Whether you’re a professional sportsperson or a weekend runner, all athletes have certain things in common. You want to give your best performance and you want to remain free from injury. While the desire to stay injury-free is always present, so too – unfortunately – is the risk of getting injured. You can suffer a sports injury if you train every day for a marathon or if you spend two hours a week on the soccer field with your friends. While injury may be inevitable, a fast recovery is not. The treatment you receive makes all the difference to a speedy recovery.
How Chiropractic Treats Sports Injuries
In most cases, you will suffer injury because you are doing too much fast, or for too long. You may also have the wrong technique. But what can you do to help get back to full speed after an injury? Chiropractic provides the balanced approach needed to cope with sports injuries. The chiropractic adjustment aims to return the spine to its normal alignment and consequently its normal range of movement. This affects how the rest of the body functions and how quickly an injury heals. Physical therapy is also used to assist the supportive tissues such as the tendons, ligaments and muscles to function normally again. After the realignments and the therapy has been completed, the practitioner will discuss with the athlete the importance of stretching and better strategies for exercise that will keep him or her as injury-free as possible.
What Else Can You Do?
Rest is important and plays a role in injury recovery. Your chiropractic practitioner will advise you on how much rest is ideal. In order to prevent injuries occurring as far as possible, make sure you always follow an effective warm-up and cool-down procedure. You already know the importance of warming up and cooling down, but how many times do you skip the step because you are running late for work or you get bored? Make sure you always follow the right routine. If you are starting a new sport or a new type of exercise, go slowly at first and get advice on how to correctly move the body or play the sport so you avoid common athletic problems and injuries. If you get hurt, call your chiropractor for an appointment as soon as possible for the best chances of a fast recovery.