CrossFit Doctor @ PUSH-as-Rx
Crossfit Doctor: As a doctor of chiropractic (DC), I treat my share of sports injuries. Some come from CrossFit, but we also treat runners, golfers, soccer players, basketball players, football players, wrestlers, etc. There is danger in all sports. Indeed some are more dangerous than others, but ultimately it is up to each to assess their risk/reward ratio and decide what a good fit for them is.
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CrossFit Doctor
Mitigating risk in sports and training: The key factors for most include:
- Overall musculoskeletal health
- Respect your limits
- The well laid out instruction
- Emphasis on technique, improving mobility and function (especially the limited areas)
Athletes can experience many different benefits from receiving chiropractic care. Adjustments help when treating injuries from high-impact sports such as wrestling, football. But they offer other benefits as well. Research has shown that high-impact sports can place the same amount of strain on the body as an auto accident. Athletes that get routine adjustments may notice improved athletic performance, better range of motion (endurance athletes), improved flexibility, increased blood flow, and suffer fewer injuries. Because spinal adjustments reduce the irritation of nerve roots between the vertebrae, healing time for minor injuries can be shortened, which improves performance.
High-impact and low-impact athletes can benefit from regular spinal adjustments. For the high-impact athlete, it increases performance and flexibility and lowers the risk of injury. For the low-impact athlete (golfers, tennis players, and bowlers), routine adjustments can help relieve the strain placed on the body. Chiropractic offers a natural way to treat and prevent many different injuries and conditions that plague athletes.
Headaches – A Duke University study stated that “Spinal manipulation resulted in almost immediate relief for headaches originating from the neck.”
Shoulder pain – The British Medical Journal found that shoulder manipulation improved the outcomes and reduced pain associated with specific shoulder injuries.
Ankle injuries – Chiropractic care of ankle sprains helped increase motion, lessen pain and provide better ankle function.
Injury prevention – Players who used a regiment of chiropractic care had a fewer number of leg injuries.
Injury Doctor: Four Methods Used To Treat Athletes
- Active Release Technique where massage and stretching combined with moving the affected joint through a range of motion.
- Electrical muscle stimulation to release tension towards the surface of the muscle using contraction caused by electricity.
- Functional dry needling where deep trigger points are focused on to release tension in the muscles through stimulation.
- Graston Technique uses stainless steel tools to break down scar tissue.
Injury Prevention & Performance Enhancement
A DC or CrossFit doctor specializing in treating athletes is prepared to handle the whole person and tailor a program aimed at injury prevention. Initial evaluations should include traditional orthopedic tests, neurological examinations, and consideration to supplement physical exam findings with additional diagnostic assessments. Numerous studies support the fact that chiropractic care helps athletes achieve optimal performance.
Injury Doctor: Decrease Pain
The spine is one of the most critical physical structures that contains many pain-sensitive tissues: Joints, muscles, nerves, discs, and ligaments. Any abnormal alignment patterns in the spinal column can place an unusual amount of stress and strain on any of these tissues. In a recent article reviewing the effectiveness of spinal manipulation, chiropractic adjustments were consistently better than other medical options. It’s done by reducing acute low back pain intensity and restoring normal function for short and long-term effects.
Experts believe that 90 percent of world-class athletes use chiropractic care to prevent injuries and increase their performance. All NFL teams rely on DC’s in varying capacities, and a good percent of athletic trainers refer players to a chiropractor for evaluation and treatment. However, one does not have to be an athlete to benefit from regular chiropractic care. Here at Injury Medical, we treat patients from all walks of life, professions, and fitness levels.
Most people conclude that a person visiting a chiropractor is doing so for problems with their back or neck. However, research shows that people are reaching out to D.C.’s or Functional Fitness Doctors for other treatments with their muscular-skeletal system, and many of them are young athletes. And most people do visit the chiropractor for these reasons.
Being fit and maintaining a certain level of fitness involves pain. Fitness is both anabolic (building) and catabolic (breaking down) processes in tandem with our muscles and joints. As one enters the weight room or takes the first stride of a run, the natural response of physiology takes over, and not even professionals are immune to the risk of potential injury.
It is not uncommon to see athletes or elite trainers with muscle or joint issues. They spend countless hours training, building, and breaking their bodies down to become exceptional at performing sport-specific muscle patterns. Pain is inevitable when pushing your body through physical barriers of performance. It happens to everyone; you’re not alone.
For someone new to a sport or physical activity, pain can be a factor that creates self-defeating thoughts and makes them not want to continue. This type of pain is something that humans are not comfortable having. Muscle soreness lasts a few days, but walking with the soreness for a week after an intense leg day can leave emotional wounds. Someone new to exercise associates exercises with pain, which often leads to not wanting to work the training regimen.
A simple solution to this problem is to be patient with your body. Have faith in the process and develop a team around you of fitness professionals, doctors, and a chiropractor (CrossFit doctor) who you trust. Most importantly, stay focused on the goal! Individually, we all require a different amount of time and effort to recover from specific physical breakdowns.
Chiropractic Alignment
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Professional Scope of Practice *
The information herein on "CrossFit Doctor @ PUSH-as-Rx" is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make healthcare decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified healthcare professional.
Blog Information & Scope Discussions
Our information scope is limited to Chiropractic, musculoskeletal, acupuncture, physical medicines, wellness, contributing etiological viscerosomatic disturbances within clinical presentations, associated somatovisceral reflex clinical dynamics, subluxation complexes, sensitive health issues, and/or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions.
We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from various disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and directly or indirectly support our clinical scope of practice.*
Our office has reasonably attempted to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.
We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez, DC, or contact us at 915-850-0900.
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Blessings
Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, RN*, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*
email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com
Licensed as a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) in Texas & New Mexico*
Texas DC License # TX5807, New Mexico DC License # NM-DC2182
Licensed as a Registered Nurse (RN*) in Florida
Florida License RN License # RN9617241 (Control No. 3558029)
Compact Status: Multi-State License: Authorized to Practice in 40 States*
Presently Matriculated: ICHS: MSN* FNP (Family Nurse Practitioner Program)
Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, RN* CIFM*, IFMCP*, ATN*, CCST
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