Spinal care is often associated with back pain, but its benefits go far beyond pain relief. The alignment of your spine plays an important role in your mobility, the operation of your nervous system, the prevention of injuries and musculoskeletal function.
Whether you are looking to beat personal goals, prevent the occurrence of injuries or even to be able to undertake sport and exercise without pain, spinal manipulation may be the answer!
This blog explores how spinal misalignments can affect your athletic performance.
Nervous System Function
Your nervous system controls every movement you make, from the involuntary contracting of your heart muscles to a simple squat. Your spine is the support structure of the body and protects the spinal cord. When you have misalignments within the body nerve pathways can be compromised and messages from the body to the brain can be interrupted (and vice versa), impacting on both physical and cognitive function. The effects can range from reaction times to muscle activation (the stimulation of muscle fibres through neuro signals), affecting your strength, endurance and performance.
Restricted Movement
Spinal misalignment can cause an uneven foundation, and can lead to a restriction of movement/range of motion in your joints, muscles and bones. This can make it difficult to perform certain exercises, or cause you to adopt a bad posture when performing exercises predisposing you to an increased risk of injury.
Many sports injuries such as tennis elbow and runners knee often stem from musculoskeletal imbalances and joint restrictions.
Muscle Imbalance
Misalignments within the body can also cause certain joints, bones, tendons and muscles to take extra strain/stress due to compensations (your body’s attempt to stabilize due to a misalignment elsewhere in the body). This means that your muscles can fatigue quicker as they are taking undue strain, limiting progress and increasing the risk of injury.
Healing Process
Misalignments within the body can impact your circulatory system, leading to poor blood flow and increased inflammation, which can affect your healing ability.
Chiropractic adjustments help improve blood flow, reduce inflammation, and promote the body’s natural healing processes.
Take Away
Addressing misalignments in the body can be an effective way to enhance your athletic performance, prevent injuries and improve nervous system function. Here at Spine we take a holistic approach to addressing misalignments, to ensure that your body is functioning optimally.
Looking to improve your athletic performance? Book an appointment today.
References
- Stump JL, Redwood D. The use and role of sport chiropractors in the national football league: a short report. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2002 Mar-Apr;25(3):E2. doi: 10.1067/mmt.2002.122326. PMID: 11986584.
- Lin AFC, Piong SZ, Wan WM, Li P, Chu VK, Chu EC. Unlocking Athletic Potential: The Integration of Chiropractic Care into the Sports Industry and Its Impact on the Performance and Health of Athletes and Economic Growth in China and Hong Kong. Cureus. 2023 Apr 5;15(4):e37157. doi: 10.7759/cureus.37157. PMID: 37034139; PMCID: PMC10075015.
- Jon Schwartzbauer, D.C., Jason Kolber, Mitzi Schwartzbauer, D.C., John Hart, D.C., John Zhang, M.D., Ph.D. Athletic Performance and Physiological Measures in Baseball Players Following Upper Cerivcal Chiropractic Care: A Pilot Study. Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research ~ Volume 1 ~ Number 4 ~ Pages 1-7
Haavik H, Niazi IK, Jochumsen M, Sherwin D, Flavel S, Türker KS. Impact of Spinal Manipulation on Cortical Drive to Upper and Lower Limb Muscles. Brain Sci. 2016 Dec 23;7(1):2. doi: 10.3390/brainsci7010002. PMID: 28025542; PMCID: PMC5297291. - Vining R, Long CR, Minkalis A, Gudavalli MR, Xia T, Walter J, Coulter I, Goertz CM. Effects of Chiropractic Care on Strength, Balance, and Endurance in Active-Duty U.S. Military Personnel with Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2020 Jul;26(7):592-601. doi: 10.1089/acm.2020.0107. Epub 2020 Jun 12. PMID: 32543211.
- Hoskins, W. & Pollard, H. (2010) The effect of a sports chiropractic manual therapy intervention on the prevention of back pain, hamstring and lower limb injuries in semi-elite Australian Rules footballers: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders.
- Botelho, M. & Andrade, B. (2012) Effect of Cervical Spine Manipulative Therapy on Judo Athletes’ Grip Strength. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics.
