It does not matter if you are a professional athlete or someone who likes to play a recreational game of soccer – working out and regular intense physical exercise demands a lot from the body. If parts of the body are imbalanced, it may lead to compensation in other areas of the body. If the imbalance gets worse enough, it may lead to irritation or even injury.

After a while, it may be possible that nagging injuries or aches and pains make it difficult to enjoy your sport or exercise. This can lead to a number of people simply giving up altogether, deciding that the pain that they suffer through throughout the day is not worth the fun they have while competing. Fortunately, it is possible to find relief from those aches and pains and improve your performance.

How does chiropractic help sports and performance?

There are a number of benefits for seeing a chiropractor, whether you are someone who likes to work out regularly or a professional athlete. A chiropractor may be able to help speed up your recovery after an intense sporting event or workout, improve blood flow and posture, and help athletes increase their range of motion. It can be very beneficial to incorporate chiropractic care into a preventative routine rather than just seeing a chiropractor in the event of an injury.

Some of the more physically demanding sports such as hockey, football, wrestling, netball or rugby can cause a misalignment in the vertebrae. This can lead to lessened flexibility, headaches, and soreness. Because of the strain placed on the body, spinal adjustments may be beneficial for anyone who puts their body through intense exercise.

Studies published in The Journal of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation found that after three months of chiropractic care, 30 percent of all athletes who participated in the study performed better when tested for agility, reaction time, and balance. Chiropractic care is also successful in improving overall speed and coordination in athletes.

If there is insufficient flexibility in the spinal column, those involved in endurance sports may have issues with joint pain and tendonitis. The problem here lays with nerve transmission problems. This is where a chiropractor can make a difference. It is possible to increase the mobility of the spine and the athlete’s range of motion by clearing the nerve transmission paths.

How does massage therapy help sports and performance?

Massage therapy is beneficial at improving performance for athletes of every kind, from the weekend joggers to world-class professionals. A massage therapist can focus on those areas of the body that are stressed and overused because of the repetitive, oftentimes aggressive movements used during physical exercise.

Despite the fact that massage therapy was originally developed to relieve and prevent injuries, there are a number of psychological and physiological benefits from receiving sports massage therapy. For instance, massage therapy can relieve or prevent delayed onset muscle soreness. This usually sets in anywhere between 12 and 24 hours after the exercise is complete. Between 24 and 72 hours after the exercise, the delayed onset muscle soreness is at its most painful. By encouraging lymph and blood flow throughout the body, massage therapy can help prevent muscle fatigue.

Massage therapy is also capable of helping someone manage stress. By massaging specific areas of the body, it is possible to release endorphins – neurotransmitters that act as our body’s natural pain reliever and are thought to enhance a person’s state of well-being, improve mood, provide pain relief, and decrease anxiety. All of those are beneficial to someone engaging in sports competition.

Why it is important to take action for your sports and performance

Despite the fact that some people will look at this information and immediately say “I am not a real athlete, so it does not pertain to me” the truth is that especially for those people who occasionally exercise, certain injuries or problems may arise relatively quickly. Sometimes improving sport and performance is not about being able to cut down on the time it takes to run five kilometres, but it may decrease pain and discomfort. If you want to find out if you can benefit from treatment, make sure to call Total Back Care today on (08) 8357 8211 to schedule your preferred appointment time.