Chiropractic Care: Improving your Training

Pain

We all experience it – some worse than others. It can have a detrimental effect on our ability to function properly. Pain is usually the result of an underlying dysfunction in your body. A dysfunction in your spine or extremities tends to occur when we stray from optimal postural alignment. Postural alignment is important in all areas of functional movement and therefore has a significant importance when we are in the gym. Doing incorrect movement patterns while lifting, squatting or running can lead to overactive or tight muscles and underactive muscles that pull our bodies out of balance.

Mobility

Decreased mobility is becoming increasingly prominent in this society due to the increase in technology and time spent on our backsides. Having a slouched posture leads to structural imbalances including decreasing shoulder mobility and therefore changing the recruitment of muscles in your neck and shoulders. A study found that increased thoracic kyphosis, slouched posture, was associated with a reduced peak shoulder ankle that can be reached during arm elevation. Therefore you are actually overusing the shoulder blade in these activities, requiring more energy expenditure and needs to track further than normal to achieve the desired overhead movement. This unfortunately can lead to impingements, tendonitis and instability of the shoulder joint. Proper thoracic and shoulder mobility is important to reduce injuries in those doing a lot of overhead activities.

Balance & Proprioception

Proprioception and balance are essentially the body’s ability to sense movement within our joints and where we are in space. The proprioceptive system is made up of nerves in the muscles, ligaments around joints, which can sense stretch and tension passing this information to the brain which responds by signalling the muscles to relax or contract in order to produce the preferred movement. Having a functioning proprioceptive system enables the individual to perform at their best and less likely to endure an injury. Once the proprioceptive system is not functioning optimally, people are more likely to re injure or have decreased coordination during activity. Research has shown us that a dysfunction in the spine, in particular the neck, disrupts the brains ability to sense what is going on accurately in the rest of the body.

Strength

Strength is so important for a healthy lifestyle, we are constantly lifting things, moving things and carrying things. Functionally, strength is a part of our everyday lives, not just when we are trying to impress in the gym! Chiropractic research has found that the brain changes the way it controls your muscles depending on the function of your spine.

Chiropractic works on the basis of the nervous system and having a properly working nervous system puts the body in optimal shape. Chiropractic adjustments performed on various body parts work to activate the nerves responsible for causing contractions of the muscles. These contractions work the muscle, thus causing muscle strength to increase. Chiropractic adjustments help with alignment of the spine and pelvis, making movement easier and decreasing the chance of injuries or re-injury. This is important in training, because if you continue to work out on misalignment muscles, chronic wear and tear and damage to the area may occur. Chiropractic care can play a role in preventing injuries by improving proprioception and increasing accuracy of their brains control over their muscles. As chiropractors we focus on influencing the bodies function by structural corrections and having musculoskeletal systems as stable, strong and biomechanically prepared for training and competition.