If you are an active amateur or a competitive runner, using the services of a chiropractor can make a vast change in your overall health, reduce your pain from injuries and improve your alignment for a more effective run. Chiropractors offer excellent rehabilitation care, and they can help you keep your body in top condition as an athlete. In fact, sports is an area that chiropractors can specialize in, focusing their training and experience on targeted treatments for runners.
Recovering from a Sports Injury
Most athletes get injured at one point or another in their career, whether it is while participating in their sport or an accident in their daily lives. Recovery from an injury can be difficult at times, and even after hours of physical therapy, you may feel that you aren’t ready to start training again.
Physical therapy is a great help in recovering strength in soft tissue and muscle after an injury or surgery. However, sports-medicine trained chiropractors can improve the mobility of your joints after an injury. Sports chiropractors work with the soft tissue in conjunction with the joints in a coordinated fashion. An examination will take a look at:
- How you move
- How you stand
- What the arch of your foot looks like
- How your knees are aligned
- How your hips are aligned
After the examination, the sports chiropractor will assess the runner to recommend treatment.
Sports Chiropractic Treatments for Running Injuries
According to U.S. News and World Report, there are four primary chiropractic treatments for running injuries.
- Active Release Technique (ART) – combines massage and stretching by applying deep tension while moving a joint through its range of motion. This treatment is used primarily for adhesions in the muscle.
- Graston Technique – used to break down surface-level scar tissue with hand-held stainless steel tools.
- Functional Dry Needling – releases tension in trigger points through deep muscle stimulation with needles. This treatment can help the psoas muscle, a hip flexor muscle.
- Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) – releases tension through the stimulation of surface muscles.
General Chiropractic Adjustments
Chiropractors are trained to look at the whole body and align it for optimum balance. Many runners find it beneficial to have regular periodic adjustments to regain their body’s balance from daily stress and the impact of running. Aligning the body can relieve tension or pain that is caused from misalignment before it becomes more than a minor impediment.
Runners may not even realize that the tension they feel is the beginning of pain caused from being out of balance until it is adjusted. Chiropractic adjustments are often part and parcel of a runner’s training program to strengthen and improve performance. They can also help recover from pregnancy and postpartum bodily changes.
Preventing Injury and Promoting Optimal Performance
With regular care of a sports-trained chiropractor, runners can actually prevent injury and promote optimal performance by keeping their bodies fine-tuned, working at maximum capacity. A trained chiropractor can find imbalances that may lead to injury and correct them before they become a problem. With your body in perfect balance, muscles and joints work more efficiently, powering up your performance as a runner and making the most of your body’s resources.
Subluxations can be caused by many common runners’ experiences including running on the same type of surface every day, running on a slanted surface such as a beach or replacing running shoes too infrequently. As a runner, you can work to vary your running surfaces and keep a better watch on your shoes, but your chiropractor will let you know if your body is in need of more balance.
To learn more or to schedule an appointment, please give us a call at 860-677-6401. We’re here to help!
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