5 Reasons to see a sports chiropractor as an athlete
- Injury Management: Sports chiropractors specialize in diagnosing and treating sports-related injuries. Examples of these injuries are sprains, strains, and joint issues. Sports chiropractors can provide non-invasive, drug-free treatments to help you recover faster.
- Performance Enhancement: Chiropractic care can improve athletic performance by enhancing joint mobility and muscle function. Strength, flexibility, and agility are crucial for athletes and can be improved by chiropractic care.
- Pain Relief: Whether you’re dealing with acute or chronic pain related to sports or physical activity, a sports chiropractor can use various techniques, including spinal adjustments and soft tissue therapy, to alleviate your discomfort.
- Rehabilitation: If you have been sidelined by an injury or have undergone surgery, a sports chiropractor can help you with rehabilitation. They can design tailored exercise programs and provide guidance to speed up your recovery and reduce the likelihood of re-injury.
- Preventive Care: Regular visits to a sports chiropractor can help prevent injuries by identifying and addressing musculoskeletal imbalances or weaknesses before they become more significant issues. They can provide personalized exercises and advice to keep you in peak condition.
It’s essential to choose a sports chiropractor with experience in working with athletes and sports-related conditions to ensure you receive the most appropriate care for your specific needs.
What it means to be a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician (CCSP)
When becoming a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician, a licensed chiropractor must participate in a post-graduate chiropractic sports medicine program or a closely-related discipline and pass a certification exam. Additionally, they must complete a post-graduate level hands-on emergency procedures course and pass a healthcare provider level CPR certification course.
Dr. Scaro has a master’s degree in Sports Medicine and Dr. White has a bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training. Combined with their degrees and having met the other requirements mentioned above, both clinicians earned their Certified Chiropractic Sports Physicians titles.
Becoming a CCSP gives each clinician further knowledge about specific sports injuries, treatment for those injuries, and how to make return-to-play decisions. It allows them to better educate patients on recovery, sports performance, and injury reduction. They also have extensive knowledge of rehabilitation and therapeutic exercises to help their patients recover faster.
What type of treatment do sports chiropractors provide?
Sports medicine physicians provide a realm of treatment. Most treatment involves looking at movement and gait patterns, optimizing loads, and is specialized for individual athletes. Sports chiropractors have additional training for sideline care including athletic taping, wrapping, and making return to play decisions.
One of the main things sports clinicians can provide is alternative activities during injury. The idea that we need to bed rest for recovery is outdated. This concept has been shown to decrease recovery times and increase sensations of pain. Working with physicians who provide alternative forms of movement and exercise has many benefits. Keeping movement incorporated into daily life improves blood flow, quality of life, mood, perspective on injury and pain, and so much more. Sports providers help injured patients stay active by providing modifications or alternatives to painful activities.
Is sports medicine only for athletes?
Sports medicine is not only for athletes! Chiropractic sports clinicians often have a large bag of treatment options to help most musculoskeletal conditions improve for anyone! Sports are known for having dynamic movements such as squatting, bending, kneeling, lunging, sprinting, etc. Often sports medicine chiropractors specialize in these movements to improve recovery or decrease injury risk.
Almost all of these movement types are found in day-to-day life. Squatting to pick up a box or get into your car is the same movement as squatting to train for sport. Picking up your shoe or child is the same movement as bending forward in gymnastics or yoga. Whether you are an athlete or not, each individual has different biomechanics and movement patterns. This is where sports chiropractors come in! Sports chiropractors have the training to help all kinds of musculoskeletal pain in a variety of patients, not just in sports!