The main reasons athletes suffer sports injuries include forceful impacts, repetitive motions, over-training and failure to warm up properly. Chiropractors can help athletes by relieving their pain and helping them heal faster after an injury. Regular visits will promote quicker recovery after activity as well as better balance and overall performance.
With sports injuries we want to get you back out there doing what you love as soon as possible. Chiropractic takes treatment a step farther than the ice, rest, and anti-inflammatory drugs prescribed by most doctor’s offices. We restore joint mobility and alignment to take the strain off the involved muscles, and provide physiotherapy to decrease pain and inflammation. We incorporate soft tissue techniques like stretching, graston, active release technique and massage therapy, and prescribe specific exercises for the involved muscles, tendons, or ligaments.
Common Conditions
Patellofemoral Syndrome
The majority of sports injuries involve the lower body, particularly knee injuries. This condition can be caused by a slip or a fall onto the knees, swelling of the knee joint or a muscle imbalance. The patella, or kneecap, should travel in the groove at the end of the femur or thigh bone. Sometimes, a fall onto the knee can cause swelling, leading to a muscle imbalance of the two major muscles that aid in proper tracking of the kneecap in the groove. This muscle imbalance can create more swelling, making the tracking problem even worse. Pain is often worse with going up and down stairs, squatting, running and getting up from a chair after a long period of sitting.
Iliotibial (IT) Band Syndrome
The iliotibial band runs along the lateral or outside aspect of the thigh, from the pelvis to the tibia, crossing both the hip and knee joints. When this band of connective tissue become irritated or inflamed from overuse it causes pain on the outside part of the knee especially during running when the heel strikes the ground.
Plantar Fasciitis
This condition is the most common cause behind foot pain. It is an over use syndrome that causes microtears in the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is the flat band of tissue (ligament) that connects your heel bone to your toes and supports the arch of your foot. You may have pain in your heel and/or along the arch of your foot. Pain is often worse with the first steps of the day or after a period of rest.
Tendonitis
Tendons connect our muscles to bone throughout our body. Tendonitis is a fancy word that means your tendon has become irritated or inflamed. You will often feel a dull ache at the site where the tendon connects to bone when you move the involved limb or joint.
Golfer’s Elbow / Tennis Elbow (Medial/Lateral Epicondylitis)
Tennis and golfer’s elbow is usually seen with athletes performing a great deal of gripping activities. It can be labeled as an overuse sports injury. Due to the repetitive action, the tendons of the forearm can become inflamed and make any wrist or hand motions extremely painful. Often, athletes will complain of a lack of grip strength.
Rotator Cuff Injuries
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint, keeping the head of your upper arm bone firmly within the shallow socket of the shoulder. The shoulder is the weakest joint of the body and is subject to a great deal of force during athletic activities. Many shoulder injuries can be caused by either a lack of mobility, strength, or stability. After an injury to these muscles or tendons you will experience pain or tenderness within your shoulder with movement or while sleeping on that side.