How may Chiropractic help with athletic performance?
DC Heidi Haavik’s research in her book The Reality Check (available in the Lending Library at Village Chiropractic) explores the connection between athletic performance and chiropractic care. The key factors discussed in the chapter are the way that chiropractic care may play a role in helping prevent injuries in athletes, improve proprioception, and increase the accuracy of the brains control over the muscles.
A key part of training is avoiding injury, core stability being a contributing factor to how our body responds appropriately to a fall or unexpected load bearing. One study concluded that you were less likely to sustain a serious lower back injury from a physical stressor when regularly adjusted, as their core stability was better and their reaction faster and more effective. Keeping the connection between brain and body free of interference can help manage the strain on your body from intense exercise and repetitive training. Additionally, in recovery from injury, Chiropractic care has shown to be effective in not only reducing pain, but restoring normal function.
Proprioception is the awareness of our body and its movement within space, as well as joint position and movement. Accurate proprioception is beneficial to both accuracy in athletic performance, and injury prevention by having improved sense of our body in space. “Adjusting dysfunctional segments in the spine can not only improve spinal function but can also improve the way we sense our environment, process information in our brain and control the muscles in our arms and legs.” (Haavik, 2014)
“Numerous studies support the fact that chiropractic care helps athletes achieve an optimal level of performance. A series of studies done in New Zealand shows large changes in the maximum output of the muscle group after one chiropractic adjustment” (Chiropractic Balance)
Although most commonly associate ‘stressors’ with being negatively impactful on our body, hard training is putting the body under stress too. Impacts between people in sport, using your body unevenly, and the impact of your feet on the ground can lead to subluxation of the spine, causing decreased nerve flow to the muscles and organs, and therefore decreased performance.
Have you noticed a change or improvement in your athletic performance since starting chiropractic care?
Haavik H, Niazi IK, Jochumsen M, Sherwin D, Flavel S, Türker KS. (2017) Impact of spinal manipulation on cortical drive to upper and lower limb muscles. Brain Sciences. In Press
Haavik H, The Reality Check (2014).
“Athletic Performance.” Chiropractic Balance, https:/5/#:~:text=Numerous%20studies%20support%20the%20fact,one%20chiropractic%20adjustment(7).