Sports Chiropractic Care to Prevent Injury and Improve Performance

Did you know Chiropractic care for athletes can boost performance and prevent injury?

Chiropractic Care has often been synonymous with spinal adjustments for many years, and although adjustments are an effective tool for addressing joint restrictions in the spine and extremities, chiropractic has evolved to become much more than strictly spinal adjustments. Sports chiropractic and its many modalities can be an integral aspect of an athlete’s recovery and performance regimen.

At F.I.T. Muscle and Joint Clinic, our chiropractors are trained in cutting edge soft tissue therapies and exercise techniques to ensure that patients are able to perform at their best. With an active approach to patient care, the chiropractic treatments that patients receive at F.I.T. can play an important role in preventing injury and improving performance. 

The relationship between chiropractic and injury prevention has not always been well understood.

It hasn’t been until the past decade that there  has been significant promising research correlating chiropractic care and a decreased risk of injury. One study out of Australia showed decreased lower limb injuries with the addition of sports chiropractic care, which incorporated manipulation and soft tissue therapies (1). This is just one of many studies that describes the benefits of sports chiropractic which incorporates soft tissue therapy, joint manipulations and rehabilitative exercises in preventing injury and improving sports performance.  

One of the primary focuses of our sports chiropractors is to identify areas of weakness and address those concerns before they become problematic or cause injury. 

Our chiropractors are trained to assess mobility deficiencies and incorporate manual therapy techniques such as dry needling, Active Release Techniques, or Graston which can play an incredibly valuable role. In addition, our chiropractors assess for strength and stability weaknesses that can lead to injury and utilize rehabilitative exercises to address these weaknesses. If athletes lack the necessary strength for their particular sport, it is imperative to incorporate exercises that address those deficiencies. Whereas traditional chiropractic may be associated with shorter appointment times and focus on spinal manipulation, our office schedules longer, one-on-one appointments with our providers to ensure that the necessary combination of soft tissue therapies and rehab exercises are administered. This ensures that our patients have the best opportunity to improve sports performance and prevent injury. 

Resources: 

1. https://bmcmusculoskeletdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2474-11-64