Different types of injuries require different forms of treatment. For example, if you’re suffering from a stiff neck following a car accident or back pain as a result of sitting at a desk all day, your discomfort can often be treated by a regular chiropractor. They can provide you with spinal adjustments to lower your pain levels and improve mobility.
If your injury was caused by a sports-related accident, standard chiropractic care may not be enough to make you feel better. You may need to be treated by a specialist sports chiropractor who can offer you different kinds of expert care, such as athletic taping, myofascial release, and deep tissue stretches.
A little history
Although chiropractic treatment has been around for centuries, it wasn’t until 1980 that the first chiropractic specialist was included in the United States Olympic medical team. Since that big step, spinal adjustments and massage therapy have grown to become major parts of medical teams across all different kinds of sports. Today, athletes from almost every type of sport are beginning to understand the long-term benefits of chiropractic care.
Sports chiropractor vs Regular chiropractor?
While a regular chiropractor treats general pain and discomfort, a sports chiropractor specializes in diagnosing and treating injuries caused by athletic injuries. They’re very knowledgeable about how to prevent future injuries and enhance rehabilitation. They’re also experts in creating personalized treatment plans that allow sportspeople to return to their sport as quickly as possible.
A sports chiropractor takes a multidisciplinary approach when treating their patients. Their unique methods and vast knowledge of sports-related injuries mean they’re ideally qualified to assess, diagnose, and treat athletic injuries without resorting to drugs or invasive surgical procedures.
Sports chiropractors treat injuries caused by many different kinds of sports, including:
- Golf
- Baseball
- Weight lifting
- Running
- Football
- Yoga
- Pilates
- Tennis
- Basketball
- Soccer
- Hockey
- Cycling
- Track
- Rock Climbing
Sports-focused chiropractic care isn’t just for injured athletes. Attending regular chiropractic visits can also be an effective way of preventing future injuries, improving your mobility, and maintaining your optimum shape so you can perform your best. Regular adjustments can allow you to protect your spine, lowering your risk of developing serious injuries the next time you practice.
Customized treatment plans with your chiropractor
Just like every other type of chiropractic care, sports-focused chiropractic treatment is unique to the individual. Whether you’re suffering from an injury or you want to prevent hurting yourself in the future, your chiropractor will draw up a customized treatment plan that focuses on your state of health, the sport you practice, and what you want to achieve.
Here are just some of the things your sports chiropractor can help you with:
- Faster recoveries from intense training
- Quicker healing times from injuries
- Preventing sports-related injuries in the future
- Restoring joint alignment
- Increasing range of motion and flexibility
- Improving posture and balance
- Ensuring training activities are safe to carry out
- Relieving and preventing pain caused by a specific injury
What happens in a sports chiropractic session?
The first time you visit a sports chiropractor, they’ll give you a full assessment to determine the cause of your pain and any other symptoms you may have. To get to the root of the problem, they will perform a physical analysis and may take some x-rays.
After they’ve made a diagnosis, your chiropractor will draw up a treatment plan to support the correct alignment of your spinal disc and vertebrae. These can often become displaced by collisions during athletic activity.
Extra support to consider
As well as providing sports-related chiropractic adjustments, your specialist chiropractor may also recommend non-invasive massage therapy to help manage your symptoms. Unlike regular massages, therapeutic massages can relax your muscles and release toxins that are causing your limited range of motion.
Patients who take advantage of therapeutic massages in combination with proper chiropractic treatment often report faster healing times and less muscle soreness after each session.
Your sports chiropractor may also recommend physiotherapy to help manage any pain you may be experiencing and improve your range of motion. This type of treatment includes specific exercises which challenge the muscles and joints through purposeful movements. Over time, and when combined with chiropractic care and massage therapy, physiotherapy can speed up healing time and provide you with pain relief.
Don’t ignore the pain
We’re here to help if you’re suffering from pain and discomfort following a sports-related injury. We can provide you with expert chiropractic treatment, even if you’re healthy and want to reduce your risk of future injuries or improve your mobility. Schedule an appointment online today and one of our Veeva chiropractors will help make sure you’re in optimum shape to perform at your best and achieve your sports goals.
About the author
Matt has been helping providers within the healthcare setting for over a decade. He realizes how best to solve a patient’s problem by understanding the individualism of each patient. Therefore knowing what their true needs are. To focus on the patient and the “Why” they need their particular service that goes beyond the initial reason for them to seek treatment.
Matt has been with Veeva since 2018. He also has access to over 75 years of combined real-life hands-on experiences from the many doctors within the Veeva Chiropractic landscape.
