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CHIROPRACTIC FOR
ENHANCED ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
BY DAVID WARREN, D.C.
If
you are an athlete, chances are
you take good care of your body.
You practice hard, eat well,
wear the proper equipment, and
carefully select the best shoes
for your game. But what about a
preventative health care plan to
keep your body functioning at
its optimal level to increase
athletic performance and stave
off injury?
Perhaps the most common
misperception about chiropractic
is that chiropractors are only
able to relieve low back pain.
In actuality, chiropractic
removes nervous interference and
allows the body to function at
its peak level. Eager to get
back in the game, athletes often
use drugs and surgery as a quick
fix for common ailments and
injuries. When those fail,
chiropractic is seen as a “last
resort.” Especially because
surgery is costly,
time-consuming and irreversible,
the reliance on surgery is an
unfortunate trend.
Athletes face rigorous routines
on a daily basis. From the
weekend warrior to the
professional athlete, injuries
are a part of every game.
Sprained ankles, jammed fingers,
knee pain, and a host of other
injuries often sideline athletes
or, on some cases, end their
athletic career.
In many cases, the problem is
not necessarily at the site of
the pain. A chiropractor will
work with you to determine the
actual cause of the pain. Under
chiropractic care, many injuries
can be corrected without the use
of drugs and surgery.
Therefore, the noninvasive
approach should be the athlete’s
first choice. If the
chiropractic route doesn’t work,
then medication or surgery is an
option. By trying chiropractic
first, there is “no harm, no
foul.”
Here are some examples to
consider.
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Shoulder pain, in many
instances, is not caused by
direct shoulder injuries,
but rather from nerve
irritation or compression in
the cervical spine.
Chiropractic focuses on the
spine. Misaligned vertebral
segments can compress the nerves
that run to various parts of the
body. A chiropractor removes
this interference, allowing the
nerves to get their messages
across. Furthermore, improper
nerve supply may cause problems,
such as numbness and tingling,
pain, muscle weakness and
atrophy.
Think of spinal nerves as a
garden hose. If you step on the
hose and block the flow, the
water has a hard time getting
through. A chiropractor will
focus on the problems, not the
symptoms. If you are having
shoulder pain, for example, you
can take an anti-inflammatory,
aspirin, or get an injection to
treat the symptoms. Surely, the
cause of the pain is not a
“lack” of these substances. A
chiropractor looks to alleviate
the cause of the problem, thus
relieving your pain and possibly
preventing its return. Back to
the garden hose analogy. The
“aspirin” would turn up the
pressure to push out more
water. Chiropractic looks to
remove the interference (i.e.,
getting the foot off of the
hose), allowing the water to
flow freely through the hose.
There are definitely needs for
drugs and surgery, for there are
injuries that a chiropractor may
not be able to heal. But why not
try the noninvasive technique
first? Here are some other
examples of injuries that are
not necessarily where the pain
occurs.
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Low back pain, in fact, may
not originate in the low
back. Foot fixations can
cause radiating pain. As
the shock absorbers to your
spine, your feet take a
beating on a daily basis.
There are twenty six bones
in the feet and when they
are not moving together
properly, it can cause
various aches and pains that
may cause pain in the knees,
hips or lower back.
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Another example is carpal
tunnel syndrome, or even
wrist pain. Sometimes,
fixation in the wrist may be
the cause of the pain.
However, sometimes cervical
interference is the culprit.
The benefits of chiropractic go
beyond back pain into the realm
of total health and well being.
Not only does chiropractic help
with various injuries and
ailments; it also helps prevent
them.
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