I’ve logged a lot of hours at kids sports events. With a family that’s as active as ours, it’s only natural that our kids gravitate towards sports. The thing that often goes unnoticed is how rarely our kids miss a practice or game due to injury.
Now that I’m working with developing athletes at a local sports academy I see all kinds of attitudes and approaches to injuries. From the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude to a totally preventative stance where the athlete doesn’t want to miss any practice or game time. Those preventative athletes are like my kids, they’re on top of their training “stresses and strains” before it interferes with their development. They get their spine and nervous system tuned up before they’re in trouble (or sidelined in the trainers room).
So here’s a bit of science to share on how you too can maximize your kids performance and minimize injury. This is from Dr. Kirk Eriksen’s research review on the preventative benefits of corrective active living chiropractic care. . . .
“The previous two papers(1,2) discuss the correlation between structural asymmetry and the increased incidence if injury to basketball and European football players. The evidence appears to show that doctors of chiropractic are the leading specialists in spinal structural correction, so it makes sense that this type of doctor should play a major role in the care of athletes. Active living chiropractic care has been shown to enhance the performance of world-class athletes and regular fitness enthusiasts alike. One other benefit that is just as important is a reduced risk of injury. This is an area where chiropractors do not often get proper credit, because the injuries are prevented rather than rehabilitated.”
And that’s key. Never getting injured as opposed to focusing on rehabilitation after an injury.
Now consider the adults who play recreational sports on the weekend or are training for an event. How many weekend warrior’s are missing work (or training) because of trying to perform with an imbalanced body. How many parents can’t fully engage with their kids because they are nursing an injury or worried about their “bad knee” or old injury from years ago that might get re-injured? They won’t even consider going out with their kids for a game of soccer or lace up the skates for a pick-up game of hockey.
Today’s active living chiropractic is all about preventing injuries you would have had if your body was out of balance.
I hear it often in my office. . . . “doc, I would have never been able to go out and do that if I wasn’t getting adjusted!”. I hear about decreased recovery time after a hard weekend or hard workout. I even have clients who get back to sports they have given up on because of “age” or “fear of injury”.
Life is meant to be enjoyed and if you love your sports but don’t want to be dealing with chronic injury then today’s chiropractic is for you.
1. Shambaugh JP, Klein A, Herbert JH. Structural Measures as Predictors of Injury in Basketball Players. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 1991; 23(5):522-527.
2. Watson AWS. Sports Injuries in Footballers Related to Defects of Posture and Body Mechanics. J Sports Med Phys Fitness, 1995; 35(4):289-294.
