Chiropractic care can benefit all of us in different ways.
Each day you get out of bed in the morning, you subject your body to a world of physical stressors. Hardly anyone can say they’re sitting or standing comfortably for twelve hours a day.
Those of us who exercise or play sports need even more help than normal. The bodies of athletes are subject to more wear-and-tear, no matter which sport they play. The likelihood of a sports injury is considerable.
Baseball in particular can cause serious damage over time. Swinging a 3-pound wood bat to meet a ball flying at 90 miles per hour is serious work for a player’s bones and muscles. Things can, and do become displaced.
With the College World Series taking place right now in downtown Omaha, we thought we’d focus on the ways that chiropractic care helps baseball players.
Caring for Sluggers
As of today, 28 of 32 MLB teams actively use chiropractic service as part of training regimens when playing at home. Players like the legendary Barry Bonds have publicly expressed their delight after a chiropractor took their pains away.
After Bonds fell down a set of stairs at a spring practice, his trainer recommended that he see a chiropractor. Dr. Alan Palmer consulted Bonds and found that his sacroiliac joint (pelvis) was locked, his leg length had shifted, and his entire pelvis was rotated incorrectly. This was leading to shooting pains in his hips, limiting his range of motion.
Dr. Palmer then “balanced him out” and performed adjustments on Bonds. When he left the chiropractor’s table and emerged to questions from the waiting media about his fall, he was able to confidently tell them, “I feel 100 percent better.” He said his pain was completely gone!
Bonds and the Giants, then his employer, were relieved in more ways than one.
The On-Field Benefits of a Chiropractic Regimen
Trainer recommendations usually send players to a chiropractor, as was the case with Barry Bonds.
Dr. Alicia Myers has treated teams of Major League Baseball players for decades. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, she’s in a great spot: Phoenix/Scottsdale is one of the home bases for MLB teams that hold annual warm-weather spring training.
Some of the main issues Dr. Myers treats in these players are tendonitis, range of motion decreases or general pain in one of many high-stress areas of the body.
She regularly checks for nerve issues that plague the throwing arms of some fielders and pitchers. Bones that have been displaced from heavy use can physically contact nerves in the arm and shoulder, putting pressure on them. Dr. Myers cites a study from the University of Colorado, which found that the pressure equal to the weight of a quarter on a nerve can decrease its ability to function by 60%.
“Think about this,” says Dr Myers. “This means that baseball players affected by this might only be able to use 40 percent of their full capacity when playing a game! Thus, if I do a gentle diversified adjustment to the bone that is putting pressure on the nerve and relieve that pressure, it can increase the range of motion in the shoulder. In the case of pitchers, it can help them regain lost velocity.”
Velocity is king in the pitching world – adding even five-miles-per-hour to an 85-mile-per-hour fastball can make things significantly harder for the hitters they face.
The great thing is that chiropractic care isn’t just reserved for the pros. You can experience these same benefits in your own life; adjustments can help with a sports injury or just your general well-being.
Enjoy the College World Series and pay Wisniewski Chiropractic a visit soon!
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