Sports Chiropractic

Athletes perform feats of physical prowess that are so impressive complete strangers pay to watch. Unfortunately, this also takes a huge toll on their bodies, resulting in many common sports injuries.

That’s where a sports injury chiropractor comes in.

Most people assume that sports injuries must all be from punishing activities, such as football, basketball, and hockey. Sports injuries don’t just occur in contact sports, though.

Many individual, non-contact sports such as golf and tennis can cause major types of sports injuries. These sports injuries include dislocation, overuse, sprains, strains, tendon and ligament damage, and a multitude of ailments that require rehabilitation.

Physical therapy and medication are the most popular forms of treatment. However, a sports injury chiropractor can help minimize rehabilitation time while treating the source of an injury immediately and effectively.

After you have healed, sports injury therapy with a licensed chiropractor can also improve flexibility and range of motion, helping you perform better.

Wrist Injuries

As one of the most common ailments a sports chiropractor handles, wrist injuries can range from sprains and strains to dislocations and fractures, and can even stem from relatively mundane tasks (ever heard of carpal tunnel?).

Many people use the terms “sprain” and “strain” when discussing wrist injuries, but there is a difference between the two. Sprains are stretches or tears in a ligament, where strains are stretches or tears in a muscle or tendon.

Either way, proper care is key.

The idea behind sports chiropractic is that—by returning the body to its natural state—it can begin the process of healing itself. Through careful adjustments, medical massage, and other treatment methods to the injured area, a sports chiropractor can treat a variety of conditions, from misaligned joints to muscle strain.

If you want to keep playing sports, sports chiropractic treatment is indispensable.

Knee Injuries

Many athletes (professional and otherwise) have had their lives upended as a result of a knee injury. Ligament tears, dislocations, and even fractures are common in the NFL, but knee injuries aren’t specific to professional organizations and can occur during any sport.

Your joints (including your knee) are made up of four main components: bones, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. Any of these can cause the pain of a sports injury, resulting in a major change to your life.

Because of the sheer amount of work it takes on, injuries to the knee almost always require massive amounts of rest and rehabilitation.

The human body is breakable, yet resilient.

As a holistic practice, sports chiropractic doesn’t treat your injury as separate from the rest of your body or with medication. Instead, your sports chiropractor will look at your entire body as a whole, restoring your joints, muscles, ligaments, and nerves to their proper position.

Whether you’re suffering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, dislocation, fracture, meniscal (MCL) tear, bursitis, or tendonitis, a chiropractor can have you back in the game.

Shoulder Injuries

Injuries to the shoulder joint don’t occur as frequently as wrist and knee issues, but they are equally devastating.

The shoulder is the major rotation joint for the arm, used for throwing, swinging and more.

Dislocations of the shoulder are quite common in sports and should be treated immediately by a trained professional, such as a sports chiropractor. Using their extensive knowledge of anatomy, a chiropractor can not only relocate your joint, but provide you with various other therapies to speed up the healing process and prevent further injury.

Furthermore, by adjusting the surrounding joints in the neck and upper back using spinal manipulation, sports chiropractic can improve range of motion, reduce chronic pain, and increase your overall quality of life.

Elbow Injuries

Because the elbow is integral in swinging a club, bat, or racket, we often see elbow injuries in golfers, baseball players, and tennis players. Have you ever heard of golfer’s elbow or tennis elbow? It’s given that name for a reason.

When it comes to this part of the body, rather than a strain or sprain, the pain is caused by the tendons in the wrist and the muscles that run up the forearm. The scientific conditions are called Medial epicondylitis and Lateral epicondylitis.

Because a chiropractor aligns your body, regular adjustments can help with this type of pain as well.

Overuse Injuries

Chronic injuries are commonplace among athletes because sports typically require you to repeat similar actions over and over again. In fact, practice of the same motions is necessary in order to excel. Unfortunately, this can lead to overuse injuries.

This is where a sports chiropractor is essential to maintaining your health and physical ability.

When one part of the body has been overused or pushed past the breaking point, the area becomes painful and inflamed. This is your body’s way of saying that it needs a break, but unfortunately, many athletes prefer to take a painkiller and push through. This way of thinking can lead to increased or worse injuries over time.

As a result, these injuries are denied the opportunity to fully heal. They may even become more inflamed, putting pressure on adjacent nerves, which then spread pain throughout the body.

A dedicated sports chiropractor can treat the injury at its source, reduce inflammation, and allow the body to heal itself without any obstacles or interference.

Letting your body heal without the help of a sports chiropractor might be effective at reducing pain, but getting professional treatment gives you the best chance of a full recovery. By returning your joints to their proper position before your body begins the healing process, you can significantly reduce your recovery time while increasing your potential benefits.

Injury Prevention

As the adage goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth of pound of cure.” But preventing injuries isn’t just about keeping you pain-free, it’s about allowing you to keep enjoying your favorite activities without an injury interruption.

Sports injury prevention is key for athletes of all levels, and chiropractic care is a crucial part of the puzzle.

With regular visits to a chiropractor for athletes, you can ensure that your body stays in peak physical condition. Through chiropractic adjustments, medical massage, E-stim treatments, and more, a sports chiropractor can provide you with ongoing treatment that helps prevent sports injuries.

Get Back In the Game!

Whether sports are a career choice or a hobby, you don’t need to let injuries sideline you.  Sports chiropractic could be just the treatment you need to keep you at the top of your game so you can keep doing what you love.

If you’re suffering from the aftermath of a sports injury, or just want to prevent one, call our offices today to schedule an appointment with one of our doctors who treats sports injuries. Our offices are fully stocked with top-of-the-line equipment, including an X-ray for accurate diagnosis so you can get the treatment for sports injuries that you deserve.

Our offices are conveniently located in Oviedo and we are even open on Saturdays for last-minute treatment. Come see the difference that sports chiropractic can make!