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Young Athletes and Chiropractic

Young Athletes and Chiropractic

Recover Faster. Train harder.

Excel at sports. Kids and sports go together. From soccer, to baseball to football, we’re pushing our kids to excel at earlier ages. With more access to sports, there are also increased risks of injury. Chiropractic care from early on can help reduce the possibility of injury, and help a child recover quicker when injury occurs.

No matter which sport he or she plays, no matter how young or old, just about every athlete will experience some sort of sports injury at some time in his or her life. Sometimes the competitive drive can push athletes to reach beyond the maximum output of their bodies. Often this type of output leads to various types of sports injuries, such as pulled muscles, torn ligaments, or broken limbs.

Chiropractic Care Can Help

Doctors of chiropractic are trained and licensed to treat the entire neuromusculoskeletal system and can provide advice on sports training, nutrition and injury prevention to young athletes.Chiropractic care can be very effective at treating a myriad of sports injuries. For many athletes, chiropractic offers a non-invasive, prescription-free path to restored physical ability.

Help Your Young Baseball Player to Avoid Injury

As Chiropractors in Orinda, we continue to advise my patients, young and old alike, that routine exercise is a vital component to good health. And, since one in three children in the US is either overweight or obese, it’s apparent that getting enough exercise is becoming a national crisis. That said, exercise, especially when it involves sports activities, should be engaged in with the utmost caution. And, not just for the middle-aged “weekend warrior,” but for children as well. In fact, here’s a shocking statistic regarding kids and the “great American pastime”: According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2008, nearly 200,000 children aged 14 and younger, were treated in hospitals, doctor’s offices and emergency rooms for baseball-related injuries.

Why do so many injuries occur? Well, for one thing, young athletes today are taking on the kind of intense fitness regimen that can lead to overworked limbs, and overworked limbs, particularly arms overworked from repetitive throwing, can result in injury. In this case, it the old saying “it isn’t whether you win or lose but how you play the game,” couldn’t be more true and truer still is how you practice “pre-game.”

The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recommends the following tips:

  • Always take time to warm up and stretch before and after play. Research studies have shown that cold muscles are more prone to injury, specifically:
  • If a child is pitching, he should concentrate on stretching his arm, shoulder and back muscles.
  • If a child is catching, the focus should be on the legs and back.
  • Children should not be encouraged to play through pain. It is important that they take breaks.
  • Limit the number of teams on which your child is playing in one season. Kids who play on more than one team are especially at risk for overuse injuries.
  • Wear a batting helmet at the plate, in the “on deck” circle waiting for your turn at bat, and during base running.
  • Coaches must teach and allow practice of proper sliding techniques before using a bag, including breakaway bases. Players younger than 10 should not be taught to slide.

Want to improve your soccer game?

Give chiropractic care a try. The benefits of chiropractic care for treating bone and muscle injuries, and improving the performance of professional athletes is becoming well known. Soccer players are especially poised to reap the benefits of a chiropractic alignment or therapy because of the physical nature and demands of the sport. There are several ways that chiropractic care benefits soccer players.

Integrated Approach
Chiropractors consider the holistic relationship between all of the body systems. Likewise, soccer players rely on the strength of their bones and muscles, the endurance of their respiratory system, the speed of their reflexes and the efficiency of their cardiovascular system to keep them in top shape during a game. Chiropractic care addresses all of the areas required for top soccer players through an integrated approach to medicine that recognizes the connection of the body systems.

Treating Injuries
Injuries in soccer are common; stress injuries in particular are everyday affairs on the soccer field. When a player relies on pain killers to treat pain, he runs the risk of exacerbating the injury because he is only addressing the symptoms rather than the injury itself. Chiropractic treatments provide pain management as well as treatment for the injury itself.  Chiropractic care for soccer players provides relief as well as recovery from injuries.

Improving Reflexes
Though much of chiropractic care focuses on joints and muscles, some research has shown that chiropractic medicine also helps the nervous system. The nervous system interacts with the musculoskeletal system during the reflex actions required to guard a goal and measure a kick. Proper alignment promotes the flow of nerve messages and oxygenated blood throughout the body.

Lower Body Focus
Most soccer injuries occur in the lower half of the body including the knees, ankles and shins. Chiropractic medicine is especially effective in treating these problem areas for soccer players. Lower body alignments and massage are simple and routine procedures than can be tailored to a soccer player’s specific injuries or ailments.

Musculoskeletal Maintenance
Even without injuries, soccer players who receive regular chiropractic alignments report fewer injuries and pain as well as more comfort during playing time. The more comfortable a player feels, the better his performance during a game.

Improve your game in Water Polo

U.S. Olympic Water Polo Team and Chiropractic

Please take a moment to watch this short video featuring four-time Olympian Terry Schroeder, DC, talking about his experience both as a player and coach for the U.S. Olympic Men’s Water Polo team. In the video, Dr. Schroeder also shares why he and so many world-class athletes, as well as everyday people, rely on chiropractic care to keep them well.

Dr. Terry Schroeder - Sports Chiropractor and US Olympic Athlete and Coach

Call Orinda Family Chiropractic today 925-258-0850 to schedule an appointment with one of our sports chiropractors and bring your game to another level! Email us: info@orindachiro.com