. This can shift the spine out of alignment affecting movement, along with the rest of the body, generating a high probability of injury.

 

Athletes have to deal with soreness, stiffness, and pain from their basic training regiment. An injury can easily compound the soreness into something more severe. Spinal alignment problems can cause the range of motion to be hindered and limited, inhibiting overall ability. Chiropractic athletics undoes the damage. Once a chiropractic regiment is in place injury prevention kicks in, all the while keeping the athlete moving pain-free.

 

Pain Reduction

Anyone especially the strongest athletes can have an episode of back pain, specifically in the low back. A chiropractor promotes proper alignment and movement of the delicate spine. Chiropractors can recommend treatments both professional and self-care that will reduce all types of back pain short and long-term. Research confirms that a manual spine manipulation is an effective form of pain relief.

Less Need for Pain Meds

Too often aches and pain are treated with pain meds, cortisone shots, and other drugs that provide short-term relief. Chiropractic is drug-free. This means athletes are not subject to side effects or dependencies that unfortunately arise from prescription med use.

 

Because of the increasing dependency on opioids, the American College of Physicians has updated their guidelines when it comes to low back pain, a very common reason for opioid prescriptions. Now, those with low back pain are encouraged to utilize various complementary and alternative medicine techniques that include chiropractic spinal manipulation before having to use prescription medication.

Non-invasive

Chiropractic is non-surgical and can provide relief from injuries throughout the body. It can even serve as an alternative to surgery/s that would keep athletes on the sidelines because of a long recovery period. Treatments include:

 

Electrical muscle stimulation Functional dry needling Graston Technique Active Release Technique

 

All of these can be used to treat athletic injury.

Athletic Benefits

Whether a neighborhood sports league or advanced competitive league athletes need chiropractic specialists for injury treatment to get them back to play. Kids are now traveling at a younger age meaning more practices and tournaments. Kids are also committing to only one sport early on. This is known as specializing. A study by The American Journal of Sports Medicine found that athletes that specialize too early are subject to continued injury/s.

 

Chiropractic decreases recovery time

Normal wear and tear happens to all of us but can wear down faster especially in an extremely healthy athlete’s body.

 

A baseball pitcher uses a consistent repetitive throwing motion. A volleyball player jumps, constantly hitting and blocking. A skateboarder falls repeatedly, sometimes over one-hundred times trying to land a trick.

 

At some point and quite often an athlete experiences muscle fatigue and soreness. Practices and games have only a few days between them. Younger athletes and their growing bodies need a lot more than rest to keep them in shape. After practice or a game, a chiropractor can do some soft tissue massage or instrument-assisted soft tissue techniques to make the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints flexible, relaxed, with decreased lactic acid, and improved blood circulation.

 

Physical therapy and the equipment used like ultrasound or cold laser therapy can be used to help with areas that are highly inflamed. This along with adjustments can improve joint mobility. Chiropractic athletics also helps with proper rehydration and customized dietary plans to assist with recovery and maintaining top-level performance.

Injury Repair

Each sport has its own area that is more prone to injury from the stress of the specific sport. According to the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine:

 

Dancers deal with leg injuries Golfers go through shoulder and arm injuries Lacrosse players experience knee injuries and muscle strains

 

Chiropractic adjusting of joint segments, no longer moving, can enhance mechanical motion. Soft tissue techniques improve muscle tone and blood flow to injured areas and decrease tissue buildup around the injured areas. Chiropractic along with the aforementioned treatment options can significantly reduce inflammation and pain.

 

All of these treatment options can be enhanced with Kinesio Taping. It can add support and various taping techniques can assist in blood circulation to the injured area. A sports chiropractor has a complete understanding of sports injury repair and knows the proper guidelines for safely returning the athlete to their sport.

Health and Wellness

Athletes have to focus on body awareness, health, diet, and optimal function. But they also need to be injury prepared through preventive awareness. Think of it as defensive driving. A chiropractor can assist an athlete with:

 

Proper diet/nutrition Sleep Proper training strategies that can become life-long habits Body mechanic evaluation Gait analysis

 

Continually keeping an athlete’s body in top form, allows them to train more efficiently and effectively.

A Vital Role

With athletes training year-round and specializing earlier, chiropractic assistance can keep an athlete at a top level of body function. Chiropractic combined with certified athletic trainers can help with muscle development, ligament, and tendon stability. These specialists play a vital role in obtaining and maintaining whole-body wellness.

Consider Chiropractic

Chiropractic athletics includes a whole health assessment to ensure there are no underlying issues that could be contributing to an injury, or that could cause future problems. Athletes, consider seeing a chiropractor regularly for those that want to maintain physical strength and range of motion, or if they want to recover from an injury without taking prescription meds and surgery. Sports performance will improve when the body is in alignment and pain-free!

 

 

Functional Fitness Fellas

 

 

Dr. Alex Jimenez’s Blog Post Disclaimer

The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, and sensitive health issues and/or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate and support directly or indirectly our clinical scope of practice.*

 

Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We also make copies of supporting research studies available to the board and or the public upon request. We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation as to how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900. The provider(s) Licensed in Texas& New Mexico*

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Most of us don’t need more than one whiff to identify that generally unpleasant, characteristic smell we call body odor. But it’s a surprisingly complex phenomenon, influenced by our genetic makeup, age, diet, and hygiene. So what is this odor, exactly? Where does it come from? And can we do anything about it? Mel Rosenberg dives into the stinky science of body odor.

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Being physically fit does not mean training for a triathlon. Regular light exercise/activity is all that is needed. Just going for a 30-minute walk around the neighborhood or playing a 20-minute game regularly is highly beneficial to your health. And the more active you are the better for your health.

 

Skating Bicycling Jogging Swimming Walking Playing Regular Activity

Whatever the activity, so long as you get at least 20 minutes of exercise a day will go along way in the future. Regular activity/exercise can help prevent diseases and injuries, which include osteoporosis.

 

Nothing crazy, just begin to work some activity little by little into a routine. One way is after some sitting work/schoolwork once the brain has had enough is the perfect time to go outside and move around. Do some chores that require physical movement, like vacuuming, sweeping, hanging laundry, etc and turn it into a workout.  A daily routine of light to moderate physical activity strengthens and maintains the body by helping to:

 

Build healthy bones, muscles, and joints Control weight Build lean muscle Reduce overall body fat Prevent the development of high blood pressure hypertension  

 

Here are a few suggestions on how to get 20-30 minutes of daily exercise/activity.

 

Try an online fitness class. Check out your local gym for online to see what classes are available. Family time can become a fun activity/exercise time. Take a walk with the family, as many are already doing, play basketball, soccer, or other favorite sport together. Invite friends to be physically active online, maybe playing a workout video game and workout together.

 

If regular physical activity is difficult or you have a medical condition, consult your doctor to recommend the appropriate amount of physical activity and exercises that are safe to perform. But if you are a healthy person, but have not exercised for a while then try for 30 minutes of physical activity a day to keep you healthy and strong.

Core Exercises That Help With Back Pain

Here are some examples of abdominal exercises that can help develop strong abs and help with back pain prevention. These exercises and the number of repetitions are only suggestions. Talk to your doctor before trying these exercises, and remember to listen to your body. If it doesn't feel right, stop right away.

Elbow Planks Lie down on your stomach with your body straight. Elbows should be at 90-degrees and close to the body's sides. Rest the forearms on the floor and interlace the fingers. Gently push your body up using the forearms. Don't' let the back fall/drop. Stay straight. Engage the core muscles during the entire movement. Hold this position for 30 seconds, release, and repeat 3 times. Do this once a day. Crunches Lie on your back with the knees bent and the feet flat on the floor, about hip-distance. Interlace the fingers of your hands behind your head with the elbows out wide. Inhale and then as you exhale, use the abdominal muscles and not the neck muscles to slowly raise the head, neck, and back off the floor. Inhale and slowly lower the upper body back to the floor, and repeat. Try for 3 sets of 10 crunches every day. Push-ups Lie down on the stomach so your body is straight. Place the hands on the floor a little higher/further than the shoulders. The hands should be wider than the shoulders. Lift your body so that you're balanced on the hands and toes. Maintain a straight back, lower your body to the floor, and slowly bend your elbows until at 90 degrees. Push back up using arm strength, upper back, and chest muscles, and repeat. Try for 3 sets of 10 every day. Once the body becomes stronger, you can go for more reps.

 

Doing these along with other core exercises you will notice your core strength leading to overall and optimal body strength. Other exercise forms that can help develop core strength while keeping the spine safe are yoga and Pilates. A good idea is to work with a physical therapist/chiropractor that can create a specifically targeted exercise plan that involves core strengthening and flexibility exercises to keep the spine healthy and help maintain proper posture.

 

 

Correct Bad Posture with Custom Foot Orthotics
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