What Is Sports Chiropractor?
Exercise Daily – A relatively new subspecialty in the field of Chiropractic healing is Sports Chiropractic (or chiropractic sports medicine). Chiropractic therapy’s popularity is growing every day, more and more people have started to specialize in several healing methods. Sports chiropractors specialize in the treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports or athletic performance. And they are also experienced in initiating healing plans that allow athletes to rehabilitate and return to their sports.
Besides, sports chiropractors are not only helpful when you are injured but also when you want to enhance function and mobility and prevent injuries before time.
They work with the professionals/athletes involved in various physical activities and sports; including
- Baseball
- Hockey
- Basketball
- Tennis
- Yoga
- Golf
- Running
- Rock Climbing
- Track
- And many others.
Traditional Chiropractor vs Sports Chiropractor: What’s The Difference?
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Traditional Chiropractor:
They specialize in diagnosing and treating issues related to neuromuscular disorder. Chiropractic medicine primarily focuses on improving overall wellbeing.
The primary objective of traditional chiropractors is to alleviate the pain by manually adjusting or controlling the spine and restoring the function of your nervous system.
While this type of chiropractic has many health advantages for patients, however, for sports professionals who are involved in intense physical activities, it has not enough benefits.
People from all age groups can benefit from traditional chiropractic care even during childhood and pregnancy
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Sports Chiropractor:
Such a Chiropractor specializes in treating sports-related injuries and suggests plans to help them improve their performance. Essentially, their primary objective is to enhance muscle tone, performance, balance, and movements.
They use a non-invasive joint manipulation method for this purpose. Besides, a few more methods used by such chiropractors include Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA), Active Release Technique (ART), and Graston Technique.
Check Out: What Is Body Balance And Why Is It Important?
Why Should Every Athlete See A Sports Chiropractor?
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Extremities Treatment:
Extremities include the body parts such as the knee, back, hip, neck, foot, and shoulder, as mentioned above. They are highly skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of injuries that do not occur from the spine. This may include injuries such as knee sprains, rotator cuff injuries, hip impingement, tendinitis, meniscus, etc.
For the diagnosis and treatment of extremity injuries, sports chiropractors are the best option. Perhaps, they have better training, research, and experience compared to other chiropractors. This is significant because many athletes use other areas of the body to achieve their maximum performance and function.
For instance, runners frequently experience foot and ankle injuries while baseball players experience elbow and shoulder injuries.
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Soft Tissue Therapy:
The sub-Specialty of soft tissue and muscle function is a very specific benefit that sports chiropractors get from practicing. This ensures you can diagnose and heal ligament, tendon, muscle, and nerve damage with your chiropractor.
Additionally, Sports Chiropractors may also have a subspecialty experience that exceeds what they have studied at school in this profession. This includes further study, research and qualification, and also the use of the tools in order to achieve good optimal results. Mostly scientifically based, these methods need continuous assessment and learning to ensure the highest possible results.
In fact, this is where techniques such as Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA), Active Release Technique (ART), and Graston Technique are used. However, it is just limited to these techniques.
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Biomechanics And The Kinetic Chain:
The science behind the movement and working of joints is known as Biomechanics. How forces pass through the body, and how one region affects the other, is the kinetic chain. This research is mostly about the mutual working of the joints.
Chiropractors all learn such spinal joint mechanisms but Sports Chiropractors are more trained in joint biomechanics and the film kinetic chain. Also, we have heard that people tend to alter or compensate for their movements in case they get injured.
The sports chiropractor assesses the true essence of the injury, identifies compensatory patterns of action, and thus decreases symptoms and treats the cause of injury. In comparison, a traditional chiropractor concentrates on improvements and manipulations of spinal movement.
However, the injury treatment should be personalized as per your actual cause and history.
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Functional Movement:
Functional movement means the movements that are associated with your life and/or sport. Essentially, it is like a combination between joint biomechanics and their actual application. As Sports Chiropractors are experienced enough in sports and biomechanics, it makes the combination simple.
The reason every athlete should choose Sports Chiropractors over others is that they understand one’s sports and activities. Ideally, this allows them to serve their client well by treating them according to the protocols suitable for their lifestyle, sports, and hobby.
For instance, a sports chiropractor converts the action into a real-life activity if you have knee pain or shoulder pain after activity during sport. As a result, he can help treat the injury by analyzing your movement pattern with your training. Hence, it will be viable for your lifestyle
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Time And Management:
As of my experience, the average time it will take while visiting a traditional chiropractor is about 5 minutes or even less. Besides, it only takes about 20 seconds for the actual adjustment. However, your initial appointment will last about 15-30.
In contrast, a Sports Chiropractor is a better option if you want more one-on-one time with your doctor. Usually, the first session will last about 15-30 minutes compared to only 5 minutes for a traditional chiropractor.
Interestingly, the initial appointment for a sports chiropractic is about 45 minutes long as it is more detailed.
In conclusion, in sports chiropractic care you will get more individualized attention.
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Recovery:
It is a well-established fact that exercise and rehabilitation are good for all athletes. The reason you should visit Certified Sports Chiropractic is that they have a better understanding and knowledge that can benefit you than traditional chiropractors.
They can suggest exercises that complement your movements and goals.
Benefits Of Sports Chiropractic Care For Athletes:
For any athlete, chiropractic care is the ideal method to recover from injuries and prevent future ones. Initially, you may not feel severe pain in any part of your, however, when stressed by repetitive movements larger complications can create.
In sports chiropractic care, several body parts are treated which include knee, back, hip, neck, foot, and shoulder.
Here are the amazing benefits of sports chiropractic care for athletes:
- Heal faster from injuries and prevent future injuries,
- Increase flexibility and maneuverability,
- Faster recovery from intense training,
- Reduce adhesion and tension that is inhibiting correct biomechanics and function,
- Enhance body balance and posture
- Mitigate and prevent pain caused by specific movement
- Help restore joint alignment
- Reduce adhesion and tension affecting muscles, fascia, and ligaments,
Consequently, you can recover faster while simultaneously working to improve your overall performance by consulting a sports chiropractor.
Things To Consider When Choosing A Sports Chiropractor:
There are a few important things that you must consider before choosing a Sports Chiropractor for your treatment. They are as follow
- Insurance: Make sure that they take your insurance.
- The Distance? You may consider the distance which means that if they are close to your home or workplace. However, we don’t give this point much importance because the priority should be how good the doctor is regardless of how far the facility is. Preferring your convenience over optimal service can be a little risky.
How To Find A Good Sports Chiropractor?
Below we have listed a few tips that can help you find a good sports chiropractor for your treatment.
- Visit ACBSP’s official website and search through the directory to find the certified individual.
- Find professionals who practice ART here(Find me) if you want soft tissue therapy.
Besides here some questions that you need to when you call their office:
- How long does the initial appointment take?
- What is follow-ups appointment time?
- What should I expect?
- Any important detail I should know before I book an appointment?
A few more things you should do:
- Look for their official website and social media. If you find any, read about them and check whether they are suitable for you or not.
- Check with your friends or family members if they had a similar injury, who did they go for treatment, and how was their experience with them.
Bottom Line:
Most people who play sports on a daily basis will experience some kind of injury, be it minor or large. Our body is a lot of pieces that act as a moving piece together and can do a few incredible things.
Chiropractic treatment is able to maximize this opportunity by enhancing posture, agility, and performance to produce exceptional physical moments.
Make sure that you give enough attention to your body and spine that they deserve. Chiropractors will assist you in this process. Don’t wait for too long until your body experiences some severe injury.
This article focuses on providing you information about the Sports Chiropractor and highlighting its importance for every athlete. In the end, we would like to conclude that the final decision is yours: Which doctor to go to for the treatment and which doctor is best suitable.
Check Out: Importance of Fitness Lifestyle For Everyone
