Sports can put unprecedented stress on the body, especially for professional athletes. Unfortunately, many athletes cannot sustain peak performance for a prolonged period because of the lack of sports chiropractic care. Notably, most amateur athletes believe that a massage therapist and a physiotherapist are the only health experts they need to sustain top performance. However, sports chiropractors have become one of the most sought-after professionals in the sporting industry over the last couple of years. This article highlights lesser-known reasons professional athletes need a sports chiropractor.
Speedy Recovery
One of the most frustrating times of an athlete's life is the recovery period. Depending on the extent of an injury, an athlete can spend up to a year recovering from a severe injury. For instance, painful spasms and inflammations restrict any movement of the injured part, slowing down the healing process. Sadly, your mental health could be affected when recovery takes longer than necessary, making it even harder to return to pre-injury form. Therefore, the first thing sports chiropractors do is keep spasms and inflammations at bay to relieve pain. Once the pain subsides, you can gradually start stressing the injured part based on a chiropractor's regimen. It significantly shortens the rehabilitation period, helping you get back in the field.
Eliminate Drug Dependency
As mentioned earlier, an acute or chronic injury is an athlete's worst nightmare, especially painful injuries that take longer to heal. Thus, some athletes resort to taking pain medication to help them speed up the recovery process. Unfortunately, over time, you may gradually move to more potent painkillers, risking becoming dependent. Such behaviour is considered illegal in sports, not to mention that painkillers dependence puts your body in danger. Sports chiropractors can help athletes in rehab stay away from painkillers through non-invasive and medication-free pain management techniques. For instance, chiropractic adjustment of soft tissues early in the rehabilitation process results in flexible scar tissue. Similarly, sports chiropractic adjustments can enhance proper nerve signalling, which goes a long way in managing pain.
Improves Sleep Quality
Professionals are like babies; they need quality rest and sleep to help their muscles recover from the rigours of their sporting activities. Although new technologies, such as cryotherapy, help athletes recover from muscle fatigue faster, chiropractic manipulation can achieve the same effect by ensuring better sleep. When you rest enough, blood circulates through your whole body, nourishing tired muscles with oxygen and vital nutrients and accelerating recovery.
Share12 October 2021
As a chiropractor's receptionist, I have become a walking advertisement for the profession. I run marathons as a hobby and also study part-time. You can imagine the mental and physical strain I impose on my body daily. Pounding the pavements, long hours sitting at a computer and the stress of preparing for exams were taking their toll before I started this job. Fortunately, the lovely clinic where I work provides chiropractic treatments for free. I can honestly say that my aches are almost gone and I have never felt so relaxed, yet alert, when doing exams. I had never considered visiting a chiropractor before, but now I actively recruit friends and family when they complain about ailments. I hope the entries on this blog alert everyone to the broad range of services that chiropractors offer and dispel any concerns. I am certainly a very happy convert!
