Chiropractic for Weekend Warriors to full time Athletes
Chiropractic Solutions for Athletes
When you think about it, Marin is like a giant park, with all kinds of wonderful and easily accessible indoor and outdoor activities to keep you fit, trim and in great shape. It’s our own slice of paradise.
Whether you’re a weekend warrior, training for a triathlon, the Dipsea Race or the Double Dipsea (for you masochists out there), it’s fairly common to tweak a muscle or joint.
Joggers, hikers, mountain bikers, cyclists, golfers, tennis aficionados, soccer players, softball enthusiasts, skiers, even horseback riders all come to me with some kind of sports-induced pain or injury.
This article will discuss my personal approach to providing chiropractic solutions for athletes. Whatever sport you happen to love, you can often overdo it or you can just do it the wrong way, causing physiological problems and pain in your neck, shoulders, arms or hands.
Get Help to Get Back in the Game
Is your performance not quite at its peak? Are you noticing a gradual drop-off in skill? Do you enjoy your favorite sport, then suffer the consequences later that day or the next? If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, I can help you get back in the game, and here’s how:
- For any sports injury, I delve into the cause and how the injury first manifested itself. I start by getting to know you better with a candid conversation about your medical history. I dig deeper into what first caused your problem and when it got worse. I find out if it’s a muscle strain, a subluxation (a slight misalignment of your vertebrae), or a more complex biomechanical issue. From there I can plot the quickest course to your complete recovery.
- I provide my patients with a personalized, in-depth healing experience, especially for those who want to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle with occasional tune-ups. You’ll find that my adjustments remove interference from your nervous system due to joint pressure, or inflammation, and restore range of motion.
- My main technique is Sacro-Occipital Technique, and I’m the only SOT-chiropractor in the San Francisco Bay Area certified. This system of chiropractic identifies and addresses patterns in the whole body that are the underlying cause of symptoms in specific areas so results are achieved faster and are more lasting.
Repetitive Sports Injuries are the Most Common
The most common types of sports injuries are repetitive stress injuries involving the shoulder – volleyball, tennis, baseball, golf, etc. I can typically heal these types of injuries in a short series of office visits.
If you want to play tennis again, hit the golf ball like you once did, ride your bike, jog or hike wherever you want, here are a few examples of how I treated various athletes who have been patients of mine.
Help with Repetitive Shoulder Problems
A female patient in her late 20s was training for the U.S. Rowing Team and she developed shoulder issues with lots of pain. Instead of just treating her shoulder, I looked at the bigger picture and determined that her neck, ribs and shoulder were involved in her problem. After a few office visits, she was back in the boat.
Soccer Player with Neck and Head Pain
A weekend warrior I treat comes in regularly with a variety of injuries. One of his favorite sports is soccer. He actually came in recently with a neck injury from heading the ball too frequently, causing neck pain and headaches. I treated his cranium and his neck, but told him to take it easy on headers for a week or two.
Many other patients are active sports enthusiasts who endure lots of wear and tear on their bodies. My goal with them is to keep their all their joints aligned and flexible so they can play at their peak.
You don’t have to feel like you can’t play sports the way you used to. Being active in Marin and not in neck pain is possible with the help of personalized chiropractic care.
