Exploring Different Treatment Modalities in Sports Chiropractic: What’s Right for You?
The Variety of Options Available Through Sports Chiropractic
The many treatment modalities available through sports chiropractic combine as a not-so-secret weapon for optimizing athletic performance and improving recovery outcomes after intense training or injury.
But with so many different options available through sports chiropractic care, how do you know which ones are right for you?
After a thorough assessment, your sports chiropractor can help determine which individual treatments — and what therapeutic combinations —might be most beneficial for you, but here is a breakdown of what some of the most popular modalities can offer.
Spinal Manipulation. Chiropractic medicine is often most associated with spinal manipulation because a properly aligned spine is the basis for all whole-body functionality. When vertebrae are misaligned, nerves can become compressed causing pain, inflammation, and a lack of mobility at many points in the body. Neurological communication can even be impeded to the point that other body systems, such as the circulatory and digestive systems, are affected.
Massage Therapy is known for its therapeutic benefits to the mental and physical state. It is passive and often relaxing for the patient while being active for the doctor/therapist who can identify trigger points and effectively remove knots and constrictions that training leaves behind. Alleviating muscle tension not only feels much better, but it allows for easier, less painful movement in the short term and more optimal healing in the long run.
Pulsed Electromagnetic Frequency Therapy (PEMF) is ideal for treating chronic pain and inflammation in all areas of the musculoskeletal system. The transmission of pulsed energy through the skin into bones, muscles, and joints triggers the body’s cells to initiate repair. When used before training or competition, it can boost muscle performance; After an intense workout, it aids in recovery. It can also be used postoperatively to encourage faster healing.
Cupping Therapy is a method of releasing toxins from the body by creating suction with special cups. The suction causes the tissue beneath the cup to swell, which in turn increases blood flow to the affected area. This increased blood flow helps to draw impurities and toxins away from nearby tissues and organs, and towards the surface for elimination.
Non-surgical spinal Decompression therapy is ideal for patients who have chronic pain in the neck and back, as well as associated discomfort and/or numbness in the neck, arms, and legs, and who are trying to avoid back surgery. It is a non-invasive surgical alternative that uses a multi-censored, anti-gravity table to create space between the vertebrae that relieves pressure on herniated discs and allows them to slide back into their proper position.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy involves the pressurized delivery of pure oxygen to damaged tissues in the body making it a great therapy to speed healing from sports injury or surgery. It can be used in both acute and chronic conditions, including concussion and TBI, to reduce swelling, stimulate the release of stem cells, improve cognition, and offer better healing outcomes.
MyoAcoustic Compression Therapy (ACT) is great for treating conditions of chronic pain associated with overuse injuries like tennis and golfer’s elbow, runner’s knee, ligament injuries, and rotator cuff tears. ACT uses short but intense sound waves aimed at pain points in the muscles, joints, and tissues to target muscle structures at varying depths and reduce pain.
Sports chiropractic care offers these treatment options and so many others — including electrical stimulation, Kinetisense Movement Technology, dry needling, and cupping, among others — to optimize athletic performance and prevent and treat athletic injuries. Visit our website or contact DTX Sports Medicine today to see which modalities might be most beneficial to you or your athlete
