Sports Medicine

A research study conducted by Drs. Anthony Lauro and Brian Mouch, published in the journal of Chiropractic research and Clinical Investigation, 1991, indicated chiropractic care might improve athletic performance by as much as 16.7% over a two week period. The report also concluded that subluxation-free athletes react faster, coordinate better, execute fine movements with improved accuracy and precision, amounting to an overall better athlete… and better injury prevention.

Many athletes in professional sports today sit on the sidelines with injuries that could have been prevented. Others stay on the bench because their particular injury does not respond to other standard treatments. And even more are playing, but at less than optimal performance, simply because their musculoskeletal system is not in balance.

More and more coaches and medical doctors are realizing that pain management and medications are not the answer. Pain medication only covers up the symptoms; misleading athletes into thinking they can perform actions that could make their injury worse.
Probably more than any other health profession, chiropractic’s approach to health very closely caters to the requirements of the sports athlete. Because Doctors of Chiropractic are experts in the field of human biomechanics, they are very aware of proper posture and movement. By observing an athlete in action, a chiropractor can often identify and prevent a structural problem that can lead to injury or poor performance.

Most sports involve some form of contact, fast starts and stops, and abrupt changes in positioning that place a large amount of strain on the musculoskeletal system. By promoting a proactive, preventive strategy, chiropractors help athletes decrease the likelihood of injury and maximize athletic performance.

World class and Olympic athletes, as well as professional stars and teams, have retained sports chiropractors to provide regular chiropractic care. In fact all but one of the 32 teams in the National Football League (NFL) utilize the services of a chiropractor in management and prevention of injury to their players. Many of these athletes insist on being adjusted just before an event or competition. They feel that they will be better able to perform to the best of their abilities when their chiropractor has adjusted their bodies to provide for full range of motion.

Chiropractic is a natural method of health care that focuses on the importance of keeping all the systems of the body functioning efficiently so athletes can enjoy peak performance, minimum risk to injury, and fast recuperation. For all of these reasons it is essential to take a proactive position and schedule regular chiropractic wellness visits.

Quotes about chiropractic benefits:

“I have to have an adjustment before I go into the ring. I do believe in chiropractic. I found that going to a chiropractor three times a week helps my performance. The majority of boxers go to Chiropractors to get that extra edge.”
-Evander Holyfield, Heavyweight Boxing Champion

“My shooting has improved because of Chiropractic. I feel more balanced and have more coordination and control. Since I have been under Chiropractic care, I have improved by leaps and bounds”
-Gerald Wilkins, New York Knicks

“Athletes are always looking for ways to improve their performances on the field; Chiropractic is one of the best ways to accomplish this”
-Dr. Nick Athens, Team DC San Francisco 49ers

“I definitely try to get on a basis where I use Chiropractic at least twice a week. I would say definitely say that it helps me to perform at a higher level”
-Emmit Smith, Dallas Cowboys

“Bodybuilders and fitness people have been using, very extensively, chiropractors in order to stay healthy and fit. Whenever I had a little problem with my body, I always ran to one of my dear friends (Franco Columbo,D.C.), he was always right there with the adjustments. This is how I found out the best way of going, is to use chiropractors, not only after injuries , but also before injury.”
-Arnold Schwarzenegger – bodybuilder, former actor and governor of California

“I’ve been going to chiropractors for as long as I can remember. It’s as important to my training as practicing my swing.”
-Tiger Woods

Jerry Rice:
Rice first became a believer in chiropractic care right before the 49ers were to play the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII. A couple of key players were injured, and he credits a chiropractor for turning things around.

“Ever since then, I’ve had the benefit of chiropractic care,” says Rice, a 13-time Pro Bowl football player, with 38 career records, who retired from the NFL in 2005 after one brief season with the Seattle Seahawks.

Which leads us to his second career on the hit TV show “Dancing with the Stars.”

“Dancing with the Stars” was every bit as exhausting and challenging—though not nearly as brutal—as football,” he says. “It required many hours of practice. I had aches and pains that I never had before. Again, chiropractic care made the difference—and kept me dancing and in the competition.”

Athletics and Extremity Adjusting

In the athletic environment the body is often exerted beyond the normal scope of normal biomechanical f unction.  Great athletes push through pain to win the game or better their time.  It is in these intense moments when the body is very susceptible to injury.  Joints in the body can be stressed or harmed and then ignored due to the nature of the competition.  The lack of correction impairs the proper function of the joint and thus hurts the performance of the athlete.  This occurs because when joints are put under extreme conditions, adjacent muscular activity is inhibited (the muscles around the joint are turned off). This decreases the athletes performance, makes him or her more susceptible to injury, and slows the healing time if an injury does occur.  Extremity adjusting restores the proper position of strained joints, turns the muscles back on, and enhances overall athletic capabilities.

Why Extremity Adjusting

Many are familiar with the following lyrics of a popular ch9ildren’s song,  “The foot bone’s connected to the leg bone, the leg bone’s connected to the hip bone…”   This children’s song illustrates a foundational biomechanical principle.  If the bones in the body are connected, they will affect each other in a positive or negative way.

The term used to describe this relationship is the Kinetic Chain. If the feet are connected to the legs and the legs are connected to the back, then it is safe to conclude that a condition in the feet can affect the low back.  If the shoulders are connected to the neck, then structural problems of the bones in the shoulder (clavicles and scapulas) can directly affect neck pain.  Because there is such an intimate relationship and influence of one joint to every other in the body, extremity adjusting is essential for providing quality health care.

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