Research Shows Chiropractic Adjustments Beneficial at Preventing Sports Injuries

We see a lot of sports injuries in our Lincoln clinic, and Dr. Jerrad Swanson DC, FMT, DN1 is generally able to assist these athletes. Stanford Children’s Hospital states that over 3.5 million children aged 14 and below are hurt each year while playing sports. Add that to the nearly 2 million adults injured annually while taking part in sports-related activities, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and you can start to see the importance of minimizing these types of common injuries. One way to possible achieve that goal, as reported by a study released in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, is to engage in regular chiropractic care.

In Australian Rules football, hamstring and other leg traumas are common, frequently sidelining the players and affecting their team's chance at securing a win. One specific study was administered using 59 semi-elite Australian Rules footballers to see how well chiropractic could diminish these injuries and help keep them in the game.

Research Shows Chiropractic Helps in Treating Sports Injuries

For this study specifically, every one of the volunteers was given medical treatment. Additionally, half of them also engaged in chiropractic sessions at the rate of 1 treatment each week for the first 6 weeks, biweekly treatments for the following three months, and one session each month for the remaining three months of the study. The other group had no chiropractic intervention whatsoever and were used as the control group to assess the benefits of chiropractic.

After 24 matches, researchers reported a reduced amount of lower limb muscle strains in the group that had received chiropractic care. Additionally, that very group also missed fewer matches connected to non-contact knee injuries. This lead the researchers to come to the conclusion that chiropractic should be added to sports training programs to dramatically lessen the number of leg injuries.

Dr. Jerrad Swanson DC, FMT, DN1 Can Help Clients Find Comfort From Sports Injuries & Help You Recover Faster

If you or your child plays sports and you want to make sure more time is dedicated on the field versus on the sidelines, call our Lincoln office at (402) 484-5177 and schedule an appointment today. We will do our best to keep you in the game!

References

• Hoskins, W, & Pollard, H. (2010, April 8). 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, 11(64), doi:10.1186/1471-2474-11-64
• Misra, A. (2014, March 17). Common sports injuries: Incidence and average charges. Department of Health & Human Services.
• Stanford Children’s Hospital. (n.d.). Sports injury statistics.