If you love sports and staying active, but also balance a busy work and family schedule chances are you’re a “Weekend Warrior.” Weekend Warriors participate in athletic activities when they have the time but it isn’t the main focus in their life. While being active and participating in these sports is beneficial for overall health and wellbeing, sometimes injuries can arise.
Chiropractic care can help treat these injuries as well as prevent them. Some of the most common sports injures include:
Shin Splints
Shin splints are a common overuse injury where the muscles on the front portion of your leg become painful and inflamed. The stress placed on this area of the body with activity caused micro-tears in the muscles.
Groin Strain
A groin strain is an injury to the inner muscles of the thigh. Sports that involve kicking, jumping, and running with a change in direction are at increased risk for this injury.
Elbow and Shoulder Tendonitis
Activities that require swinging an object or repeatedly using the arms can lead to elbow and shoulder tendonitis. Inflammation and swelling builds up around the tendons in the elbow and shoulder resulting in pain and reduced mobility.
Ankle Sprains
Damage to the ligaments supporting the ankle are common after a misstep where you “roll” your ankle inward. It is not unusual to have continuous problems with ankle stability after the first sprain.
Hamstring and Hip Flexor Strains
Lack of flexibility or the muscles being forcefully overstretched can cause hamstring and hip flexor strains. Pain and immobility in the front or back of the thigh can take a very long time to heal, and often reoccurs.
Lower Back Pain
Athletic activities require a great amount of core strength, and if the muscles don’t support the spine it can result in low back pain. Additionally, the discs between each vertebrae can become damaged if too much pressure is placed on the spine.
Weekend Warriors Can Stay In The Game With Chiropractic Care
Chiropractors treat the body as a whole to improve spinal health and function of the nervous system. The nervous system controls the way your body moves and communicates, having a direct impact on your overall function. When your spine is misaligned it prevents the rest of the body from moving efficiently. For instance, a misaligned spine can affect your mobility with a tennis swing, resulting in additional stress to the elbow and shoulder.
Weekend Warriors can also benefit from many aspects of chiropractic care to treat injuries. At Silver Chiropractic and Wellness, physiotherapy is used to complement the healing effects of the chiropractic manipulation. Various modalities are used to enhance the healing of injuries including:
- Ultrasound
- Paraffin
- Interferential electrical muscle stimulation
- Mechanical traction
- Disk decompression (flexion/extension traction)
- Cryotherapy (ice)
- Moist heat therapy
- Rehabilitation programs
- Non-submersed Aqua massage
- Massage
- Neurological re-education
The lifestyle of a Weekend Warrior can lead to an increased risk in these injuries, however, the benefits of physical activities outweighs the risk. Contact Dr. Shane Silver today to make sure you stay in the game.
