What Is A Sports Chiropractor?
Sports Chiropractors are not a new take on an old profession. They have actually been around for quite a while (check out this story about Babe Ruth's chiropractor with the New York Yankees), although their popularity has risen in recent years. Currently, most professional sports teams utilize a chiropractor in some capacity. Chiropractors are also heavily involved in the Olympics as well as the collegiate level. We at Dynamic Spine and Sports Therapy refer to ourselves as "Sports Chiropractors". What does that actually mean? How is that different from a regular Chiropractor? Is Sports Chiropractic care only for athletes? Hopefully this latest blog post will answer some of those questions for you!
In short, Sports Chiropractors are the same as other chiropractors in the sense that they are equipped with the same base of knowledge and techniques learned in Chiropractic school. However a sports chiropractor has to have a few extra tools in their tool kit in regard to skill and knowledge of injury management in order to treat the demands of athletic injuries in addition to the low back and neck pain cases that a traditional chiropractor would treat.
This starts with some sort of soft tissue treatment capability to handle muscle strains, ligament sprains, and repetitive overuse injuries. The Chiropractors of the Dynamic Spine and Sports family are all full-body certified in Active Release Techniques (ART) to help manage these types of injuries. ART is a patented soft tissue/movement-based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and fascia. It can be used to treat acute conditions, accumulation of small tears, as well as hypoxic tissue. Check out ART's website for more info. Our doctors are also equipped in some form of Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM), whether it be Graston Technique, Rock Tape Blades, or Cupping.
Another vital tool related to sports injuries is the ability to assess movement to develop a diagnosis. A mistake of many practitioners young and old is falling into the trap of only treating the site of pain. By breaking down movement from a global to a local scale, the practitioner can see how a movement dysfunction in one area of the body is affecting another area of the body. An example of this would be lack of cervical rotation affecting the shoulder during overhead lifting in a crossfitter. The doctors of Dynamic Spine and Sports Therapy use the Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) developed by Gray Cook and his team to assess our patient's movement capabilities.
A sports chiropractor also needs to possess proper knowledge of rehabilitation methods and exercises. We are not merely trying to get our patients out pain. We are trying to correct movement, re-build strength, and ensure the patient can perform their sport without risk of further injury before releasing them. In short, our criteria for release is much more strict. Some sports chiropractors also possess certifications designed to enable them to be on the sidelines during games. The CCSP (certified chiropractic sports physician) and more advanced DACBSP (diplomate american chiropractic board sports physicians) provide the doctor with the knowledge to care for athletes on the field in emergency situations such as when a spinal injury is sustained. They also teach the doctor athletic taping, bracing, and extremity adjusting knowledge to provide advanced care for athletes.
So....do you need to be an athlete to see a sports chiropractor? Absolutely not! But as stated above, if your chiropractor has the training and skill to treat an athletic injury, they can treat non-athletic injuries too! Got a nagging or acute injury that's holding you back from performing at the level you desire? Give us a call and schedule your appointment today!