Top Benefits of Chiropractic Care for Athletes of All Ages

An athlete celebrating a win, showcasing the benefits of chiropractic care for athletes.

Athletes put their bodies through much more strain than the average person typically does; as a result, many athletes experience frequent injuries (both minor and severe). However, prescription medicines can slow reaction times, mask warning signals from pain, lengthen healing time, and even increase the risk of addictive behavior, while surgery can sideline an athlete for months while they recover. Seeking chiropractic treatment can be a better option, as chiropractors help relieve discomfort and its causes more naturally, allowing athletes to recover faster and compete at their best.

Below, we’ll discuss more of the benefits of chiropractic care for athletes and how chiropractic treatment can help prevent injuries to enhance performance.

What are the Benefits of Chiropractic Care for Athletes?

While there are a wide variety of benefits of chiropractic care for athletes, the following are some of the most common and advantageous:  

Helps Prevent Injuries

Even minor injuries and alignment concerns can put the body under excessive stress, leading to greater ailments. A chiropractor ensures the body’s musculoskeletal system is in good working order so that it is less prone to damage. Athletes who receive chiropractic care have been demonstrated to have a lower risk of sprains, strains, and other sports injuries. With in-depth consultations, chiropractors can also provide tailored injury prevention programs, helping an athlete remain in optimal condition so they are less likely to sustain injuries in the future. 

Athletes will notice enhanced flexibility and decreased muscle stiffness with regular chiropractic care. They’ll also be less likely to land on a joint incorrectly or overextend a limb due to improved proprioception (body spatial awareness) and reflexes, which enables their bodies to fulfill the demands of their sports and allows them to stay healthy and injury-free. Advances in chiropractic analysis and treatment can also help athletes balance their posture and spinal alignment, leading to a reduction in the wear and tear on joints that accompany the repetitive nature of anyone’s sport of choice.  

Provides Pain Relief

Spinal manipulation relieves pain, breaks up restrictive scar tissue in the joints, and helps the cartilage get its proper nutrition. Even the most powerful athletes might experience back pain, especially in the lower back. Chiropractors can offer treatments and exercises that can help alleviate back, neck, and other joint discomforts, in addition to restoring function. When spinal manipulation is paired with postural exercises and spinal traction designed to restore the optimal curvatures of the spine, chiropractic care provides long-term pain reduction from acute and chronic conditions. 

According to a study done by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “participants who received spinal manipulation, personal instruction, and exercises had less pain after 12 weeks and used less medication a year later than participants who received only personal instruction and exercises.” A chiropractor understands how to work with the body to help athletes achieve appropriate spinal alignment and a wider range of motion.

Enhances Performance

Beyond the healing and preventative effects of chiropractic care, the right treatment plan can greatly increase performance. Athletes who undergo advanced analysis and treatment to restore their spinal alignment can enjoy many advantages over their counterparts, including the following:

  • Power and speed from the lumbar curve: The lower back curvature is responsible for gait and power generation. Restoring the optimal curve increases the speed, economy of motion, and strength generation and transfer.
  • Coordination and reflexes from the cervical curve: Every nerve in the body travels through the neck curve. Recent studies show an improved neck curve increases the speed of nerve conduction by 20-30%, positively affecting coordination, reflexive accuracy, and balance.
  • Cardiovascular function from the thoracic curvature: The thorax contains our most vital organs, and changes in its shape can place excess pressure on the heart and lungs. Normalizing the shape of the mid-back curve increases lung capacity and makes it easier for the heart to pump blood throughout the body.

A chiropractor can also help create a complete health plan, including optimal diet and nutrition suggestions, sleep recommendations, and training tactics that can create healthier lifelong habits. This allows athletes to exercise more effectively while avoiding the hurdles of injury so they’re performance-ready for every game, match, or meet. 

Accelerates Recovery Times

Another benefit of chiropractic care for athletes is reduced recovery times with comprehensive chiropractic treatments. Chiropractors work to preserve healthy spinal alignment while also reducing swelling and inflammation in the body, allowing it to heal swiftly and completely. Chiropractic therapy also aids in increasing blood flow throughout the body, which can speed up recovery times, and helps ensure that every bone and tissue is in the right place, with enough space and blood flow, allowing the body to function normally and heal itself faster. 

Chiropractors can also aid in the regulation of sleep cycles, which is critical for the body’s ability to recover. Athletes cannot afford to be sidelined for long periods of time, so they often require faster recovery times. As a result, chiropractic care can be an excellent treatment choice for athletes who have sustained injuries, leading to a 75% faster healing time than when managed through traditional medicine alone.

Athletes Who Have Benefited from Chiropractic Care 
  • Michael Phelps, Olympic Gold Medalist
  • Tiger Woods, Golf Legend
  • Cristiano Ronaldo, Soccer Phenom 
  • Michael Jordan, Basketball Legend 
  • Tom Brady, Top NFL Quarterback
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger, Body Builder (among other great things) 
  • Lance Armstrong, Cycling King
  • Evander Holyfield, Previously Undisputed Boxing Champ
  • Barry Bonds, Baseball Legend

PostureWorks renders nonsurgical rehabilitation of the spine and posture using Chiropractic BioPhysics®, or CBP. CBP is one of the most scientific, researched, and results-oriented corrective care techniques. CBP-trained chiropractors aim to realign the spine back to health and optimal function while eliminating the source of pain and circulatory and nervous dysfunction. As with all chiropractic care, CBP is conservative, painless, and non-invasive. To learn more about the benefits of chiropractic care for athletes or to schedule your consultation to be one step closer to a pain-free life, contact us today.

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