Many athletes are sidelined with injuries that could have been avoided, or because their injuries do not respond to traditional medical care. Some injured athletes continue to play, but at less than peak performance because their injuries never heal properly. More and more, coaches and athletes are turning away from pain-killing drugs, because they recognize that such drugs just mask the pain, and do not address the cause of the pain. Such a strategy often worsens the injury, possibly making full recovery impossible.
How are Sports Injuries Diagnosed and Treated?
Diagnosis involves history of the injury, hands-on examination of the involved areas and often diagnostic studies such as X-ray, lab work, and electrodiagnostic studies to determine the true pain generator. Medical treatment for most sports injuries not requiring casting or surgery usually consists of rest, ice, anti-inflammatory and pain relieving medication, bracing and monitoring. Often physical therapy is recommended. Outside of a minor injury, which may “heal on its own” with a little “TLC” and “tincture of time”, many find medical treatment alone to be ineffective at treating the underlying cause of the condition and find that the drugs are simply “masking” the symptoms.
What If Other Treatments Have Failed?
Many athletes are looking to natural alternatives to drugs and surgery to help recover more quickly from injury, return to competition, and prevent future injuries. Many are turning to Chiropractic Care for help. Conservative Chiropractic Treatment should, after a thorough history and exam, address what’s generating the pain, where the tissue is damaged, and what the underlying cause of the shoulder pain is. Combining Chiropractic Care with other modalities such as Manual Soft Tissue Techniques, Electrical Stimulation, Ultrasound, Cold Laser Therapy, and Rehabilitative Exercise many have found relief after other methods have failed.
Many professional athletes (Tiger Woods, Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, LaDainian Tomlinson (see more)) credit and even endorse Chiropractic Care for helping them maintain their competitive edge and prolong their playing careers. Maintaining proper spinal alignment puts athletes in a state of peak efficiency, and an adjustment after competition speeds the recuperative process after the stress of their particular event.