Most people know that chiropractic care can help with back pain, immune function, and overall health and wellness, but did you also know that chiropractic care can help improve athletic performance? Whether you’re just starting an exercise regime, you’re a well-established gym junkie, or you are an aspiring professional athlete, chiropractic care will not only help recovery times from injury but also increase athletic performance! Read below for more.

Chiropractic Care in the NFL

It is estimated that 90% of the world’s top-tier athletes use chiropractic care on a regular basis. As of 2015, every NFL team has a chiropractor work with their team in some capacity, and 77% of NFL trainers have referred players to a chiropractor for some form of treatment or evaluation. Many well-known NFL players have spoken about the benefits of chiropractic and how vital chiropractic care is to their success. Some of these NFL players include Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Reggie Bush, Jerry Rice, Michael Strahan, and Marques Colston.

Chiropractic Is Beneficial for All Athletes at All Levels

Even if you’re not an aspiring professional athlete or a football player who experiences a lot of hard hits, chiropractic care is still incredibly beneficial for helping you heal from a sports-related injury or improving your overall athletic performance. Those receiving chiropractic care experience shorter recovery time from injuries and hard workouts, increase performance when it comes to speed, agility, and reaction time, and have improved balance and power in their workouts or sports performances.

A study published in 1991 tested fifty athletes, separating them into a control group and a group that received chiropractic care. After six weeks, the control group was tested with the same 11 tests they utilized at the start of the study, and they exhibited minor improvements in 8 of the 11 tests. The chiropractic group showed improvement in all 11 tests, and also showed an 18% improvement in a reaction test, compared to the control group’s less than 1% improvement. For those interested here is the study: http://icpa4kids.org/Chiropractic-Research/chiropractic-effects-on-athletic-ability.html.

Why Does It Work?

Chiropractors adjust the spine to ensure proper alignment and to reduce nerve interference between the brain and the rest of the body. Chiropractic care focuses on proper and optimal body function, so it helps to make everything work the way it should, including allowing the body to self-heal from an injury or hard workout. Additionally, with proper blood flow and nerve function throughout the entire body, an individual has an easier time improving his or her athletic performance, including speed, agility, balance, strength, and more.

3 Ways An Athlete (Or Weekend Warrior) Benefit From Chiropractic Care

     1. Non- invasive treatment. Chiropractic care is performed without the use of medication. This means side effects are extremely minimal when treating athletes who are in need of care. This allows athletes to start the recovery process without covering up symptoms, which is nature's way of saying your body needs a break and is a very important protective mechanism which shouldn't be ignored.

     2. Undo the punishment sports can cause. Athletic performance is the combination of strength, endurance, flexibility, and speed. A lack of any of those will result in sub optimal performance. Chiropractic care has been shown to increase all of those factors, most immediately, flexibility. Many pro athletes have their own chiropractor that travels to events with them. Notable examples are Jerry Rice, Lance Armstrong, Tom Brady, among others.

     3.  Chiropractic care can treat a wide variety of injuries. Both high and low impact sport athletes can benefit from headache/migraine relief, along with extremity or spinal symptom treatment such as tightness, sprain/strain, or pain.

Spring has started in Seattle and that means baseball practices have started! This is the time of year when little arms need to be warmed up properly in order to prevent overuse injuries, especially when pitching. Most players I know haven't thrown a baseball very consistently since summer ball last year. Getting to practice on time and playing catch will allow young arms to warm up and help prevent the overuse injuries that can happen, especially at the start of the season when the weather can be cold and damp. Also, there is a huge rise in the number of high school kids requiring elbow surgery (known as Tommy John surgery after the pitcher it was pioneered after). One way to prevent this is to avoid having Little Leaguers throw curve balls until they get closer to high school. Any child in the Minors Division or below (typically 11 or younger) should not be putting that much pressure on their arms as throwing a curve ball does. So remember... warm up those arms and NO CURVEBALLS until proper arm development occurs!

Schoeb Chiropractic is a proud sponsor of the West Seattle Little League this year! Look for the teal jersey's on the Cyclones (Minor League) along with the banner in the outfield at Bar-S Playground by Alki Beach. Thank you for all the volunteers, coaches, and board members that make this league about the kids in our community. They helped to make the tryouts and draft this weekend a lot of fun. Check them out at www.WestSeattleLittleLeague.com. Go Cyclones!

1. Injuries are not Always Obvious

Obviously broken bones, lacerations, or bruising will be easy injuries to spot after a car crash. However, there are other soft tissue injuries that are not always apparent immediately following a motor vehicle accident. 

It could take hours or a few days to feel the symptoms of whiplash, such as dizziness, headaches, soreness, or pain in the upper back and neck. 

The best way to deal with an auto injury is to catch it early on. This means, if you were involved in a car accident, do not wait to seek treatment until you feel pain.

Ignoring a potential injury can lead to long-term pain,  which is why it is essential to see a chiropractor immediately following your accident so they can properly diagnose your injuries and start you on a treatment plan before the pain becomes unbearable. 

2. Reduces Inflammation

When you are involved in a car accident, micro-tears in the ligaments and muscles are a common injury, and unfortunately, an X-ray is not going to catch them. 

These tears in the muscles are the main reason people wake up after a car crash in severe pain wondering what is wrong because their X-rays looked normal.

The non-invasive chiropractic adjustments realign the spine and joints significantly reducing pain and promoting healing without the need for surgery or medication. 

3. Reduces Scar Tissue

Scar tissue can develop on the muscles inside the body after a car accident injury occurs. This tissue will cause the victim to feel uncomfortable and stiff. 

A chiropractic doctor can specifically target the damaged areas, breaking up the scar tissue faster than just letting it heal on its own. This will ensure that the injured person feels better and heals properly at a much faster rate then if they avoid treatment altogether. 

4. Avoid Long-Term Pain

Minor car accident injuries can become serious long-term problems if the conditions are left untreated. 

Symptoms of auto accident injuries can continue for years if you fail to seek proper medical care and can become a chronic condition that leads to emotional anguish as well as physical. 

Seeing a chiropractor immediately after your accident will help to avoid long-term, chronic pain conditions from developing. Your doctor will be able to diagnose and treat your injury before it has the chance to manifest into a much larger problem. 

5. Restores Range of Motion

If you suffer a neck or back injury in a car wreck, the inflammation that occurs can cause even more problems. This reduces mobility and causes even more muscle tightness to occur in order to protect the injured joints.

When you receive a chiropractic adjustment, it will mobilize your spine, restoring range of motion and allowing the body to begin the natural healing process at a much faster rate. 

6. Improves your Chances at Making a Successful Claim

If you were injured in a car accident that was caused by another person's negligence, seeing a chiropractor after your accident will improve your chance at receiving the compensation that you deserve. A proper exam, diagnoses, and treatment plan will go a long way in determining the value of your claim. A chiropractor may also refer to other providers for co-management of care. This may include massage therapy, physical therapy, or acupuncture.

When injured in an auto accident another common question I receive from patients is "When Should I Start Treatment?" 

The answer I provide them is very simple... As soon as possible. That way I can get objective measurements as close to the onset of injury as possible. This means I can measure range of motion, do all the muscle testing, and feel for joint injury when you are more than likely in the worst possible shape. It is easy to track improvement when I see patients immediately following an injury. When taking weeks (or longer) to seek treatment, your auto insurance may question the injury and sets off red flags even before your claim is open (see previous posts about opening your PIP claim).

Bottom line is this: when in an auto accident try to get care ASAP. This helps out the treating provider, the insurance adjuster, and most importantly... YOU!

Piggy backing on the previous blog post about auto accidents and medical (PIP) claims, a common question patients ask when receiving care is: "Will I have to pay a copay for each visit just like my medical insurance?" As long as your PIP (personal injury protection) claim remains open and there is $ available to go towards claim payment, the answer is NO. Your own auto insurance will pay the bill in full without any copayments by you. Each policy will have dollar amount limit available for covering a medical claim from an auto accident. Drive safe out there and if questions arise about auto claims and treatment definitely have a conversation with me over email, phone, or in person at Schoeb Chiropractic, PLLC.

January in Washington State is rainy (and sometimes snowy) making the roads extremely slick and visibility at times very low. Did you know that whether it was your fault or not, your own auto insurance can cover you in an accident? There is a medical portion of auto insurance called Personal Injury Protection (or PIP for short) that will allow you to get chiropractic care, massage, acupuncture, physical therapy, or other care relating to the auto accident injury. The goal of this insurance is to provide care that gets you back to your pre-injury status. Other auto claims benefits may be partial payment for days off of work due to injury or even a housecleaner if you are unable to do the normal day to day tasks such as cleaning or laundry.

Here is a quick checklist of action items if you or someone you know has recently been in an auto accident:

• Obtain the other vehicle driver's information such as auto insurance, license plate #, phone and address.
• Take photos of the accident before moving your vehicle safely to the side (if possible and safe to do so).
• Call your own auto insurance agent to report the accident and open up a medical claim for care. Remember that symptoms can take a few days to appear after the initial shock and adrenaline pumping through your system wear off.
• Contact your healthcare provider of choice that accepts PIP insurance claims (Schoeb Chiropractic, PLLC does). Once establishing a care plan make sure to stick with the recommendations for optimal results. The healthcare provider you start treatment with will be able to refer out for PT, massage, acupuncture, etc.

Pregnancy is a wonderful journey... until back pain, sciatica (shooting leg pain), upper back tightness, and even headaches start showing up! At Schoeb Chiropractic, PLLC pregnant patients are able to lay face down on a treatment table through the entire pregnancy. Both of the tables in the office have a middle section that provides gentle support for the baby and mom during the adjustment. So if your pregnancy is causing back pain, don't hesitate to schedule your appointment... relief is just a phone call away.

January is a very typical time to come down with tension or stress related headaches. Why? Well, work is ramping back up, the kids still haven't gotten to bed on time since the holidays, you were traveling or relatives visited you and your home is a mess... the list goes on.

Thankfully, even after one chiropractic adjustment, headaches can start to diminish. In fact, in a review of all the research on headaches and chiropractic care over the past 20 years, many types of headaches can be managed by a chiropractor. Many patients also received long term benefits from chiropractic care- meaning when headaches do return, they are often less severe and less frequent. 

When headaches start to bother you and your loved ones know that relief is often just a phone call (or online scheduling) away.

The 2nd most common condition taken care of at Schoeb Chiropractic is... Headaches (and migraines)! There are a variety of reasons headaches can occur: too much time on a computer/smartphone, caffeine, sugar, tension, stress, and sometimes even allergies & sinus problems. Whatever the cause, headaches tighten the muscles of the upper neck and shoulders. Neck and upper back adjustments will help the muscles calm down, and also the headaches to diminish, if not go away completely. Most patients start to experience relief almost immediately after their treatment. So start 2018 off right and take care of your spine!

2018 has arrived! I hope you enjoyed spending time with your family, friends, and those you love this holiday. Here's looking forward to the rest of a healthy 2018. 

Schoeb Chiropractic will be open Tuesday, December 26th through Friday, December 29th. There will be limited availability for emergency patients on January 1st. Regular office hours resume Tuesday, January 2nd. Here's to a happy and healthy 2018!