Better Athlete through Chiropractic!

Can chiropractic care enhance sport performance? Do athletes treated by chiropractors obtain specific performance advantages from treatment? Will athletes be able to perform better and longer while undergoing Chiropractic care? These questions have been asked infrequently in chiropractic and chiropractic related publications, and even less frequently have answers been postulated. However, it is not uncommon when reviewing chiropractic literature to come across information pertaining to chiropractors treating elite and/or amateur athletes for the purpose of improving or enhancing athletic performance.

A survey study, found in the National Institutes of Health investigating the use and role of sport chiropractors in the National Football League (NFL), determined that other sport injury professionals, specifically certified athletic trainers in the NFL, perceive “a role for the sport chiropractor primarily as a spinal specialist treating low back and other musculoskeletal injuries.”

This perceived role of sport chiropractors being spine/musculoskeletal injury specialists is echoed in various chiropractic and non-chiropractic publications. However, spine/musculoskeletal injury care is not the only suggested role for chiropractors in sport health care. The non-refereed literature makes reference to chiropractors acting, within the realm of sport health care, as emergency care providers, pre-participation examiners, and as sport injury specialists who are able to work and interact with coaches and other health professionals for the overall benefit of the athletes they treat.

Another study offers the example of a pre-participation examination, and comments that “by correcting the deficiencies discovered in the examination, athletic performance can be improved and the frustration level (of an athlete) decreased when the etiology (cause) of poor performance is unclear.” This view of detecting and correcting impediments to performance is also offered in still another study that states “the basis and definition of chiropractic emphasizes the correction of pathomechanics of the spinal and extremity joints restoring normal neurology and biomechanics... restoration of these pathomechanical faults in an athlete will reduce pain, decrease the severity of injury, and possibly enhance athletic performance.”

There’s no question that chiropractic care is a credible method of mechanical maintenance that has repeatedly been shown to benefit the machine that is the body of an athlete. Many athletes report using chiropractic care quite frequently, noting its effectiveness.

Are you an athlete who incorporates chiropractic care into your health and wellness plan? Call our office today to schedule a thorough examination