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The sports and activities that keep us healthy can occasionally lead to injury. It’s vital that we take symptoms seriously and address the issues quickly, so that we don’t exacerbate a problem beyond simple repair. At Vidan Family Chiropractic, our doctors specialize in chiropractic care for sports-related injuries. Our team can get you back to your favorites sports and activities in no time.
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If you play contact sports you may have already experienced a concussion at some point in your athletic career. A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that can temporarily affect your mental state and level of consciousness. There is no “cure” for a concussion. Your body just needs to rest in order to recover. However, at Vidan Family Chiropractic, we can offer adjustments to alleviate symptoms of a concussion, like headaches and neck pain, and make you more comfortable during your recovery.
The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint that’s connected to the body through muscle. So the underlying causes of shoulder pain most frequently have to do with either the joint itself, or the muscles, tendons and ligaments that support the joint. Because of the range of motion required for effective play, football players, baseball and softball players, and swimmers tend to get shoulder pain at some point in their athletic careers. Vidan Family Chiropractic can help athletes maintain or enhance their range of motion, so they can perform at their best.
Tennis elbow is irritation or inflammation of the connective tissues between the forearm and the elbow. A variation of tennis elbow is golfer’s elbow, which oppositely effects the inside portion of the elbow. These conditions develop through the repetitive motion of certain sports, but can also effect non-athletes whose occupations involve simply holding things with a tight grip for long periods of time.
A sharp pain in the hip is a tell-tale sign of a hip flexor strain. This pain, along with decreased or limited range of motion, and tenderness, swelling, or bruising near the groin, are also indicative of the issue. During running, biking or repetitive leg exercises, the hips may swing forward in overextension. This can cause that sharp pain in the front of the hip.
Patellar tendinitis is an injury to the tendon connecting your kneecap (patella) to your shinbone. The patellar tendon works with the muscles at the front of your thigh to extend your knee so that you can kick, run and jump. Pain is the first symptom of patellar tendinitis, usually between your kneecap and where the tendon attaches to your shinbone (tibia).
When we put stress on our shins, as we do during running or exercise, the connective tissues that attach our leg muscles to our tibia can get inflamed. This inflammation is caused by tiny fractures in the muscles, tendons and bones of the shin. This pain is called “shin splints,” and although it usually goes away within a few days, it’s important to monitor to ensure that it doesn’t progress into a stress fracture.
Hamstring strains, or a pulled hamstring, are common leg injuries that can range from mild to severe. Mild hamstring strains will likely feel like a dull ache at the back of the leg, while severe strains or tears to the hamstring muscle are extremely painful and can prohibit the patient from standing or walking.
Rolling, twisting, or turning the ankle in an awkward way can often result in a sprained ankle. The most common way that patients sprain their ankles is when the foot inverts, or turns inward, and then the ankle externally rotates, or turns outward. This opposing movement of the foot and ankle cause stretching or tearing in the tissues and ligaments that hold the ankle bones together. Most sprains are not serious with fewer than 5% of sprains requiring surgery. But it’s important for athletes to be aware of the symptoms of sprained ankles, what types of movements cause them, and what to do if they experience a sprain.
Getting out of pain is every injured patients first priority. Your chiropractor can help alleviate pain and get you on a path to recovery.
Chiropractic care not only alleviates the pain from an injury, it can help you heal more soundly and enhance your overall performance.
When your body is performing its best, in competition as well as every day life, your general disposition improves.
Our goal is simple: Get you out of pain fast, and return you back to your field of competition as soon as possible. Pain relief aside, here are some of the athletic benefits a certified chiropractic sports physician can offer:
Improved performance. A misaligned spine can interfere with the functions of all other systems, causing athletic performance to suffer. Regular adjustments keep the spine working smoothly, which in turn boosts the body’s overall performance. In one study, athletes showed a 6.12 percent performance increase after receiving chiropractic treatment. Another study found a 30 percent improvement in eye-hand coordination after 12 weeks of chiropractic care. Examples of athletes who can benefit include:
Football players: Chiropractors give 16,320 to 27,200 adjustments to NFL players over the course of a football season.
Baseball players: Regular chiropractic care helps MLB players significantly improve muscle strength and long jump distance.
Basketball players: For those in the NBA, routine chiropractic treatment helps boost speed, flexibility, range of motion, balance and strength.
More effective training. Many athletes also find that chiropractic care helps them train more effectively. In one study, 100 percent of runners with joint problems were able to maintain—and in many cases increase—their training mileage. More than three-quarters of athletic trainers refer their players to a chiropractor, while all of them report that some of their clients seek chiropractic treatment on their own.
Fewer injuries. Alignment issues cause unnecessary stress on the body and can often lead to injury. A certified chiropractic sports physician keeps the musculoskeletal system humming along smoothly so the body is less prone to injury. For example, chiropractors help golfers correct postural imbalances in their swing that could lead to injury.
Reduced recovery times. By relieving the irritation between misaligned vertebrae, chiropractic treatment helps minimize the healing time required from injuries. One research team found chiropractic care helped a group of injured long-distance runners recover quickly. That’s why so many athletes—from professional sports teams to high school players—regularly see a chiropractor to stay in top shape.
