Struggling With Injury Pain? 7 Benefits of Seeing a Chiropractor for Injury Pain
Did you know that 2017 had the highest recorded sports-related hospitalizations, with about 17,655 injured? Cycling had the highest with over 4,268 sports injury hospitalizations. In addition, animal riding accounted for at least 7 victims in every 1,000 people.
When it comes to dealing with a sports injury, who can you run to? Should you opt for pain relievers, or should you try a more effective alternative? The most efficient way to relieve your sports injury is by visiting a chiropractor.
Why a chiropractor? Well, read on to learn the seven benefits of seeing a sports injury chiropractor.
1. Chiropractic Care Can Help With Joint Problems
Chiropractic works under the theory that the nervous system performs best when the spinal column is properly aligned. As such, people are opting for chiropractic care to address problems like joint pain.
Joint problems in the sports world often spring from overuse or direct impact. When left untreated, it can develop into chronic arthritis that you’ll have to live with for the rest of your life.
Fortunately, you can avoid such risks when you visit a chiropractor. The best thing about chiropractic care is that it employs several ways to solve issues in the joint.
In most cases, high-velocity low-amplitude spinal manipulation therapy can treat joint pain. This therapy involves the chiropractor adjusting your joint into its proper place. This requires one or more quick but forceful thrusts.
Other methods used include heat or cold therapy, stretching exercises, and massage therapy. For cases that worsen, impeding joint function, joint mobilization is often used. Here, the chiropractor slowly works your joints into their natural range of motion.
Chiropractors can also use electrotherapy such as interferential (IFC) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) . These therapies stimulate your muscles and nerves through a mild electrical pulse. This lessens tension in your joints reducing pain.
2. Reduces Reliance on Pain Relievers
The use of opioids and other pain relievers is not uncommon in treatment for a sports injury. However, this option comes with the risk of patients getting dependent and addicted. What’s worse is that a pain reliever doesn’t heal sports injuries; it only masks the pain for a short while.
In contrast, chiropractic care relies on the chiropractor’s hands. It doesn’t use surgery, nor does it prescribe medications. This makes chiropractic a great choice for those who need to decrease their pill intake.
One study revealed that patients who visited a chiropractor needed fewer opioid prescriptions. This is in comparison to those who only saw their medical doctor. This proves that spinal manipulation, among others, can help with a sports injury.
What’s even greater is that spinal manipulation not only alleviates pain. It also targets the source of the pain, healing it in the process. As such, you can expect more permanent pain relief with chiropractic therapy.
3. Low-Risk Treatment
While all medical treatment comes with side effects, chiropractic care offers the least. Thus, it’s known as the most low-risk treatment for a sports injury. The worst side effect that can stem from it is soreness in the area your chiropractor adjusted.
This side effect is only natural after alignment and adjustment procedures. It’s quite like the soreness you feel when you work out after a long break.
In the initial stages, your body may be sore and even experience headaches along the way. However, these are only at the minimal level and temporary. Thus, you can rest assured the process is safe whether you’re receiving spinal, neck, or other types of chiropractic adjustment.
4. Personalized Treatments
As you know, treatment is on a case-to-case basis. This is also true for chiropractic care as it isn’t a one-for-all formula. For one patient, a chiropractor can use 2 or 3 therapies or devices.
Thus, you can expect a personalized treatment when you opt for chiropractic services. A chiropractor will create treatment procedures that will cater to your specific needs.
The sports injury chiropractor can help heal your injuries through realignment procedures. Aside from this, the chiropractor will also have you undergo massage therapy to increase blood circulation. Several benefits stem from this procedure, including an improved heart.
5. No More Back Pain
Another condition that can result from a sports injury is back pain. Physicians encourage patients who have chronic back pain to try non-medication treatments first. This is because cheaper and better alternatives are available such as chiropractic treatment.
Spinal manipulation, for one, is an effective means of realigning the spine. A properly aligned spine means tension alleviation, which helps reduce back pain. In addition, it can also treat tension headaches.
6. Improved Athletic Performance
Some of the benefits of spinal manipulation include reduced inflammation. This results in pain relief and, more importantly, better joint mobility. For sports enthusiasts who rely on active body function, this can lead to great performance.
Spinal adjustments also allow you to manipulate your body easily, thanks to less tissue restriction. Such can help you in performing techniques that can enhance your sports performance. Further, chiropractic care can also correct poor body posture.
7. Reduced Anxiety
The benefits of chiropractic care are not only limited to physical pain but also cover mental and emotional struggles. Trigger point release, for instance, promotes the release of oxytocin and cortisol.
These hormones boost social bonding. This allows you to foster healthy relationships that can have a positive impact on your well-being. It can also reduce tensions which will enable you to feel more relaxed and less stressed.
As it’s manual therapy, you also wouldn’t have to deal with medications that come with insomnia as a side effect. As a result, you’ll be able to sleep more, which can help reduce anxiety.
Get Help From a Sports Injury Chiropractor
While precautions can help lessen the risk of sports injuries, one can never avoid them. Instead of relying on short-term medication for your sports injury pain, you can recover faster with chiropractic services.
Get the high-quality chiropractic care that Glenwood Sport & Spine can offer. Contact us today and talk to our team of experts, or better yet, visit our location in Edmonton. We’re ready to answer all your queries and serve you to the best of our abilities.