Can Manual Spine Adjustment Improve Athletic Performance?
If you currently consider yourself an athlete or participated in sports in your younger days, you know first-hand how much time and energy it takes to improve your skills. Being involved in any type of athletic activity requires an immense amount of both physical and emotional dedication. You truly have to be devoted to this cause if you want to advance. But in some cases, bodily limitations can have an adverse impact on how well you can compete.
Nearly 30 million children and teens participate in some form of organized sports. While injuries resulting from these activities are quite common (and may very well prompt a visit to professional chiropractors operating in the area), underlying conditions with no physical symptoms may also interfere with an athlete's ability to perform at the highest level. In fact, chiropractic specialists and physicians alike believe that the presence of certain musculoskeletal disorders can impede an athlete's ability to perform while simultaneously increasing their risk of injury. That's because these disorders can negatively impact the symmetry of the spine; the more symmetrical your spine is, the better you'll be able to compete as an athlete and sustain your physical well-being.
These musculoskeletal disorders can present a challenge when they are not accompanied by noticeable symptoms. They might go undetected in terms of pain or discomfort, but their impact can certainly be seen in the athlete's performance. An athlete who's experiencing undetected spinal asymmetry may very well show signs of decreased performance or be more likely to become injured. Experts have theorized, on the other hand, that athletes with symmetrical spines experience increased physical performance. Therefore, it's important to assess and treat asymmetry in athletes to improve performance and alleviate injury risk in the long run.
One recent study found that chiropractic care is the perfect way to do just that. Researchers hypothesized that spinal manipulative therapy (or SMT) would produce immediate effects on the symmetry of this area. This chiropractic treatment is already considered to be a safe and effective way to treat musculoskeletal disorders. It's already being used to treat countless athletes, though the research on its effect on spine symmetry has been scarce until now. When lumbar SMT was performed on athletes with spinal asymmetry, it produced immediate effects in the static position post-treatment.
What that means is that professional chiropractors can utilize these kinds of treatments on athletic patients with spinal asymmetry to treat or even correct these issues over time. While this most recent study did reveal some limitations in testing, it's clear that athletes should be encouraged to visit their professional chiropractors even when they aren't experiencing pain or physical difficulties. By thinking of these sessions as preventative, rather than reactive, athletes can maintain their overall well-being, address underlying issues, and decrease their risk of injury over time.
Want to learn more about how our professional chiropractors can potentially improve your athletic performance, decrease physical discomfort, or address pain issues? Contact us today to make an appointment.
