Tony B describes how amazing DreamFlex is. Dr. Brian helps explain how DreamFlex works.
The 3 most Common Sports Injuries and How to reduce their Risk
Over 200 million Americans participating in a sport at any given time, so there are bound to be sports injuries. Every year, up to 5% of the American population incurs a sports injury and has to rest at home while the injury heals. Chiropractors know that this number can be reduced significantly. Here is a closer look at the 3 most common sports injuries and how the risk of attainment can be reduced.
1 – Traumatic Injuries
Traumatic sports injuries are probably the most common types of injuries in sports. They are frequently seen in a variety of contact sports such as rugby, football and ice hockey. Possibly the most common of traumatic sports injuries, the main reason why people see chiropractors, are sprains.
When muscles are stretched beyond their limits, they cause pain. Stretched too far and they can tear. Chiropractors work with people to not only help treat these injuries but reduce their frequency. Using a variety of techniques, they help improve the joints, ensuring they can withstand more stress and perform better as well.
2 – Repetitive Stress Injuries
In many sports such as cricket, table tennis, football, running and weightlifting, players repeat a number of movements and stress the same area of their body. As such, these people are prone to a number of injuries classified as repetitive stress/motion sports injuries. In part, considering the nature of these sports, these injuries are inevitable. However, their frequency can be reduced.
Chiropractors work with athletes of such sports and help them reduce their risk of injury. How? Chiropractors simply use a number of techniques to help strengthen their joints. As a result, a stronger joint is less prone to injury.
3 – Soft Tissue Injuries
Soft tissue sports injuries are regarded as a separate type of injury as they usually occur when a severe sprain has been incurred, usually coupled with a contusion. Such an injury involves localized swelling and the production of a lot of heat. However, chiropractors know that if left untreated for too long, it takes quite a while to heal.
As such, chiropractors work to reduce the swelling as fast as possible, allowing them to properly manipulate the affected area and help reduce pain and enable faster recovery.
In many cases, sports injuries are inevitable. However, according to many medical experts, including chiropractors, their frequency can be significantly reduced.
Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: Shane Williams scores try at Ravenhill.jpg
Choose Chiropractic Care for Healthier Living
Chiropractic care is a medical system that aims to eliminate the root of a problem rather than just suppressing the symptoms. Chiropractors manipulate the spinal column along with other parts of the body with the aim of easing pain, promoting the body’s systems to naturally heal it along with prescribing exercise to eliminate postural problems.
This approach introduces a healthier lifestyle for an individual.
Chiropractic Treatment Techniques
Here are numerous chiropractic treatment techniques that are used in treating patients:
Activator
The activator is a device that is used to correct minor misalignments in the spine. It sends a small impulse that is sufficient enough to move the vertebrae without causing any injury.
Bio-Energetic Synchronization Technique (BEST)
This is a non-forceful technique that is used to remove blocked energy in the body and allows it to heal itself.
Cox Flexion Distraction
This procedure is a safe alternate to back surgery and is designed to relieve lower back pain by altering the spinal column. However, it is also used to treat disc herniation, stenosis, arm and neck pains as well as many other complications.
Applied Kinesiology
Applied Kinesiology gauges a muscles’ strength or weakness to find an illness.
Thompson Terminal Point
This technique utilizes a special drop table to adjust the full length of the spine.
Sacro-Occipital Technique (SOT)
The SOT technique is designed to reduce and sometimes completely eliminate pain in the head, neck, spinal cord, TMJ as well as improve function of many organs.
Logan Basic Technique
The Logan technique applies a gentle and sustained pressure at the base of the spine, that corrects the balance of the spinal column and releases tension.
A gentle, sustained pressure is exerted at the base of the spine. Correcting the sacrum corrects the rest of the spine.
Nimmo Technique
Nimmo technique is designed to relieve people of their chronic pain, whether in the muscle system, nervous system or skeletal system.
Orthotics
Orthotics focuses design and construction of external devices that help in modifying the structure of the body, such as uneven leg length, incorrect spinal curvature and tilted pelvis.
Emphasis on Exercise
Chiropractors believe that physical exercise is essential for the well-being of the human body. This is why they prescribe exercises that are easy to carry out at home. These exercises aim at reducing or preventing obesity that is a major factor in causing heart diseases, diabetes and many other diseases.
Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: Activator II adjustment instrument.png
Treating Sprained Ankles with Chiropractic
Sprained ankles are one of the most common sports injuries and can become a rather large hurdle in anyone’s life if left untreated. Moreover, the longer the injury is left untreated, the longer it will take to return to the sport. Fortunately, there is a quicker way around it: chiropractic treatment. By treating your injury with chiropractic rather than conventional methods, not only does your injury heal faster, but the affected area grows stronger.
Initial Analysis
The first step in any chiropractic treatment is to analyze the area and determine the degree of damage. In case of tears or any fracture, the person is usually sent to the hospital. It is important to note that if you do not know how to treat a sprain, we suggest you do not touch the sprained ankle until the swelling goes down. In case of severe pain, a hospital referral is recommended.
Reducing the Swelling
Just like many other sports injuries, a sprained ankle should be treated with an ice pack immediately. This will help reduce the swelling until you can reach proper medical help. In the case of a severe ankle sprain, the swelling does not go down very fast and, in order to recover faster, most people seek out chiropractic help.
Without using any drugs or any surgery, chiropractic reduces the swelling fast using chiropractic techniques such as ultrasound, Kinesio taping and light Graston.
Joint Manipulation
No chiropractic treatment will include joint manipulation until the swelling has gone down. Once it has, joint manipulation is usually performed. Here, the ankle is moved slowly in a variety of motions. This is done to increase blood circulation around the ankle and subsequently reduce recover time. This is usually done to properly gauge the level of damage to the ankle and check for any possible weaknesses.
Rehabilitation Training
Once the swelling has gone down and the ankle can move freely once again, it is important to place the person on the rehabilitation stage. During this stage of chiropractic, an expert trainer will help you do a range of motion extending exercises, usually without any sort of weight/resistance. However, in order to strengthen the body and the ankle, some resistance is placed after a while.
Sports injuries, particularly ankle sprains, can become a big problem for anyone, especially athletes. Fortunately, Chiropractic treatment helps the ankle heal faster but extends the ankle’s degree of movement, allowing it to move more freely than before. Finally, it helps prevent any further injuries.
Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: Homemade Ice Pack by Vince Viloria
Top 4 Core-Building Exercises
The human body has 29 core muscles located in the back, abdomen and pelvis regions. They help to give a person a stable center of gravity, while helping in controlling movements, supporting whole of the back and giving out a semblance of stability.
These core muscles form the foundation on which the movement of the body is based. Strong core muscles tend to resist injury and form a protective cushion for the whole spinal column.
However, weak core muscles can cause a person to develop a poor posture, pain all over the body, and make the individual more prone to injuries from everyday activities.
Exercise on a regular basis can make these muscles stronger, but it is necessary to get the posture right before getting on with the exercises.
Good Posture
Good posture not only makes a person look attractive, but it does wonders for the overall skeletal structure. Chiropractic practice pays a lot of attention to proper posture. Correct posture will ensure that a person’s muscles, organs along with joints and bones are in their correct, natural positions.
A bad posture can result in a lot of problems for the body, following are examples of a poor posture:
- Drooping shoulders
- Head or neck held forward
- Lower back arching too much
- Sitting with a wallet in the back pocket
- Phone receiver being held between neck and shoulder
- Drooping forward while sitting
These postures must always be avoided.
Bridge
The person should lie on the back with knees bent. Then the abdominal muscles should be contracted while the person slowly raises the hips off the floor then holding the position for around 10 seconds.
The hips should then be lowered to the floor and the same method repeated again.
Bird Dog
The person should get down on their hands and knees while keeping the head and neck aligned with their back. The core muscles are then contracted; one arm raised meanwhile raising the opposite leg.
Plank
The person should lie on their stomach with the palms facing down. They should then slowly start to rise off the floor while resting on toes and elbows. The back should be kept as flat as possible, core muscles in a contracted position and held for at least 12 seconds before lowering themselves to the floor.
Segmental Rotation
In this exercise, the individual is to lie on the back with their knees bent and the feet should be flat on the floor. While keeping the shoulders flat on the floor, they should let their knees fall slowly towards the left. After returning the legs back to the original starting point, the same action should be repeated.
Image Used under Creative Commons license. Photo Credit: Plank.jpg
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