Chiropractic care can help normalize alignment, improve range of motion, muscular strength, and nerve supply to maximize sports performance. By having the body be in proper alignment, the muscles and the joints can perform to their full potential.
How does chiropractic care help athletes to prepare their spine and joints for optimal performance?
Dr. Karyn Marshall: That’s a great question. We love taking care of athletes. Chiropractic care can help normalize alignment, improve range of motion, muscular strength, and nerve supply to maximize sports performance. By having the body be in proper alignment, the muscles and the joints can perform to their full potential.
What are the most common causes of injuries among athletes at all levels?
Dr. Karyn Marshall: Well, I would break them up into maybe three or four different categories. One would be over-use or over-training where the muscle breakdown outpaces the muscle recovery. Improper alignment of the nerves, joints, and muscles. Improper form or technique and then improper recovery, rest, nutrition, and sleep. Any of those categories can actually lead to injury.
Why is it so important to take a break and rest between workouts?
Dr. Karyn Marshall: Basically when you work out, you break down muscle fibers. That is the mechanism by which your body can then repair and build that muscle back up to be stronger. What you’re doing outside of the gym is equally as important because what you need to do is to recover, recuperate from that workout. That allows those muscles to get stronger and to improve performance.
How does maintaining proper form and body positioning during a workout help prevent injuries?
Dr. Karyn Marshall: This allows the muscles and the joints to work the way they should. Improper form, body positioning can put stress on the muscles and the joints abnormally, causing sprains, strains, and overuse. What we’re looking for is their technique but also their alignment and chiropractically, we can help them have better technique through proper alignment.
Lastly, how do proper warmup and cool-down techniques help prevent injuries?
Dr. Karyn Marshall: Well, both are equally important. A proper warmup is going to get blood out to those muscles, make them more flexible through dynamic stretching techniques, through getting the heart rate up, and that will prepare the body and acclimate the body for the workout to come, instead of shocking the body and having the body react negatively. A cool-down is equally important, is that you want to take it from a high level activity and acclimate back down to normal. You want your heart rate to come down slowly. You want to stretch out those muscles. You want to be able to improve your mobility and your flexibility. All of those things help prevent injury so that your muscles and your joints are working properly.
Learn More
If you are interested in speaking with Dr. Marshall or Dr. Cronk visit www.championchiro.com or call 732-741-1000 to schedule an appointment.
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