Sports Injuries
Chiropractic - sidelines your pain while you bounce back
When a runner injures a calf midway through a race, or a footballer pulls a hamstring as he kicks the ball in the same way he has kicked it thousands of times before, it may not be the running or the kicking that has caused the injury - but an underlying problem that is finally showing itself. Whether it is a previously undetected spine or joint problem, or years of poor posture, the resulting injury could potentially signal the end of a sporting career.
Sports injuries
Whether you are an amateur sports enthusiast or a top-flight professional, your body is prone to the same kinds of injuries. Repeated stresses can lead to a slight loss of proper movement in the bones of your spine (vertebrae) and joints, which in turn can interfere with the healthy working of your muscles and nerves. You may have ignored the pain and carried on with your sport for too long without treatment, and now find yourself with a chronic injury. It’s not surprising that chiropractors are seeing more and more professionals and amateurs with:
Hamstring and calf strains
Achilles tendon injuries
Groin and thigh sprains
Lower back pain
Neck pain
Tennis elbow
Shoulder sprains (rotator cuff injuries)
Tendonitis
Sciatica (often confused with hamstring pulls!)
These injuries often recur, may shorten promising sporting careers and turn enthusiastic amateurs into couch potatoes.
Many top sports teams now have a chiropractor as part of their medical care. We have been treating the players at Lincoln City Football Club for the last six years.
Problems with performance
Injury is not the only problem for sports enthusiasts and professionals. Many find that they reach a "threshold of ability", and cannot improve further, however hard they work and however much training they put in.
At Newland Chiropractic Clinic we work to improve both function and health.
As well as speeding up your recovery from injury we will check how well your brain is controlling and coordinating your muscles. Improving your coordination can enhance your performance, and help to prevent future problems.
By going behind the injury, chiropractic will help to eliminate the cause of your problems. Many athletes find a significant improvement in performance because of this.
We provide Interactive Metronome training improves timing and coordination, vital for all racket sports, sports involving catching or kicking and the marshal arts. Training on the Interactive Metronome enhances ones rhythm and has been shown to improve golfers shot accuracy. It also increases mental processing speed and sharpens concentration, helping you stay calm and focused during the game / match / competition. More on sports performance with the Interactive Metronome
Back on track
Unlike painkilling drugs, chiropractic gets behind the cause of an injury, rather than just treating the injury itself. We will carry out a full examination (including X-rays if necessary), and ask you questions about your sporting life, posture, medical history and lifestyle, to discover the cause of your injury or poor performance and make a diagnosis.
Then your treatment will begin, often with gentle, specific adjustments (the chiropractic word for manipulation) done by hand, to free stiff joints and remove spinal nerve irritation. This effective drug- free treatment is generally painless, although you may feel some short-term discomfort around the injured area.
We will offer a rehabilitation plan specific to your needs to improve your flexibility, muscle strength, muscle coordination and control. This all helps to prevent future flare-ups.
Most athletes who have benefited from our treatment return for regular check-ups to keep their body working at its best. Regardless of your age, condition or health, chiropractic care may improve your athletic potential.
How can a reocurrence of the proiblem be prevented?
This, of course, will depend upon the problem itself, but many sports injuries are caused by a poor approach to sport. It is vitally important that you warm up before you start, and stretch when you’ve finished. If you been away from your sport for a long time, your body will be less fit and supple, making injury more likely. Your chiropractor will be able to advise you in either case.
What about just "running it off"?
This is usually not a good idea. If your body isn’t working properly, you will continue to overload the injury, prolonging the healing process and risking further problems as a result of your body compensating. When your chiropractor has improved the movement and strength of your joints and muscles, your injury will heal more quickly and be much less likely to come back.
