As a runner, it’s crucial to maximize your sports performance and prevent injuries. Running is a high impact sport, which can lead to back pain, damaged muscles, pinched nerves, and even skeletal damage. In addition to your training routine, it’s recommended to receive treatment to prepare your body for a race or long run and keep your body in excellent condition. Common treatments include acupuncture, chiropractic care, Kinesio Taping, and massage therapy. Keep reading to learn how you can take your running routine to the next level with chiropractic.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help Runners
To prepare for a long run or race, runners typically follow a strict training routine to prepare their body for this intense workout. Runners can benefit from receiving chiropractic care, which helps boost their performance, maintain a healthy spine alignment, treat any injuries, and most importantly, prevent future injuries.
Promote a Quicker Recovery Rate from Injuries
If you’re living with a previous running injury, a chiropractor can help promote a quicker healing process. These holistic experts do this by performing special adjustments designed to boost blood circulation to the injuries and help the body heal itself naturally. Chiropractors treat several common health conditions associated with runners, such as back, ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, and neck pain. Indeed, chiropractors perform adjustments that encourage the soft tissue around affected joints to heal. In turn, this promotes a quicker recovery rate to any injuries.
Better Pain Management
If you have an existing injury from running, you already know how painful and uncomfortable this is. Depending on the severity of your injury, you may have to postpone your running routine and any races. Luckily, chiropractors can perform gentle, safe adjustments that will decrease a patient’s pain. For those trying to avoid harsh drugs and invasive surgeries, this is a great, all-natural alternative proven to work. Most runners don’t want to wait months to address their injury, which is why chiropractic is a great choice. Typically, most chiropractic patients notice an almost immediate improvement to their pain after a few adjustments. In turn, this can decrease the need for pain-relief medicine and their unpleasant side effects that negatively impact an athlete’s ability to train and run races.
Prevent Future Injuries
For many runners, they ignore their pain or injuries. They may wait until their race or workout is over or until the pain is unbearable. Running on an injured ankle, knee, or hip with a spinal misalignment can lead to more pain and injuries. A safer option is to seek treatment before an injury or as soon as you experience an injury. Chiropractors use a whole body approach to health, which means these experts will help runners prevent future injuries. This is done by performing gentle treatments that help the body maintain a correct spine alignment. A healthy spine will positively impact the rest of the body. Indeed, runners can then enjoy optimal sports performance and less chances of becoming injured during training or a race.
Boost Optimal Sports Performance
By visiting your local chiropractor, you will experience less pain and faster healing with any current or past injuries. In turn, chiropractors will help runners achieve optimal sports performance to take on their strict training routines and races. A runner with a healthy spine will find it easier to maximize their body’s running capabilities. Your chiropractor may also recommend tips to maintain your performance and health, such as varying your running surface (i.e. track, sidewalk, beach, treadmill, etc.), periodically replacing worn out running shoes, and remember to properly stretch before and after workouts.
Common Sports Chiropractic Treatments
Before your first visit, call your local sports chiropractor to ask about which treatments they offer for runners like you. The four common treatments are listed below.
- Active Release Technique (ART) – This technique applies deep tension while carefully moving a joint through its range of motion. Chiropractors combine massage and stretching, which helps address and treat adhesions in the muscles.
- Graston Technique – This technique is designed to break down any surface-level scar tissue with hand-held stainless steel tools.
- Functional Dry Needling – This technique is designed to release tension in trigger points by applying deep muscle stimulation with needles, which is particularly helpful for the psoas muscle (hip flexor muscle).
- Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) – This treatment releases tension by stimulating any surface muscles.
By receiving regular chiropractic adjustments and following a healthy lifestyle, runners can maximize their running routines and achieve lasting health and wellness. A chiropractor can keep a runner’s spine in proper alignment, which will make it easier to train and prepare for races. If you’re looking for the best sports chiropractor near you in Plano and Dallas, TX, contact Keystone Chiropractic today.
