7 chiropractic benefits for athletes
The greatest athletes on the planet receive regular chiropractic care to help them in their physical preparation, prevent injuries and receive personalized health. Here are 7 reasons which explain their enthusiasm. Read on if you are athletic, particularly if you are in recovery or if your goal is to compete.
Better recovery
Repetitive, brutal or intense movements that occur while playing sports, especially at a professional level, puts our body to the test. Muscles, tendons, and ligaments are under intense stress and need to recover and heal. Regularly visiting your chiropractor not only improves tissue recovery but also limits the stress inflicted on the body while training or competing by improving general body functions. The body would need to exert less for the same result, which improves performance. 90% of world-class athletes use chiropractic to prevent injuries and improve performance.
2 Better range of mouvement
The pressures exerted on the body while competing and training regularly create dysfunctions of the joints or vertebrae. High-performance athletes often suffer from stiffness or joint pain, which limits their athletic performance. Regular chiropractic follow-up adapted to the intensity of the training helps repair the damage already present, and improves function to prevent injuries. In baseball, for example, improving hip rotation improves strength.
3 Increased strength
Many studies have shown increased muscle power in athletes who are regularly followed by chiropractors. For example, a study carried out on judokas demonstrated an improvement of 16% in hand strength after only 3 sessions of chiropractic. As strength and performance are directly linked, increased strength translates into better performance. We often see people who hit a plateau in their training only to surpass it after only a few sessions. This is particularly impressive in CrossFit or at the gym because people can see a direct return on investment based on the weight carried.
4 Chiropractic improves healing time.
In sport, accidents are inevitable, especially at a high level. Chiropractic helps to heal the vast majority of sports injuries so that you can recover faster and get back to the field in great shape. While best known for neck, head and back problems, chiropractic is also a great help for sprains, recovering from a fracture, shoulder pain, etc. For example, 80% of hockey-related injuries can be fixed in 4 sessions or less.
5 Natural, non-invasive and effective treatments.
Chiropractic mainly uses the chiropractor’s hands as ‘tools’. No need for syringes, scalpels or chemistry to cure most of the sportsman’s problems. According to studies, it can prevent between 60 and 96% of surgeries. Chiropractic also reduces the cost of care, and recovery time (after surgery, it is rare to be able to return to the field directly.). For example, 90% of golf injuries come from the back and the neck. 72% of PGA golfers receive chiropractic treatment during the championships as a preventative measure but also to treat injuries without going through surgery.
6 Reduce pain and improve training
Whether related to training or an injury (traumatic or overuse), pain is a handicap in both training and competing. Chiropractic can help relieve pain related to physical activity, including post-match pain, following intense training, muscle soreness, etc. For example, 50% of professional tennis players will have elbow tendonitis, which can be adjusted by chiropractic. Improving the functioning of the body will lead to better performance and more effective training.
7 Improved overall performance
As we’ve seen, chiropractic can improve strength and range of motion. However, it does much more than that. For example, eye-hand coordination is increased by 30% after 12 weeks of chiropractic care. Chiropractic also increases breathing capacity, speed, flexibility, range of motion, balance, strength and endurance. It decreases muscle inhibition and reaction time (the response to an external stimulus is faster). To sum up, all necessary functions for performance are improved by regular chiropractic care. Creating a continuous relationship with your chiropractor will allow them to continue to always go further in perfecting the body, for optimal movement comfort and performance.
8 Bonus
Chiropractic doesn’t just improve performance on the field. Regularly monitored patients report improvements in stress levels, better sleep, better blood circulation, better immunity, and better overall health.