Chiropractic care is an
important tool in the arsenal of any professional athlete. It has been shown to
help reduce injuries, speed healing time and improve performance.
A number of professional American sports teams have a
chiropractor on staff, including the
NFL, NBA, MLB, PBA, Nascar and more. Professional golfers routinely use
a chiropractor during tournaments, as golf can produce a great amount of stress
on the vertebrae due to twisting. Well-known professional athletes such as
Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Joe Montana and many others have
reported how they have benefited from chiropractic treatment.
A study conducted in 1991 by researchers Anthony Lauro and
Brian Mouch, which was published in The
Journal of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation, found that
athletes under chiropractic treatment were able to improve their performance an
average of 10.6% over six weeks and 16.7% over a period of 12 weeks. The
researchers noted that, as the study was only 12 weeks in duration, and
athletic performance continued to improve during that time, it is possible that
further enhancement may be possible with longer chiropractic treatment, though
at what point improvement would level off is still unknown.
Another study reported in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research in 1997, which evaluated
the performance of baseball players, found a marked increase in athletic
performance, including an increase in capillary counts, after 14 weeks in the
group that was receiving upper cervical chiropractic adjustments. In regard to
the effect of chiropractic care on these athletes, the researchers concluded
that, “it is evident that changes were measurable in regard to physical
strength, tests of athletic ability such as the long jump, and
microcirculation.”
Athletes under chiropractic care have faster reaction time,
better coordination and achieve more accurate and precise fine movements, all
of which contribute to better performance.
There are a large number of high-impact sports that exert a
lot of stress on the spine. It is quite easy for the vertebrae to become
misaligned during a football tackle, during competitive wrestling or in a
Nascar race that involves excessive g-force. When this happens, it can disrupt
nerve transmissions from the nerves in the spinal cord, resulting in limited
range of motion, slower reaction time, headaches, inflammation and slower
recovery from injuries.
Chiropractic adjustments reduce irritation to the roots of
the nerve in the spinal column, which allows for greater range of motion and
joint flexibility. In addition, joint pain is alleviated and blood circulation
is increased, which supplies the body’s muscles and organs with oxygen.
Everybody is different. If you have questions about this
article or whether chiropractic is an appropriate choice for your specific
situation, please ask. We are here to help!