Football. Volleyball. Cross country running. Competitive apple picking. If you count any of these among your favorite sports, then autumn is your season to shine!
But take caution, because all of these forms of athleticism come with a significant risk of injury. Americans report an estimated 1.2 million football injuries each year. Volleyball players frequently suffer from strains and sprains, and about 65% of runners get hurt each year. (We have no data on competitive apple picking because we just made it up.)
If the arrival of colder weather marks your return to the gridiron, court or track, then you may wonder how you can recover as quickly as possible in the event that you are injured. If you live in the greater Fargo, ND area, then you’re in luck.
Drs. Mike Mosey and Kent Yohe don’t just help athletes recover from sports injuries. They also help athletes avoid becoming injured in the first place. Here’s why chiropractic care is a must-have for any athlete, regardless of their game.
Chiropractic Care Prevents Sports Injuries
Why do most major league sports teams have chiropractors on staff? It’s simple: Because those doctors can and do prevent injuries from benching their star players.
- Chiropractic improves overall health. When your spine is aligned properly, virtually every other part of your body works more efficiently and more effectively. The benefits of a functional central nervous system (CNS) are too far-reaching to elaborate in a single article!
- Chiropractic promotes more efficient movement. When your joints aren’t properly aligned, your body has to invest more effort into deliberate movements. By freeing up muscles and facilitating functionality of the CNS, chiropractic care makes sudden bursts of movement less taxing on the body.
- Chiropractic prepares the body for heavy impact. Whether you’re blindsided by a tackle or going for a risky sprawl, chiropractic care can prevent you from paying for it big time. When the spine is optimally aligned, the surrounding limbs are better prepared to absorb sudden impact.
- Chiropractic mitigates the effects of repetitive movement. Doing the same thing over and over again is essential to developing athletic skill. Chiropractic protects athletes against repetitive strain injuries, which is far preferable to receiving treatment for them.
- Chiropractic improves motor control. Every athlete understands the importance of motor control. Even the tiniest movement can spell the difference between a touchdown pass and an interception. By removing joint subluxations, a chiropractor eliminates sources of interference between an athlete’s intentions and their actions.
Chiropractic Care Treats Sports Injuries
All the precaution in the world can’t prevent some injuries. Fortunately, chiropractic care for sports injuries is demonstrably effective at getting athletes back in the game. Here are just a few of the ways chiropractors help athletes recover faster and fuller.
- Chiropractic accelerates healing. Proper spinal alignment doesn’t just help the CNS transmit commands more effectively. It also enables the CNS to perceive which parts of the body are injured – and respond by directing more natural healing hormones and proteins to those specific areas.
- Chiropractic reduces inflammation. Promoting proper alignment of the spine reduces stress on surrounding soft tissues, relieves pinched nerves, and helps the CNS communicate more effectively with the body. All of these outcomes can have the added benefit of reducing painful swelling around injured joints.
- Chiropractic treats sprains and strains. Joint manipulation can quickly undo the damage sports injuries do to ligaments and tendons. In addition to stimulating increased blood flow to affected soft tissues, joint manipulation can help increase the joint’s range of motion.
- Chiropractic treats concussions. Concussive injuries are frequently accompanied by direct damage to the cervical spine. Chiropractic’s focus on these sensitive joints means it offers multiple solutions to reducing neck pain, headaches, and other common concussion symptoms.
- Chiropractic can eliminate the need for pain medications. Athletes often rely on painkillers after sustaining injuries. Unfortunately, these medications carry the risk of several side effects that can harm athletic performance – not to mention addiction. By eliminating the causes of pain instead of merely masking its symptoms, chiropractic can help athletes avoid all the pitfalls that go hand in hand with pills.
Are you looking for the best way to take your game to the next level this autumn? Then we welcome you to contact Fargo Spine today to schedule a consultation at our clinic in Fargo, ND. Our doctors are experienced at treating athletes, and are standing by to help you avoid and recover from any sports injury!