Treating Common Sports Injuries with Chiropractic Care

Athletes understand the arduous demands of sports and the physical requirement in exerting themselves to their body's max performance potential.

Pushing the body through physical contact and eccentric movements, athletes become more susceptible to painful tears, sprains, and strains. These bumps and bruises can manifest into more severe chronic sports injuries, where athletes can miss chunks of the season.

No one enjoys riding the pine; it's excruciating watching your team battle every week, while you hand out water on the sidelines. Anyone from recreational players to high-performance competitors can agree getting back to game shape as fast as possible is always the post-injury goal.

A combination of rest, compression, and elevation can get the job done eventually. For athletes that want to overcome sports injuries fast, so they can return to playing the sport they love, chiropractic treatment should be a real consideration.

Many common sports injuries can be alleviated or even prevented through a sports chiropractic. A sports chiropractor, through chiropractic adjustment, can address issues such as joint tightness, restricted range of motion, and chronic pain, expediting the healing process. Forceful impact, repetitive motions, over-training, and poor warm-ups are all ways sports injuries can occur, and are all issues a sports chiropractor can relieve.

Let's look at some of the most common sports injuries, and how a sports chiropractic can assist an ailing athlete in getting back to mid-season form.

Hamstring Strain

Treatment:

• Follow the RICE treatment (Rest, ice, compression, elevation)
• Stretch to improve flexibility; keep the muscle loose
• Chiropractic adjustment to ease joint tightness
• Work on muscle tissues to scatter scar tissues
• Exercise to return strength, prevent further injury

Strains and pulls of the hamstring muscle are associated with poor flexibility, or a weak warm-up before training. A sports chiropractic can perform a chiropractic adjustment to address any joint tightness, as well as massage muscle tissues to interrupt scar tissue formation.

A sports chiropractor may also examine your leg for any muscular imbalances. A tight thigh, but weak hamstrings, can lead to recurring injuries; chiropractic treatment can resolve this through returning muscle and joint motion to its normal state.

Lower Back Strain

Treatment:

• Chiropractic adjustment to reduce pain, increase range of motion
• Stretching exercises that target the lower back
• Core training; core strengthening

Any sports with sudden twisting motions can result in lower back strain. Tennis, soccer, and hockey are all sports whose athletes are at a higher risk of back strains.

Improving core strength is vital in combatting low back pain. Core strengthening exercises keep important muscles and joints aligned. 

If you've already strained your back, a sports chiropractor can perform an adjustment to reduce low back pain. Range of motion can also be improved, making you less susceptible to sports injuries when performing any bending movements in your activities.

For severe low back pain, perhaps caused from herniated, protruding or bulging discs, spinal decompression therapy is an effective chiropractic treatment. Spinal decompression can significantly reduce chronic pain, and possibly eliminate the need for any back surgeries.

Runner's Knee

Treatment:

• Stretch muscles around the knee; strengthen inner knee muscles
• Deep tissue massage to break up scar tissue
• Make sure there's no altered gait or improper walking form, which can lead to other chronic conditions
• Ensure no low back joint problems are impeding proper leg movements

No, runner's knee isn't exclusive to runners. Any form of jogging, running, or sprinting can lead to runner's knee.

A sports chiropractic can address this injury through a combination of massage, exercise, and stretching plans. This targets specific weaknesses and dysfunctions, as well as joint restrictions that can limit recovery progress.

Proper footwear can also be recommended by the sports chiropractor, another factor in runner's knee. Faulty footwear leads to an abnormal gait, which increases stress on the knee, hip, and lower back. 

Tennis Elbow

Treatment:

• Spinal manipulation around elbow joint to improve joint motions
• Muscle tissue massage to break up scar tissue
• Strength exercises, targeting the forearm
• Increase range of motion

Lateral epicondylitis, or tennis elbow, is a pain that manifests on the outside of the elbow. It's a cumbersome area to heal, being one of spots in the body that gets the least amount of blood.

Chiropractic treatment can be very effective in recovering from tennis elbow. Common options include muscle release therapy and chiropractic adjustment. Muscle release therapy reduces inflammation and contractions within tissues, breaking up any tightness or muscle knots. A chiropractic adjustment can loosen joints, lessen pain, and restore regular movement. This can be done directly at the wrist or elbow, or the joints of the spine depending on severity.

It takes time to return to action from tennis elbow, with or without a sports chiropractic. Returning too soon opens the door for re-injury, and an extended stay on the sidelines.

While rest, compression, and elevation can mend many common sports injuries, it'll take time to get you back to your competitive best. Opting for chiropractic treatment can get you back on the field quickly, with the peace of mind that your strain, sprain, or tear is recovering the right way.

To learn more about how we treat common sports injuries or our chiropractic treatment, contact Dr. Lanoue today.