Chiropractic treatment for sports performance & injury prevention

​What do Jason Day, Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Kobe Bryant, Venus Williams, Novak Djokovic and Cadel Evans all have in common?  They all include regular chiropractic care as part of their health plan to help them achieve their peak performance.

In the past, chiropractors were not common members of sports medicine teams at the Olympics and other world class sporting events.  However because of the amazing results that athletes have achieved through introducing chiropractic care into their preparations privately, they are now insisting that chiropractors become key members of the Sports Medicine teams that accompany them to these international meets.

​So what are the benefits that our favourite sports stars are discovering from their chiropractic check-ups?  Well for a start there is the more obvious role that a chiropractor fulfills as a musculoskeletal expert, in their ability to come to an early diagnosis and prompt treatment of sporting injuries, which can achieve reduced pain and decreased severity of an injury.

But what really excites all athletes both professional and amateur alike, is the natural boost that many can experience in their sporting performance, such as strength, speed, balance, increased reaction and/or recovery times.

Whilst the research into how so many athletes can be achieving these great results with chiropractic still has a lot further to go, some of the discoveries that have been made include the impact that chiropractic can have on:

• muscle inhibition
• The muscle’s ability to generate force or strength,
• Reaction time
• Training Stamina
• Personal record times
• Flexibility of muscles
• Balance

So how can this result in injury prevention?  According to Sports Medicine Australia “soft tissue injuries are the most common injury in sport” and “the biggest risk factor for soft tissue injury, is a previous injury”.  As an athlete (professional or amateur), it therefore makes sense to look after your soft tissues (muscles, tendons and ligaments) to clear out the residual effects of old injuries that you are aware of as well as the cumulative minor sprains and strains that you may not be aware of …..yet.

Also, an athlete who is not dealing with muscle inhibition, unexpected loss of strength, earlier fatigue points, reduced flexibility and balance is quite clearly an athlete who will be less prone to injury.

There are so many elements that are introduced into an elite athletes’ plan leading up to a major event that give them the advantage over the rest of us mere mortals.  Many of these are out of our reach.  However, chiropractic care is within your grasp.  Why not see what it can do for you?

References:

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