Sports Injuries & Treatment
Injuries are frustrating. They limit your performance and can take you out of the game.
Northbound Chiropractic works with you to manage your injury and get you back to your sports as soon as possible, while helping you make changes to prevent the injury from happening again.
Typical medical care will tell you to rest for an extended period of time or recommend surgery for your injury.
Most injuries can be managed conservatively, providing lasting results with less time out of your sport.
Plantar Fasciitis and Foot Pain
Shoulder Injuries, Impingement, and Frozen Shoulder
Sciatica Pain, and Disc Herniations
Tendinitis/Tendinopathy and Bursitis
Shin Splints/Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome
SI Joint Pain and Dysfunction
Common sports injuries include:
Sprains and Strains, like Ankle Sprains and Groin Strains
Knee Injuries, Patellofemoral Pain, and Meniscus Tears
Back Injuries and Back Pain
Concussions and Neck Injuries
Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis)
Golfer’s Elbow (Medial Epicondylitis)
What To Know About Sports Injuries
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Causes & Risk Factors
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Treating Sports Injuries
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Preventing Sports Injuries
Causes & Risk Factors
Over 40% of athletes will deal with a sports injury in a given year.
The specific cause of a sports injury varies significantly from athlete to athlete and injury to injury.
Each individual athlete has different biomechanics, weaknesses, and muscular imbalances. To address an injury, these variations need to be considered when treating the injury, as well as when working to prevent future injury.
Each sport and position also requires different things from an athlete. A golfer, a linebacker, a quarterback, and a soccer player all do different things and deal with different injuries. Addressing the individual requirements of your sport and position is another consideration when managing injury and dysfunction.
The causes of sports injuries vary significantly. They can include:
Overuse and Fatigue Injuries - If you’re playing too much or without adequate rest and recovery, your muscles, joints, ligaments, and tendons may not have enough time to repair between sessions, putting you at a higher risk of injury.
Trauma - Direct trauma is common in contact and collision sports like hockey, football, and soccer. Being hit by another player can create significant damage to your structure, causing things like concussions and ligament sprains or tears.
Muscular Imbalances - If your muscles are imbalanced from a previous injury or daily life activities, you put more strain on certain muscle groups, creating a higher risk of injury.
Poor Conditioning - Sports can be strenuous, and if your body isn’t ready for it, injuries can happen. Proper conditioning requires building speed, strength, endurance, and sport-specific skills. Exact conditioning needs vary from sport to sport and position to position, but any sport and any position require good physical health.
Lack of Warm-Up - Not warming up prior to physical activity can lead to injury, as your body isn’t prepared physiologically for high-intensity activity. Doing an activity-specific warmup for 5-15 minutes before starting high-intensity activity is essential to good performance and preventing injury.
Poor Sleep & Mental Stress - Poor sleep and mental stress impair performance and recovery. You need adequate recovery and clear mental focus during physical activity to avoid injury and maximize performance.
Poor Diet - Good nutrition is an essential part of good performance, and many athletes neglect this aspect of their preparation for sports. Without good nutrition, your recovery and performance will be thrown off. Getting enough vitamins, minerals, and protein is necessary to preventing injury and improving muscle function.
Sports with the highest risk of injuries include football, hockey, basketball, lacrosse, baseball/softball, volleyball, and distance running. Muscle function, ligament and tendon strength, and lifestyle factors should all be considerations for all athletes in these sports.
If you’re not playing these sports, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t work to prevent injuries either. Injuries happen in every sport, so addressing your specific imbalances, movement deficiencies, and negative lifestyle habits is an essential part of training for every athlete.
Treating Sports Injuries
Injuries can affect your game for weeks or months after they occur. Getting adequate treatment can get you back out there faster, performing like you were before.
No athlete likes to be sidelined. That’s why the sports and performance industry places such a high value on things like massage guns, ice baths, supplements, foam rolling, and whatever other fads are popular right now.
Navigating your injury and finding the best way to get back to your sport can be a challenge, as there are so many options out there.
At Northbound Chiropractic, we look at you, your biomechanics, your injury, and what specifically caused your injury. No two athletes are the same, and each requires a different approach and treatment strategy to best help them.
80% of sports injuries can be managed with four sessions of chiropractic care.
Chiropractors address the root cause of your injury, not just the symptoms.
We look at your whole body to see if you have any weaknesses, imbalances, or movement deficiencies that created an environment for the injury to occur.
We consider your specific sport and position to find out what’s required of you.
We evaluate your diet and lifestyle to make sure you’re set up for success.
We consider your specific goals and how we can help you get there.
Treatment plans for a sports injury vary based on the athlete and the injury.
A multimodal treatment plan generally produces the best results. Your treatment plan might include:
Chiropractic Adjusting - Chiropractic adjusting addresses restrictions in joint movement, while also decreasing pain and increasing motor control and strength.
Soft Tissue Mobilization - Soft tissues like muscles, tendons, and ligaments are often affected by sports injuries. Mobilizing these soft tissues loosens them up and increases blood flow to the area, decreasing pain and increasing healing and overall function.
Targeted Exercise - Movement is an essential part of recovering from an injury. Specific exercises are prescribed for you and your needs. These exercises will help rehabilitate the injury to prevent it from happening again, while also addressing other imbalances and deficiencies that may have led to the injury.
Kinesiotaping - Kinesiotape is a special elastic athletic tape. In specific instances, it can be used to reduce inflammation, relax muscles, and reduce strain on injured areas.
Lifestyle Changes - Depending on your injury and current daily habits, certain changes might be necessary. Moving more throughout your day and avoiding activities that flare up the injury can promote healing and recovery.
Nutrition & Supplementation - Certain nutritional factors and supplements can promote healing and recovery. Nutrients like collagen, vitamin C, and omega-3 fatty acids can reduce inflammation and promote healing.
Preventing Sports Injuries
The best way to treat an injury is to prevent it from happening in the first place.
Treating an injury is more difficult and often more time-consuming than trying to prevent it.
Every athlete can be doing something to improve their performance and prevent injury. Whether that’s adding a specific exercise to their workouts, changing negative lifestyle habits, or warming up before play, there’s always something you can do.
As an added bonus, the things you do to prevent injury will often put you in a better position to recover should an injury occur. Being more conditioned, leading a healthy lifestyle, and having good nutrition all promote a quick recovery.
Chiropractic care can help prevent sports injuries.
At Northbound Chiropractic, we look at all the factors that influence your performance and injury risk.
Evaluating muscular imbalances, movement deficiencies, motor control issues, and lifestyle factors is a part of every exam we perform. We want you to be in the best position possible to reach your goals and perform how you want.
There are many things you can do to prevent sports injuries.
Consider some of these options:
Warming Up - Doing an active warmup is an essential part of preparing for physical activity. Do something that increases your heart rate and incorporates similar muscles to the activity you’re planning on doing. For example, if you’re doing weighted squats, do a few rounds of bodyweight squats first. If you’re going to be jumping, do some small jumps, calf raises, and air squats. The warmup you should do varies based on your activity, but anything that gets you moving is better than nothing.
Conditioning - Conditioning is a big part of many preseason workout plans. Building your endurance, strength, mobility, and motor control are all important aspects of improving performance and preventing injury. Going on runs, hitting the weight room, and stretching out are all things to include in your conditioning plan.
Nutrition - Eating a good diet will help you recover faster and make you feel better overall. A whole foods diet, focusing on meats, fruits, and vegetables while avoiding processed foods and sugars is a good place to start. Make sure you’re getting enough protein, and consider incorporating fish oil and functional foods to help you meet your goals.
Sleep - Adequate sleep is an essential part of recovery. Exactly how much sleep you need varies from person to person, but 7-8 hours of solid, uninterrupted sleep is enough for most people.
Chiropractic Care - Chiropractic care can help address factors that put you at risk for injury. Your chiropractic can also help you put together a plan for preventing injuries. Additionally, when you’re already under the care of a chiropractor, if an injury does occur or something starts to hurt, you can get in sooner and fix the problem faster. Waiting to treat an injury can significantly increase the healing time or worsen the injury.
Unfortunately, no injury is 100% preventable. Things happen that are outside of our control, like stepping on a ball or getting hit in the head, but working on injury prevention can also promote healing and recovery post-injury, so it’s never a waste of time.
At Northbound Chiropractic, we work with you to treat and prevent sports injuries and create an individualized treatment plan targeting your specific problems.
We’ll make a plan with you to get lasting results, so you can continue doing the things you love.