Are you living an active lifestyle or are you a dedicated sportsman? Are your children going to regular soccer practice or games? Are you simply a gym goer?
This is all screaming Chiropractic. Most of us forget what impact chiropractic can make on our overall performance especially when we’re living a healthy active and relatively pain-free lifestyle. Here at Chirolink, we don’t like to leave anyone out – our active patients are just as important.
Sports Chiropractic has advanced significantly in the last couple of decades and it’s doing wonders for the entire community. Chirolink is a part of this. It’s a passion because we have seen the results – not just with patients but experienced it ourselves too. The International Federation of Sports Chiropractic (FICS) has developed an international accreditation that has allowed us to delve into further realms of chiropractic. Studies have proven it over and over again. Here at Chirolink, Dr. Kirsten completed her Master’s Dissertation which determined how a chiropractic adjustment to a subluxated sacroiliac joint can increase hamstring flexibility. There is a ton of research that demonstrates some incredible results about how a chiropractic adjustment can increase muscle strength, grip strength, muscle flexibility, increase proprioception, and overall performance. This not only benefits absolutely anyone coming for chiropractic treatment, but it allows us to also focus it on when it comes to our athletes. More specific studies have even demonstrated how a chiropractic adjustment can increase bowling speed in cricket or a swing in squash. It can increase stride length in runners and so much more. We cannot discredit or lighten this when it comes to those who take their sports games more seriously – it gives you the extra edge you’ve been looking for but also keeps you living at your optimum and prevents wear and tear.
FICS has allowed us the opportunity to look at the whole moving human and understand all aspects of sports to incorporate this in treatment and how we can individualize treatment specifically for each person.
How do we incorporate this into your appointment at Chirolink?
We thoroughly assess the biomechanical chain of joints, muscles, and fascia throughout the body. We use adjusting techniques that taper to your sporting situation and have a few add-ons with assisted instrument soft tissue work, taping techniques, or floss bands. All of this allows the body to function with normality within your specific sporting movements for optimal function and injury prevention.
What and who do we see at Chirolink when it comes to Sports Chiropractic?
Firstly, we see sports-specific conditions and people. The casual golfer with lower back pain or the regular tennis player with elbow pain. We see our youngsters where the regular sport is so good. That soccer or cricket game or even the squash game. They may be young and not feel any pain but these are the vulnerable times of the body that need to be ‘serviced’. The younger you are, the better. Make the appropriate health changes or efforts early and we reap the rewards through life by creating those healthy habits. But the most common thing we see at Chirolink are gym-related sports injuries.
Exercises and gym training
This is a topic worth exploring. It is something that we see often and we cannot stress enough how important healthy gym practices are. The number of times we have patients coming in saying ‘I hurt my back at the gym but I don’t know how or why’ is terrifying for us as practitioners. Be it deadlifts, going for as many reps of a specific movement as possible within a certain amount of time, or simply lifting a plate to the bar before even starting. This is our first and vitally important point – it is all about form!
Another interesting part about healthy gym practices is that the gym is not meant to ‘hurt’ every single time. It is simply hurting your body when training is done at a continual high load or pace and is doing the opposite of what we hope to achieve in the long run. We must push ourselves and continue growing and strengthening but provided it is done wisely. We are given one body; it is worth taking care of. The key, as always, is balance. It’s about ‘training smart’, not hard. We all forget that rest is productive. We’ll say it again. Rest is productive. Without enough rest, there is too little time for recovery. Too little recovery means tissue breakdown and injury which is compounded into a major injury. No one wants a torn muscle or tendon and no one wants the long-term effects of this with chronic joint overload and wear and tear.
The delicate and important structures that are acutely more vulnerable in our backs are the vertebral discs. The discs work as load distributors, and shock absorbers, and protect the many tiny joints of the spine and the spinal cord. We see it over and over again, the regular gym goer – strong, healthy, and young individuals – herniating a disc with poor gym form. These are structures we don’t want to be hurting at any age, let alone so young. There is a long full pain-free life that needs to be had. Have you noticed that we’re quite passionate about this?
Some tips for the gym (and all sports):
Form is everything. Ensure you have consulted with trainers or practitioners with the right qualifications concerning the form. Do the research.
Slow controlled movements. We often see form go out the window when the movements get too fast. Avoid situations in a heavily competitive environment where it can get taken a little too far, and form gets forgotten.
Warm up before – walk on the treadmill or get on the stationary bike for 10 minutes.
Stretch those muscles after exercise! (We all feel too lazy to do this but if you plan on exercising, stretching is non-negotiable). Whoever has planned your gym routine can help you plan your stretching.
As important as stretching is, core stabilization is even more so. We all think that strengthening major muscle groups is enough and then ask why the back gets injured. The nervous system is incredible. Yes, it likes strong muscles, but it prioritizes stability. Yes, the stronger your muscles are, the more stable your joints are likely to be, but when it comes to the spine, it’s the tiny intricate muscles that need attention when they are too often ignored. How do you ask? Planking! Side planking. Bird dogs and glute bridges (this sounds like the worst news, I know but the sooner you start, the easier it gets, and knows that some are better than none).
Vary up your training – add in Pilates or a cycling day here and there.
Rest
Rehydrate and eat nutritious meals to allow for muscle healing and recovery.
Get regular chiropractic treatment – maintain those healthy joints!
Sports make exercise easy and fun and sports chiropractic can make it that much more enjoyable! The mind, body and soul feel full when this is integrated as a normal part of life. Sports Chiropractic can give you that edge either over your competitors or simply improve on your own personal best. It allows you to train at peak performance, but it also gives your body the best chance to prevent that pesky wear and tear. Any repetitive movement requires some balancing of the system and it is simply non-negotiable to balance the biomechanical chain to prevent wear and tear.
It is worth talking to your Chiropractor about and is worth getting your body assessed and treated. Let us know if this is something you’d like to explore by giving Chirolink a call and we can explore your healthy exercise and treatment options.