Athletic Injuries… From Dr. Joel
Whether a dedicated athlete or a weekend warrior, people eventually experience discomfort and/or a decline in athletic improvement. A portion of my practice addresses the restoration of normal biomechanical function to those who have strenuously pushed their bodies athletically. When we think of “high-impact” sports, soccer, rugby, lacrosse, basketball, hockey, and football come to mind. Less impactful – but equally injurious – are lifting weights, playing baseball or softball, skiing, swimming, bowling, playing tennis or golf, biking, track events and cross country.
Who do I treat using a combination of Chiropractic and Applied Kinesiology? Any of the following: elementary age school children who have injured themselves on the playground, high school athletes who want to perform better than their peers, college athletes who want a shot at professional sports, and middle-age athletes who compete in local and national recreational leagues. Even the elderly want to exercise because they know it is healthy and can extend their life as well as their quality of life.
Typical injuries I see in my practice are:
- Head and neck injuries, including concussions
- Shoulder, wrist, and forearm injuries
- Upper, middle, and lower back injuries
- Knee and ankle injuries
- Hand and foot injuries or over-use conditions
There are many types of athletic endeavors that aren’t considered a sport. What about those who work out a few times a week or sporadically? Or consider that all “working out” isn’t at a gym. Intense workouts can happen while doing some of life’s normal tasks. For example, shoveling snow works some major muscle groups, is a cardiovascular workout, and naturally raises your pulse, breathing rate, and body temperature. How fast you shovel, how much you’re lifting, and how much you weigh determine the intensity of the workout. Yoga, dancing, raking the yard, a day of carpentry, painting, or hanging sheetrock – all use major muscle groups, all increase cardiovascular output, and all affect the structural and muscular parts of your body.
If you experience muscular dysfunction or pain following physical output, I can help using a different type of care than what is given by athletic trainers and physical therapists. Through AK diagnostic techniques, I am able to determine which muscles have been turned off via trauma and turn them back on. I look forward to helping you move past your athletic injuries to reach your true potential as an athlete or weekend warrior.